Then
Software engineering
Making the complex feel simple.
I spent my engineering career designing dependable software and collaborating with thoughtful teams to ship work that mattered.
- Product engineering
- System design
- Technical leadership
Cadet pilot · Former software engineer
Building systems.
Now flying them.
I’m Yagya Goel — a former software engineer trading code for cockpits, documenting the transition and everything I learn along the way.
Current heading Flight deck 042°
Cloud study, 30,000 ft Photo: Davide Pirotta
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01
About
I’ve always been drawn to
complex systems.
Portrait / 01 Yagya Goel
Software engineer → Cadet pilot
First, that meant designing software — breaking down ambiguity, thinking in systems, and building products people could rely on.
Today, it means learning to operate an aircraft with precision. The context changed, but the mindset didn’t: stay curious, prepare deeply, and keep making good decisions.
01 Aviate
Fly the aircraft first.
02 Navigate
Know where you’re going.
03 Communicate
Then share the picture.
02
The journey
One career taught me to build.
The next is teaching me to fly.
Now
Cadet pilot
Learning to think above the clouds.
I’m currently training toward the flight deck — studying theory, building hours, and learning the discipline behind every safe flight.
Training in progress
03
Writing
Field notes
Thoughts from
between worlds.
Essays on career transitions, aviation, engineering, and the lessons that travel between them.
003
The surprising overlap between code and cockpits
Two very different worlds connected by systems thinking, communication, and trust.
More soon
New field notes are
currently in the works.