A Russian software company has invited a seven-year-old coding prodigy to join its management team, as soon as he is old enough to take up paid employment.
Sergey, from the Russian city of St. Petersburg, has made a name for himself, uploading videos showing how he has been writing software since he was five years old.
On the strength of these videos, information security firm Pro32 sent him a written job offer for the position of head of corporate training.
Under Russian law, Sergei will not be able to take up a paid role until he is 14 years old.
But Igor Mundak, chief executive of Pro32, told the BBC World Service that he had spoken to Sergei’s parents in the meantime about finding ways to cooperate.
“His father, Karel, was surprised and said [they were] Really happy and looking forward [to when] Sergey will be able to join the company,” said Mr. Mandak.
In his videos, Sergey looks fresh-faced and smiling with enthusiasm. Speaking in Russian and sometimes slightly broken English, he goes through the coding challenges step by step.
His YouTube channel has more than 3,500 subscribers, who are interested in learning the programming languages Python and Unity, or who want to hear more about neural networks, among many artificial intelligence tools.
Mr. Mandak said that Sergey showed not only remarkable developer skills but also “equally unique” skills in teaching.
“To me, he’s like Mozart.”
“I’m pretty sure that when he turns 14, he’s going to be a teaching guru and a development guru, and that’s why we’re really looking forward to that time,” he said.
Not only coders, but also salesmen, accountants and others at Moscow-based Pro32 can learn from Sergey, Mr. Mundek said.
No promises have been made on salary, yet, given that the going rate is likely to change significantly.
“We have to wait seven years,” said Mr Mandak. “Then we will definitely start negotiating about his salary.”
