Aravind Palanisami

Senior Software Engineer

Seattle, Washington, United States15 yrs 9 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchAI ML Practitioner

Key Highlights

Led teams to deliver innovative AI shopping solutions.
Generated over $250M in revenue through AI recommendations.
Directed immersive virtual store projects for top brands.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in E-Commerce and Cloud Computing, specializing in AI-driven solutions.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

E-commerceEngineering ManagementSoftware EngineeringCloud Computing

Other Skills

Software Management3DAIGenAIReality CaptureSynthetic SpacesAgile MethodologiesAmazon Web Services (AWS)Machine LearningAWSCloudWatchScalabilityBackend APIsBackend DevelopmentC#

About

Senior Software Engineering Manager at Amazon, leading 35+ builders to deliver AI-, GenAI-, and 3D immersive-powered shopping experiences that delight customers and drive business impact. In the last six years, I’ve overseen the tech teams behind multiple zero-to-one products: 1. Elevated brand experiences: Built GenAI image recommendations, full 3D stores, and immersive tools like View in 3D for Amazon’s premium and luxury brands, including Nike and Saks Fifth Avenue. 2. Cross-category furniture recommendations: Developed an AI-powered system that helps customers create complete living spaces, generating $250M+ in revenue. 3. Amazon Beyond: Directed development of a platform enabling brands like Lego, Samsung, Disney, and Breville to launch immersive virtual stores, including digital twins of physical stores and thematic synthetic spaces. Earlier in my career, I was an engineer at AWS, contributing to CloudWatch and building a zero-to-one learning platform, and at Microsoft, working on Office and Windows Phone. With 17+ years of software engineering experience, a Master’s in Computer Science, and two AWS certifications, I thrive at the intersection of AI, customer experience, and scalable engineering, turning innovative ideas into products that transform how people shop and learn.

Experience

15 yrs 9 mos

Total Experience

3 yrs 11 mos

Average Tenure

6 yrs 10 mos

Current Experience

Amazon

3 roles

Senior Software Engineering Manager

Promoted

Dec 2024 – Present · 1 yr 5 mos · Seattle, Washington, United States

In my role driving Elevated Brand Experiences for Amazon’s Premium & Luxury category, I lead a team of 35+ builders to create AI-, GenAI-, and 3D immersive-powered solutions for top brands, including Nike and Saks Fifth Avenue. I own and deliver three core capabilities to elevate brand shopping journeys:
1. Gen AI based Image Shopping
We use GenAI to generate images, which are then made shoppable through image detection and matching AI models. This enables highly personalized and engaging product discovery experiences.
2. Amazon Beyond - Virtual Shopping Experience
I lead the tech team behind Amazon Beyond, a platform that empowers brands to create immersive virtual stores. Amazon Beyond introduces a new way for customers to browse and shop by enabling brands to build shoppable retail spaces on Amazon. We drive this innovation through two key strategies: Reality Capture, which creates digital twins of physical stores, and Synthetic Spaces, which allow brands to design thematic virtual storefronts for unique and engaging shopping experiences.
3. 3D Immersive Evaluation Tools
We provide tools like View in 3D and Virtual Try-On for eyewear and makeup, allowing customers to explore products in rich detail before purchase.
By combining these capabilities, I help premium and luxury brands deliver bespoke, engaging, and highly personalized shopping experiences, bridging the gap between physical and digital retail.

E-CommerceEngineering ManagementSoftware Management3DAIGenAI

Senior Software Engineering Manager

Jan 2022 – Dec 2024 · 2 yrs 11 mos · Seattle, Washington, United States

I led the tech team behind Amazon Beyond, a platform that empowers brands like Lego, Samsung, Disney, and Breville to create immersive shopping experiences. Amazon Beyond introduces a new way for customers to browse and shop by enabling brands to build virtual shoppable retail spaces on Amazon.
We drive this innovation through two key strategies:
1. Reality Capture – Providing technology and services that allow brands to create digital twin experiences of their existing brick-and-mortar stores.
2. Synthetic Spaces – Enabling brands to design thematic virtual storefronts, creating unique and engaging shopping environments.
Excited to shape the future of e-commerce by bridging the gap between physical and digital retail!

