OMSCS Buzz S6E3: Vaibhav Jain

Thursday, March 12, 2026

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Vaibhav Jain. He’s a Tech Lead who’s built high-impact systems across India, Singapore, and the Netherlands. From scaling logistics with machine learning to architecting low-latency crypto fraud detection, he’s done it all while leading teams across multiple time zones. But he’s not just building systems; he’s building people. Vaibhav is an OMSCS alum, a mentor to over 40 engineers, and has conducted senior interviews for tech giants like Palantir and Coinbase. If you want to know what it takes to operate with a global mindset, this is the episode for you.

Segments

0:00	Cold open
1:50	Involved in competitive programming, preparation for software engineering career
5:08	Moved from India to Singapore to explore, thought process, cultural differences
8:37	Differences in ways of working in Singapore between India startup and Singapore "scale-up"
11:45	How to motivate and persuade people when people might be resistant
14:38	"Leading from the front" and building teams that work together
17:50	Differences between junior and senior engineers
20:32	Moving to technical side, differences between real-time and event-driven
25:45	Move to Amsterdam to work for crypto company
29:00	System design approach switching from tracking parcels to tracking finance
32:01	How agentic tools like Claude Code are changing the way fraud is perpetrated
35:01	What is good enough in software development related to fiduciary duties
38:58	Where does the OMSCS program come into the picture, reasons for attending
42:41	How does OMSCS keep up with the needs of the global audience
44:45	Rapid-fire questions: countries visited, programming languages, travel, hiking, and more
47:48	Closing thoughts: how OMSCS has been helpful and bridging gaps