Tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has brought on board six young engineers aged between 19 and 24, including Indian-origin Akash Bobba, a University of California, Berkeley graduate and former intern at Meta, according to a report by WIRED. Despite their limited government experience, these young professionals are playing critical roles in DOGE, which has sparked widespread concerns over their qualifications and access to sensitive government data.
DOGE, established by an executive order from former President Donald Trump, is tasked with modernising federal technology and software to enhance efficiency and productivity within government agencies. The six engineers - Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, and Ethan Shaotran - hold vaguely defined roles within the department.
Who is Akash Bobba?
Akash Bobba graduated from UC Berkeley's prestigious Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology program. According to his now-deleted LinkedIn profile obtained by WIRED, Bobba interned at Bridgewater Associates hedge fund last spring and previously held internships at Meta and Peter Thiel’s Palantir Technologies. He was also featured in a podcast with Aman Manazir, where he discussed landing his dream job.
Bobba, along with Edward Coristine, is listed as an "expert" at the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and reports directly to Chief of Staff Amanda Scales, who previously worked at Musk’s AI company, xAI. Internal records indicate both Bobba and Coristine have working emails at the General Services Administration (GSA) and possess A-suite level clearance, granting them access to all physical spaces and IT systems within the agency.
A photo of four DOGE engineers went viral on social media, with Aidan McLaughlin from OpenAI commenting, “Wait, my moot is running the treasury what.”
In response, Charis Zhang, a UC Berkeley peer, praised Bobba’s technical prowess, recounting how Bobba rewrote an entire codebase overnight after Zhang accidentally deleted it before a deadline. Other users echoed similar sentiments, describing Bobba as one of the smartest individuals they’d met.
""Let me tell you something about Akash. During a project at Berkeley, I accidentally deleted our entire codebase 2 days before the deadline. I panicked. Akash just stared at the screen, shrugged, and rewrote everything from scratch in one night—better than before. We submitted early and got first in the class", he posted on X.
The hiring of these young engineers, most of whom have connections to Musk and his longtime associate Peter Thiel, has raised alarms among government officials and experts. Critics are particularly concerned about the engineers’ top-level clearance at the GSA, which could potentially allow them access to highly sensitive government data.
Reports have already surfaced about DOGE personnel attempting to improperly access classified information at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Two senior security officials who blocked these attempts were placed on forced leave, according to Reuters. The Associated Press later confirmed that DOGE staff had indeed accessed classified materials.
The DOGE initiative has intensified fears of regulatory capture, where individuals with private sector ties could leverage their positions for personal gain. Sources cited by WIRED suggest that the Trump administration granted temporary security clearances to unvetted individuals, further exacerbating concerns.
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