About

Main bio

I'm Ali a civil engineer turned software builder, and the founder of Manara Ventures .

Most software people came up through computer science. I came up through civil engineering, then years of project management on marine infrastructure, and only then computer science.

Each step left me with something. Engineering taught me to respect constraints. Project management taught me how to deliver when a dozen people and a deadline are involved. Computer science gave me the tools to build the fixes I used to only complain about.

Starting on the water

I started in civil engineering, building real things in rough marine conditions. As a project manager I handled the budgets, the negotiations, and the parts nobody warns you about, like planning concrete pours around tide charts and weather windows. What stuck with me was how much time got wasted: data lived in ten different places, and good engineers spent their afternoons copy-pasting between spreadsheets.

The pivot

It became obvious the biggest improvements wouldn't come from better materials. They'd come from better information. So I went back to school for computer science and started building the tools I kept wishing I had, using AI to kill the busywork rather than to look impressive.

Starting Manara

In 2026 I founded Manara Ventures, a Vancouver consulting company at the intersection of construction operations and practical AI. I help teams figure out where AI actually pays off, build the automations and dashboards to get them there, and ship products of my own along the way. I can still sit in a site meeting and a code review on the same day, and that's the point.

what I care about

Software is for people

Every tool gets used by a real person having a real day. I build for them, not for the demo.

Plain beats clever

A simple thing that works beats a clever thing nobody understands. I reach for the boring solution first.

I own the outcome

Shipping a feature isn't the point. I care whether it actually made someone's job easier.

Start small, learn fast

I'd rather put a rough version in front of someone this week than a perfect one next quarter.

Cut what you can

Most of building well is deciding what not to build. I try to do less, better.

It has to hold up

I came from work where failure had consequences. I don't ship things I wouldn't trust.

Where I've been

Timeline

Manara Ventures

I started Manara Ventures in Vancouver to help construction and operations teams put practical AI to work: assessments, automation builds, marketing sites, and hands-on coaching. It's also where I ship my own products, like LienClock, a lien and prompt-payment deadline tracker for BC contractors.

2026 - Current

Marine Construction PM

Running marine construction projects worth millions: budgets, schedules, contractors, and the weather. This is where I learned how work actually gets delivered when a lot is on the line.

2022 - 2026

Computer Science, UBC

Went back to school to build the tools I kept wishing existed on site. Algorithms and systems by day, shipping side projects by night.

2023 - 2026

Civil Engineering

My first work was on real infrastructure: bridges and marine structures, where a mistake isn't a bug, it's a safety report. It taught me to respect constraints.

2019 - 2022
P.Eng · Vancouver, BC

Let's
Talk

The best way to work with me is through Manara Ventures, my consulting company for construction ops and practical AI. For everything else, LinkedIn is always open.

Comment

AW

Ali Wagih

Open to consulting engagements, product builds, and interesting conversations about AI for work that happens off the screen.

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