The multimillionaire of the government’s efficiency head (Doge) has hired a team of six young engineers, some barely outside the university, Wired reported Monday. The team, between 19 and 24 years old, includes Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kiger and Ethan Shaotran. Some are just out of college, while one is still a student. Among them is also the Indian origin Akash Bobba.
These engineers now occupy key positions within agencies such as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Services Administration (GSA), with access to confidential government data. The lack of experience in government affairs, combined with their roles that supervise crucial data, has caused concerns among critics.
Who is Akash Bobba?
Akash Bobba attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he was part of the management, entrepreneurship and technology program (MET), designed for future leaders of the technology industry, according to his LinkedIn account now eliminated.
Before joining Doge, the 22 -year -old interned the goal, Palantir and the Bridgewater Associates coverage fund, working at AI, data analysis and financial modeling.
His genius in coding called viral attention after a Berkeley classmate shared an anecdote about his problem solving skills. “During a project in Berkeley, I accidentally eliminated our full code base 2 days before the deadline,” the classmate wrote in an X post. “I panicked. Akash only looked at the screen, I shrugged and rewritten All from scratch on one night, better than before.
Let me tell you something about Akash. During a project in Berkeley, I accidentally eliminated our entire code base 2 days before the deadline. I panicked. Akash just looked at the screen, shrugged and rewritten everything from scratch on one night, more than before. We send …
– Charis Zhang (@gmchariszhang) February 3, 2025
Bobba now appears as an “expert” in the OPM, directly informing Amanda Scales, the new Doge Cabinet Chief and a former talent acquisition leader in XAI and Uber.
According to reports, Akash Bobba has an active GSA email and an authorization of Suite A level, which gives access to all physical spaces and IT systems in the GSA, according to Wired. The sources have expressed concern that these hiring may have overlooked regular security authorization protocols.
Doge, under Elon Musk’s leadership, aims to optimize government operations through technology and automation.