Humans of Lob: Karmbir Chima

Humans of Lob is a project dedicated to getting to know our Lobsters on an individual level. We sat down with Karmbir Chima, our Software Engineer.

Let's start with your background. Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I was born in Punjab, India. My family came to the US when I was really young, only a few months old. I grew up on the East Coast until I was 17 then came over to California and have been here ever since.

I’m a pretty simple person for the most part. Excluding the past several months, I try to go to jiu-jitsu as much as possible. I’ve found it to be a great way to exercise and stay in shape. To be honest, I really only work out so I can eat almost whatever I want within reason.

This leads to the second thing I care about, cooking. I enjoy cooking and cooking for other people. It has been something that I have done for as long as I can remember. I typically stick to Italian food but I really enjoy some udon noodles with spicy peanut sauce. I have been itching to try my hand at fried rice so Uncle Roger can critique me.

What's something you saw recently that made you smile?

My dog makes me smile every day. Leia has been a completely unexpected blessing for my wife and I. The thing about Leia that caught me off guard was her overwhelming amount of positivity toward everything. Whatever it is she is absolutely overjoyed. Because of her, I’ve been trying to be more positive and see the silver lining in the day to day.

What is your perfect meal?

Chicken biryani. Of course, like any child, I feel my mother makes the best biryani. For me it's not the chicken that's the center of the meal, it's the blend of spices and heat. A single plate of my mother’s biryani will have your scalp sweating before you’re finished. If there is one meal that I could learn from my mother, it's this one.

How did Lob come into your life? And why did you choose to be at Lob?

There were two people that used to work here, Alex Strachan and Nina Wang, who told me the team was hiring. They had mentioned that a billing team was starting and since I was developing payroll software at another company I figured I was a good fit. After meeting the team, I knew I wanted to be a part of the company and specifically this team. After being with Lob for a little over two and a half years, the team and the engineering org has been a big reason why I’ve not looked elsewhere.

What is a bucket list item you want to complete?

Getting my black belt in Brazilian jujitsu before everything hurts. Everything already hurts but before it hurts more.

And have you checked anything off your bucket list?

Traveling. That was something that I wouldn't have done if it wasn't for my wife. She really likes to travel. Prior to that, I never really had the motivation to but by marrying someone who is an adventurer I’ve seen a lot! So far I’ve been to Edinburgh, London, Rome, and Hawaii. Some memorable things that Raman and I have done are night diving with manta rays, stargazing at the Keck Observatory, touring the Colosseum in Rome, and seeing artifacts of the Sikh empire while visiting England.

If you could cameo in any TV show what would it be?

Doctor Who! Maybe with David Tennant or Matt Smith. I just think David Tennant is a fantastic actor in general but he made a fantastic doctor. Matt Smith was a little weird as a doctor at first, but he is someone who grew on me. I've been a fan of his for as long as I can remember. Now, I'm going through and watching all the episodes on HBO right now. Just got to the newest doctor, Jodie Whittaker, I’m a fan of her as well.

Are you the ‘go-to’ person for anything?

I make solid Italian food. At least I've been told that I make good Italian food! I started with making my own tomato sauce only ever using San Marzano tomatoes. After that, I started to experiment by making risotto and lasagnas. My gateway into Italian food began with making my own sauce. You’ve always got to use San Marzano tomatoes, if you don’t there is some grandmother giving you the evil eye. I’ve begun to experiment with the sauce. I’ve started adding sausage.

The only addition is frying the sausage until the crispy bits start forming. Once you’ve got a nice fond built up, take the sausage out, and add some wine and tomato sauce to deglaze so you can incorporate everything into one.

What’s a fun memory of your time at Lob?

Anytime the team gets together to play GeoGuessr! Playing this game, GeoGuessr has been a great way for all of us to come together and bond.

GeoGuessr is a game where you are randomly dropped anywhere in the world on a Google Map. Using the information around you, you have to figure out where you are by dropping a pin on the map. From there, whoever dropped the pin closest to where your initial location wins. The closer you drop the pin to the original location, the more points you get. The billing team is well-traveled and has diverse backgrounds so there are many locations that don’t stump us.

Want to work with people like Karmbir? Check out our careers page to learn more about life at Lob.