Interview with Bekhazi Naji, Vice President, Engineering at Synopsys. Mr. Bekhazi Naji has been working with Synopsys for almost a decade. He has visited Armenia many times, and during his recent working visit last week Synopsys Armenia PR Manager Gayane Markosyan interviewed him on his career, his work with Synopsys and Armenian site.
– Mr. Bekhazi, how did you build your career?
– I came to study to US, to do my bachelor. And I remember I bought a calculator that used to be able to program in Basic. I bought the calculator and started programming in Basic, and I started getting excited about programming and started taking more classes in programming. After that I graduated from college and there was a university center inside university that was a software center. So, they hired me as a programmer and they told me they would pay for my master’s if I worked for them, so I started working for them doing programming for financial applications. After that I discovered EDA, so I did my master’s in EDA and I got really excited about it. I started my PhD, and after my first year of PhD, I decided that I wanted to go work. So I sent out my resume to 10 companies and I got hired by National Semiconductor. This is how I started as an EDA guy and that’s how my career started.
– You have worked at different companies, what does make your experience with Synopsys different from others?
– First of all, I like to work for a company that is a leader, and Synopsys is a leader in what we do, so that’s leadership obviously. Second, I think Synopsys is one of the best managed companies, it is a very ethical company and it’s very well managed. It is a really good environment to learn new stuff; they offer opportunities, there are a lot different problems to solve. I actually used to be in EDA and then I left EDA and went to the sector of Internet and for four years I worked there. Then I came back to EDA and the reason is because the challenges in EDA are much more interesting than in the sector of Internet. In the Internet sector after 2-3 years I got bored; tasks are not tough enough. In EDA you face problems that are much more complex, much more interesting and challenging.
– What is the difference between good and great engineers?
– A great engineer would think out of the box, meaning he will come up with solutions that are not what people expect. A good engineer is somebody that has studied well, knows his things and thinks how other people expect him to thank. A great engineer would think out of the box, look at the problem, try to find innovative solutions, and come up with solutions that are implementable and make a difference. A good engineer is somebody who would do things very similar to others, whereas great engineer is somebody who would try to do it differently and in a more innovative way.
– Is there a difference between Armenian engineers and Silicon Valley engineers?
– I think in Armenia I see people working harder; they believe in things. In Silicon Valley it is mostly a job, in Armenia it is a way of life. When people come here they put their hearts into it, they believe in it, they stay till late. I come into my group here and I see them all leaving at 8 and 9 in the evening. Basically, it’s a second life for them whereas in California, it’s a workplace; they come and finish their work and go home. But people in Armenia believe in their work, put their hearts into it. From the technology point of view, I think we have great engineers in California; we have great engineers over here. I was very surprised when I was looking at different talents we have here; we have great engineers here.
– Mr. Bekhazi, what are the three words that come to your mind when you think of Armenia?
– Synopsys, the people and the food. I love the food here.
– What will you take with you this time from Armenia?
– To tell the truth, every time I come here I learn something different. The more I interact with people in my team, the more I learn from them. Every time I leave, I take something different I’ve learnt about the culture, the people about the work ethics, about the abilities of the team, and that has been a learning experience for me. I can tell you that I have learned a lot more managing the Armenian team than from managing any other team.
– What inspires you?
– Success. I have always been inspired by success. Innovation; I like to contribute to doing something good. So success and contribution inspire me.
– What was the most important decision you have made in your life?
– I think the most important decision was moving to the US, starting a new life. I am sure if I stayed where I was, I won’t be an engineer. When I actually moved to the US, I went to study engineering and it opened a new window to technology, which basically drove me to become who I am today. My high school friends stayed back home and they are not in technology, they do totally different things. But I’ll be honest with you, if I had an opportunity like people have here with Synopsys, I probably would not. But in my country, Lebanon, we had nothing like this; you could graduate as an electrical engineer or a computer engineer but there would be no work for you. But here at least people have options, they have a great university after that they get hired by Synopsys obviously but also other companies. The IT people in Armenia have a choice. So, if I would be in Armenia, I would probably stay in Armenia.
– Mr. Bekhazi, what is the biggest achievement in your life?
– Everyone that works hard wants to achieve something. So I think that from the prospective of my career it’s a big achievement where I am, and hopefully it is not the end of it.
Interviewed by Gayane Markosyan
Head of Synopsys Armenia company PR department