A senior software engineer for Abu Dhabi teams, in Gulf hours
Web platforms, AI features, security audits and integrations for Abu Dhabi teams, on Gulf Standard Time, an hour and a half behind Mumbai all year.
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Why Abu Dhabi teams bring me this work
Abu Dhabi has its own common-law financial centre, ADGM, with data-protection regulations that follow the GDPR closely and a register every data controller there must join. I build web platforms, AI features and integrations for teams inside and outside it, starting with where the data lives and who controls it, and a security audit is often the first, fixed-price step.
What teams across the United Arab Emirates bring me
- You're launching a platform and need to know where data may be stored and processed, and whether the federal law or a free-zone regime applies.
- Your product has to work properly in Arabic and English: right-to-left layouts, fonts and forms from the start.
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The hours we share with Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi keeps Gulf Standard Time, UTC+4, all year; IANA files the whole country under Asia/Dubai. Your 09:00 is 10:30 in Mumbai in every season, and Abu Dhabi works Monday to Thursday with a half-day Friday, so a Friday call goes in your morning.
Each city's 09:00–18:00 working day on the clock in Mumbai (UTC+5:30), in January and in July, so daylight saving is accounted for.
| City | In January | In July |
|---|---|---|
| Abu DhabiUTC+4 | 10:30–19:30 | The same |
Clocks No daylight saving time; Gulf Standard Time is UTC+4 all year.
The working week
The UAE federal government has worked a four-and-a-half-day week since 1 January 2022: Monday to Thursday 7:30 am to 3:30 pm and Friday until 12:00 pm, with Saturday and Sunday as the weekend. Abu Dhabi adopted the same Saturday–Sunday weekend with a half-day Friday.
Source: UAE Government portal: Working hours in the public sector
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Rules a Abu Dhabi team's software meets
Registering with ADGM
In Abu Dhabi Global Market, every registered entity that processes personal data must register as a data controller with the ADGM Office of Data Protection, which keeps the register and enforces the Data Protection Regulations 2021.
Source: ADGM: Office of Data Protection
ADGM's jurisdiction
ADGM, inaugurated in late October 2015, applies an English common-law framework. Its area covers Al Maryah Island and Al Reem Island, 14.38 million square metres.
Source: ADGM: About
Across the United Arab Emirates: Federal Personal Data Protection Law · DIFC Data Protection Law · ADGM Data Protection Regulations 2021
This is engineering guidance, not legal advice: confirm what applies to your business with your counsel.
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Contracts and invoicing
Invoices in UAE dirhams or US dollars, per milestone, paid through Wise or Payoneer. I can work under your services agreement, with data kept in the region you choose.
More on working with teams in the United Arab Emirates is on the United Arab Emirates page.
Tax and legal treatment depends on your company and country: confirm it with your accountant or counsel.
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Where Abu Dhabi teams usually start
AI features in your product
LLM features that work on your real data, measured before they ship.
- Price
- Fixed-price scoping sprint, then a fixed-scope quote
- Timeline
- A scoping sprint first, then a timeline agreed per project
Security audit and penetration test
An attacker's view of your application and infrastructure, and a fix list you can act on.
- Price
- Fixed price per scope
- Timeline
- Agreed per project after scoping
Web platforms and SaaS
Custom web applications, APIs and integrations, built to be inherited.
- Price
- Fixed-scope quote after a discovery call
- Timeline
- Scoped per project, agreed before work starts
API development and integrations
APIs other teams can build on, and integrations with payments, CRMs and SaaS tools that never lose data quietly.
- Price
- Fixed quote per integration or API
- Timeline
- Scoped per integration after mapping the systems
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Case studies
- Case study: Vayudoot Aviations · Education platform
- Case study: Digital Wardrobe · AI pipeline
- average time per image, upload to result
- 3–8 s
- Case study: Immunomate · Telemedicine platform
- registered users
- 500+
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Questions from Abu Dhabi teams
What hours do we share with Abu Dhabi?
Your 09:00 is 10:30 in Mumbai every day of the year: Gulf Standard Time and India Standard Time both stay put. Nearly your whole working day is shared, with Friday calls kept to your morning.
Do we have to register with ADGM's Office of Data Protection?
If you're an ADGM-registered entity that processes personal data, yes: every such entity must register as a data controller with the Office of Data Protection, which enforces the Data Protection Regulations 2021. Outside ADGM, the federal Personal Data Protection Law is the baseline. Confirm what applies with your counsel.
Do you have an office in Abu Dhabi?
No. I have no office, address or staff in Abu Dhabi, and I don't offer in-person meetings there: I work remotely from Mumbai, and the work runs on video calls in your working day and in writing.
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