Nikunj Pooniwala

Software Engineer

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India10 yrs 9 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

Over 10 years of experience in backend systems.
Expertise in distributed systems and real-time data processing.
Passionate about engineering excellence and clean architecture.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Backend Engineer specializing in Big Data and Cloud-native solutions.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

JavaSpring BootHadoop

Other Skills

API DevelopmentAngular JSAnsibleApplication Programming Interfaces (API)Application Support ManagementCC++CassandraCyber DefenseCybersecurityDOMOETLEhcacheEngineering ManagementHDFS

About

I am a seasoned software engineer with over 10 years of experience designing, building, and scaling robust, high-performance backend systems. My expertise lies at the intersection of distributed systems, real-time data processing, and modern architecture patterns. I specialize in technologies like Java, Spring Boot, Apache Kafka, Apache Spark, and cloud-native platforms, and have led critical initiatives involving data pipelines, microservices, observability, and enterprise integration. Throughout my career, I’ve successfully delivered large-scale solutions across industries, particularly in retail and big data ecosystems. I’m passionate about engineering excellence, clean architecture, and driving innovation through collaboration and continuous improvement. Whether it's optimizing a Spark job handling terabytes of data or modernizing a legacy Kafka pipeline into a resilient, event-driven architecture, I take pride in solving complex problems with clarity and precision. I thrive in high-impact environments where cross-functional teamwork, deep technical ownership, and mentorship are key to delivering value at scale. learn -> implement -> optimize -> Play

Experience

Target

2 roles

Lead Engineer

Promoted

May 2025 – Present · 10 mos

Senior Engineer

Sep 2021 – May 2025 · 3 yrs 8 mos

As a senior software engineer, I worked on the migration of a legacy identity resolution system to a new system using Janusgraph Database. I was part of the team which developed and maintained an ingestion and extraction pipeline using Java 11/18, and optimised the system for reading and writing data from the graph database. I also contributed to the development of a Graph explorer application using Angular JS and Janus graph. The purpose of the application is to query the graph database. Additionally, I built an Audit system from scratch using Hadoop 3. The system is an ETL pipeline that captures Kafka messages, reads and parses the messages, and inserts the data into a Hive table in Hadoop 3 for reporting and monitoring application metrics.
Also i have developed several spring boot API, using spring kafka, reactive pattern. cassandra reactive.
API Caching : HollowDB, EhCache, RocksDB, Spring Redis, CaffeineDB

Java 11/18Janusgraph DatabaseHadoop 3Spring BootKafkaAngular JS+4

Andor tech

Senior Software Engineer

Mar 2020 – Sep 2021 · 1 yr 6 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · On-site

Worked as a contractor for Target Corporation
Primarily responsible for legacy guest data management system (MDM)
Database used was Oracle DB
Created and maintained backend pipeline for data ingestion from upstream system to MDM via Kafka topic
Implemented system for data extraction from MDM
Developed microservices including one for data deletion (CCPA deletes)
Built an Oracle database export to load data to Hadoop
Created HQL jobs to meet marketing team's data requirements
Utilized tech stack including:
Java 8
SpringBoot
Oracle 12c
Kotlin
Shell Scripting
Hadoop 2.0
HiveQL
Oozie
Ansible
HDFS
DOMO
Kafka
kubernetes

Java 8SpringBootOracle 12cKotlinShell ScriptingHadoop 2.0+9

Tivo

Senior Engineer

Oct 2017 – Feb 2020 · 2 yrs 4 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Worked on the Data Pipeline on TiVo’s content warehouse.
Worked on Core Services which let data in and out of the system Using Java REST services.
Worked on Bulk Upload which lets data ingested to TiVo’s Metadata system.
Worked on customer specific data extracts using JAVA Spring Batch.

Ntt data

Senior Software Engineer

Jun 2015 – Oct 2017 · 2 yrs 4 mos · Bengaluru Area, India

Worked as a Java Backend developer for First Life Product.
Wrote Core REST API’s using JAVA for various Insurance Related Transactions.
Designed the Framework for Equity and Unit linked Insurance products.
Worked on bug fixing for the First Life Product.
Analyzing Information, General Programming Skills, Software Design, Software Debugging,
Software Documentation, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Software Development
Fundamentals, Software Development Process, Software Requirements, Project management.