Software ManagementE-CommerceEngineering ManagementAgile Methodologies3DAmazon Web Services (AWS)

Software Engineering Manager

Jul 2019 – Apr 2022 · 2 yrs 9 mos · Seattle, Washington, United States

I led products that enhance the furniture shopping experience at Amazon by helping customers discover and evaluate products more effectively.
1. Cross-Category Stylistic Recommendations
I built and scaled the tech team that designed and delivered Amazon’s AI/ML-powered cross-category stylistic recommendation systems. Starting from a 0→1 experiment, we launched, scaled, and expanded worldwide—helping customers discover complementary products, such as finding a chair that matches the style of their couch or curating a fully coordinated living space. These systems now leverage advanced algorithms to personalize and optimize the shopping journey at scale, driving $250MM+ in revenue.
2. Amazon 360 - Developed interactive 360-degree product experiences, allowing customers to explore items in rich detail, evaluate textures, dimensions, and finishes, and make more informed purchase decisions.
I am passionate about leveraging AI and immersive technologies to innovate and transform how customers shop for furniture online.

AIMachine Learning3DE-CommerceSoftware Engineering

Amazon web services (aws)

2 roles

Senior Software Development Engineer

Jun 2018 – Jul 2019 · 1 yr 1 mo · Seattle, Washington, United States · On-site

Led a migration project in AWS CloudWatch, AWS's monitoring service, to enhance scalability and efficiency. Successfully migrated the search indices powering highly scaled public APIs from proprietary technology to AWS-native solutions across 20+ AWS regions.
This initiative improved performance, reduced operational overhead, and aligned CloudWatch with AWS's native ecosystem.

AWSCloudWatchScalabilityCloud ComputingSoftware Engineering

Software Development Engineer II

Dec 2015 – Jun 2018 · 2 yrs 6 mos · Seattle, Washington, United States · On-site

As one of the lead engineers on the AWS Training team, I played a key role in launching AWS Training & Certification (www.aws.training), the learning management system (LMS) portal through which AWS sells training to customers.
I primarily worked on backend APIs and infrastructure, focusing on e-commerce, subscriptions, and workflows. The system successfully launched to external customers in 2018 and continues to be used internally at Amazon.

AWSE-CommerceBackend APIsSoftware Engineering

Microsoft

3 roles

Software Development Engineer II

Jan 2014 – Dec 2015 · 1 yr 11 mos · Redmond, Washington, United States · On-site

Designed and developed services for the Microsoft Windows Phone update pipeline, enabling Microsoft and OEMs to publish updates across various Windows Phone devices. While Windows Phone was discontinued, the underlying infrastructure remains in use today, continuing to power Windows updates.

Software Development Engineer

Promoted

Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 · 2 yrs · Redmond, Washington, United States · On-site

Skype for Business (Lync 2013):
Owned testing for Large Meetings (1,000+ users) in Lync 2013 (Skype for Business). Developed tools for log collection, analysis, and performance testing, ensuring scalability and reliability. The results of this work were featured in a public white paper, helping customers optimize large-scale meetings.
Skype Windows Store App – FacePaint:
Worked as a developer on an experimental project aimed at making Skype calls more interactive. The project leveraged Microsoft Research’s face-tracking technology to render virtual stamps on users during calls. Built on Azure, this innovation explored new ways to enhance video communication.

Software Engineer

Jun 2011 – Aug 2011 · 2 mos · Redmond, Washington, United States · On-site

Designed and developed a tool that monitors user actions in Microsoft Office Lync 2013, collecting data on application flow. This data was then used to automatically generate test case code, streamlining the testing process and improving efficiency.

Oregon state university college of business

Software Developer

Jan 2011 – Dec 2011 · 11 mos · Corvallis, Oregon, United States · On-site

Developed features for a web application used by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for road monitoring, dispatch, and other key functions. The platform helps ODOT streamline operations and manage infrastructure effectively.

Cognizant

Technical Analyst - ERP

Mar 2009 – Aug 2010 · 1 yr 5 mos · Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India · On-site

Worked on feature development for the PeopleSoft CRM application, which is used to auto-collect tolls in Germany. I optimized SQL queries, improving application performance by ~70% on certain pages, enhancing user experience and system efficiency.