Akash Bobba, a 22-year-old engineer from New Jersey and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, is one of six new hires for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This group, composed of young engineers between the ages of 19 and 24, has raised questions about their qualifications, particularly their lack of experience in government affairs. The new recruits are tasked with updating and modernizing software and technology to improve the efficiency and productivity of government agencies.
Despite their youth, Bobba and his colleagues are already working on significant projects. Bobba, for instance, is listed as an “expert” at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and reports directly to Amanda Scales, a former executive at Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. According to reports from Wired, Bobba has gained access to sensitive data and clearance levels at various government agencies, including the General Services Administration (GSA), where he handles emails and has access to IT systems and physical spaces.
Bobba’s career path has been impressive for someone his age. Before joining DOGE, he interned at notable companies like Meta, where he explored AI, Palantir for data analytics, and Bridgewater Associates for financial modeling. His social media profiles have since been removed, adding to the mystery surrounding his background. While details about his family are scarce, it’s been suggested that his father, Jay Bobba, worked in the U.S. on an H1-B visa.
Bobba’s technical abilities were showcased by his former classmate, Charis Zhang, who shared a memorable story about how Bobba managed to rewrite an entire project’s codebase in a single night after it was accidentally deleted. This feat helped their team win first place in their class.
Having been the class speaker at his high school graduation, Bobba emphasized the importance of embracing discomfort to achieve success. His speech encouraged classmates to think critically and develop their own perspectives, an ethos that appears to drive his work today.
