Muscat, Oman

Dost M Shah

CTO & Systems Architect

Intelligent systems, architected end to end.

I design, build and debug connected systems across every layer, from the circuit board to AI, and I lead the engineering that builds them. Today I’m CTO at Taqamate, building AI-based HVAC energy optimisation.

Hardware
Connectivity
Edge
Cloud & Data
AI / ML
Across every layerStrategyArchitectureSecurityTeams
16 years · building hardware, platforms & AI2010 → today
I leadtechnology at Taqamate as CTO
I’ve builtevery layer, board to AI, over 16 years
I’ve shippedproducts to volume and platforms to thousands of devices
I’ve grownteams, including one I founded

What I’ve led

Platforms, products and the teams behind them

Four programmes, from founding a team to running a platform.

01 · 2026 – now

Taqamate platform

Role
CTO
Led
Strategy, architecture and delivery across hardware, cloud and AI.
Result
Pilot to production across commercial buildings and hotels.
02 · KINDOWS

IoT cloud platform

Role
Architect & engineering lead
Led
Device lifecycle, telemetry, provisioning and zero-downtime OTA, from design to operations.
Result
The platform behind thousands of deployed devices.
03 · KINDOWS

Smart building gateway

Role
Design & development lead
Led
Hardware–software co-design (Wi-Fi mesh, Zigbee, AV, vision), then bring-up, DFM and NPI.
Result
Shipped to volume production.
04 · KINDOWS

Zigbee firmware team

Role
Team founder & lead
Led
Hiring and mentoring, plus custom routing and network algorithms.
Result
Core IP owned in-house, not licensed.

What I build

Every layer, one architecture

Systems fail at the seams between teams. I architect across them, and lead the teams that build each layer.

AI & algorithms

Intelligence that acts

Production ML, optimisation and control with guardrails, FDD and M&V baselines.

ML pipelinesRegressionFDDIPMVP M&VControl loops
Cloud & data

Platforms that scale

Multi-tenant SaaS, time-series at scale, IaC and observability.

PostgreSQLTimescaleDBNode / NestJSAzureAWSBicep IaCOpenTelemetryCI/CD
Edge

The complete box

Hardened Linux appliances, offline-first by design, OTA at fleet scale.

DebianYoctoBuildrootOpenWrtSQLiteOTA
Connectivity

Talking to real plant

BMS and BACnet integration, metering, wireless mesh and secure device messaging.

BACnet/IPBMSM-BusLoRaWANZigbeeBLEThread4G / ATMQTT / TLSEMQXCoAPRESTWebSockets
Hardware

Boards that ship

Schematic to layout, bring-up, DFM, NPI and volume manufacturing.

AltiumKiCadEagleC / C++RTOSBring-upDFMNPIPCBA
Across every layer

Leadership

Technology strategy, architecture governance, security by design, hiring and mentoring, vendor management.

StrategyArchitecture governanceSecurityRoadmapsHiring & mentoringVendor managementDelivery

Now · CTO, Taqamate since March 2026

Plan · Build · Run · Grow

How I run technology for an AI-driven energy optimisation platform, live across Oman.

Plan

Roadmap

Aligned to product and revenue.

Build

Architecture

Architecture and technical standards, edge to AI.

Run

Operations

Security, reliability and live operations.

Grow

Team

Hiring, mentoring and engineering culture.

What I believe

Four things I’ve learned

For the systems I architect and the teams I run.

01

The expensive mistakes are made in week one.

Settle edge vs cloud, failure modes and hard limits before the build.

02

The field always wins.

Design offline-first, fail-safe and updatable at fleet scale.

03

If you can’t measure it, don’t sell it.

Outcomes are verified against a baseline.

04

Security can’t be bolted on later.

It’s part of the architecture, from device to cloud.

Career

From engineer to CTO

Sixteen years, one layer at a time.

I joined KINDOWS in 2010 as a hardware engineer and became lead engineer in 2013, taking complex boards through bring-up, DFM and NPI into volume production.

From 2017 to 2026 I was Director of Design & Development: I led hardware, firmware, cloud and manufacturing as one team, architected the IoT platform behind thousands of devices, and founded the in-house firmware team.

In March 2026 I became CTO of Taqamate.

BE, Electronics Engineering · UET Peshawar, 2009

Now · 2026

What I’m focused on

Updated a few times a year.

  • ScaleTaking Taqamate’s platform to more buildings.
  • StandardsArchitecture and security standards for a growing fleet.
  • WritingOn edge architecture and building intelligence.

Advisory

A second opinion on the architecture.

For boards, investors and technology leaders who need an independent view. A few engagements a year, by request.

  • Architecture & scalability reviewPressure-test hardware, protocol, edge/cloud and data decisions.
  • Technical due diligenceFor investors and acquirers in IoT, energy-tech and connected hardware.
  • Build-vs-buy & platform decisionsWhere to invest engineering, and what to integrate instead.