Jun 2021 – Aug 2025 · 4 yrs 2 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

• Global Project Execution: Led end-to-end Embedded firmware System on chip project management, optimizing processes and reducing delivery time by 20%, accelerating time-to-market for complex, high-demand SoC projects.
• Architectural Oversight: Directed architectural alignment for data server firmware, ensuring seamless integration with hardware for scalable, high-performance solutions across global time zones.
• Cross-Functional Strategy: Partnered with hardware/software teams to align project goals with broader business objectives, improving reliability and achieving competitive firmware performance.
• Cost Optimization: Developed a unified test automation framework, cutting manual testing and saving $500K annually by streamlining firmware validation—enhancing product quality and delivery timelines.
• Quality Assurance Leadership: Established rigorous QA protocols, driving product reliability and regulatory compliance, reinforcing customer trust.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Maintained transparent communication with leadership, proactively managing project updates, risks, and KPIs to support timely, informed decision-making.
• Executive Communication & Stakeholder Engagement: Delivered clear, data-driven reports on project metrics, risks, and KPI performance to executive leadership, strengthening trust and enabling strategic decision-making.
• Agility in Change Management: Successfully navigated changes in project scope and industry demands, leveraging agile methodologies to maintain project momentum and ensure alignment with evolving business priorities.
• Mentorship & Talent Development: Established and grew an engineering team in Bangalore, recruitment, training, and mentoring to build a key technical hub. Focused on talent retention and professional development to sustain long-term team growth and stability.
• Recognition: Awarded AMD Spotlight Award (Q3-2022) for exceptional contributions to data server SoC projects, reflecting my commitment to quality and innovation.

Mar 2018 – Jun 2021 · 3 yrs 3 mos · India

• Directed a high-performing team of 20+ engineers in developing and optimizing embedded firmware for SSD NAND storage solutions, driving $275 million in revenue and strengthening Western Digital's market position in SoC-based storage technology.
• Strategic Firmware Leadership: Led complex, multi-year firmware projects, aligning with long-term product roadmaps and ensuring that firmware design anticipated future market needs.
• Cross-Functional Influence and Collaboration: Orchestrated collaboration across ASIC, SoC, hardware, and sales teams, driving architectural decisions that improved CPU performance by 24% and reduced SoC power consumption by 8%. Earned the Western Digital Gold Award for leadership excellence.
• Customer Engagement and Market Responsiveness: Led strategic OEM engagements, gathering actionable insights to drive targeted firmware improvements, delivering a 15% performance boost and resolving critical issues three weeks early.
• Operational Efficiency and Innovation: Introduced data movement optimizations and latency-reduction strategies, enhancing high-performance product capabilities. Implemented power-saving algorithms, ensuring competitiveness in demanding applications.
• Architectural and Technical Oversight: Provided architectural direction for SoC-based firmware, ensuring seamless integration across hardware and firmware layers. Enhanced team focus on scalability, efficiency, and modular design.
• Resource Management and Cost Control: Optimized resource allocation, reducing overhead and delivering firmware projects on budget. Established productivity metrics that drove a 20% increase in team efficiency.
• Executive Communication and Strategic Reporting: Delivered strategic updates to executive leadership, highlighting key project milestones, risk assessments, and resource needs, ensuring alignment with company goals.
• Recognition: Awarded the Western Digital Gold Award in 2019 for strategic leadership, innovation, and operational impact.

Jan 2015 – Jan 2018 · 3 yrs · Bengaluru Area, India

• Led key initiatives in developing and optimizing embedded firmware and device drivers for Intel’s GNSS solutions, setting new industry standards in quality and performance while advancing Intel’s leadership in embedded systems.
• Key Responsibilities and Achievements:
• Directed the architecture, development, and deployment of Intel's GNSS device drivers, achieving Windows Hardware Lab Kit (HLK) certification—an industry first that boosted product quality by 42%.
• Partnered with SoC, hardware, and validation teams to drive critical design decisions, ensuring seamless firmware and SoC integration that met stringent performance standards.
• Spearheaded low-level optimizations for GNSS device drivers, improving system efficiency by 13% through enhanced kernel routines and optimized SoC interactions.
• Maintained proactive communication with key stakeholders, providing insights on project milestones, technical risks, and opportunities, which facilitated timely decision-making and resource alignment.
• Established and enforced robust QA protocols and industry standards, positioning Intel as the first vendor to secure Windows HLK certification and reinforcing Intel’s commitment to quality.
• Mentored a team of engineers in advanced driver development techniques, fostering technical growth and establishing best practices that supported team excellence and resilience in complex projects.
• Innovation and Strategic Impact: Contributed to Intel’s strategic roadmap by identifying opportunities for cross-functional improvements, establishing Intel’s GNSS firmware as an industry benchmark in quality and performance.
• Recognition: Honored with Intel’s Divisional Award for leadership in firmware and stakeholder management, underscoring a commitment to innovation and excellence in embedded systems.

Sep 2011 – Jan 2015 · 3 yrs 4 mos · India

• Contributed to the development of reliable, high-performance embedded firmware and device drivers for automotive microcontrollers, supporting Infineon’s reputation for quality and innovation in the automotive industry.
• Key Responsibilities and Achievements:
• Embedded Firmware and Driver Development: Designed low-level device drivers and a custom RTOS for automotive microcontrollers, meeting AUTOSAR and ISO 26262 safety standards. Developed drivers for peripherals, including I2C, UART, SPI, ADC, and GPIO, to support seamless system integration.
• Board Support Package (BSP) Creation: Developed a BSP to provide essential support for SoC components, simplifying driver deployment and enhancing compatibility across Infineon’s automotive platforms.
• Process Improvement and Automation: Created a traceability automation tool that reduced testing time by approximately 10 days per feature, streamlining the verification process and improving efficiency in automotive applications.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Worked closely with hardware and validation teams to address integration challenges, ensuring that device drivers met performance and compatibility requirements across different SoC platforms.
• Quality Assurance and Testing: Conducted thorough unit testing and validation of device drivers to meet rigorous automotive industry standards, contributing to the reliability and safety of Infineon’s embedded solutions.
• Technical Documentation and Reporting: Provided detailed documentation and regular progress updates, ensuring that team members and stakeholders had clear insights into development progress, challenges, and solutions.
• Automated Traceability which saved around 10 days per Module and increased productivity.
• Designed and developed a small, efficient custom Real-Time Operating system (RTOS) for the Aurix microcontroller which resulted in a successful customer demo.

Jun 2009 – Sep 2011 · 2 yrs 3 mos · bangalore

• Developed critical embedded firmware, Low level Device Driver solutions for automotive battery monitoring systems, enhancing Analog Devices' offerings in high-reliability embedded applications for automotive environments.
• Key Responsibilities and Achievements:
• Firmware and Driver Development: Designed and implemented low-level, bare-metal device drivers for ARM Cortex-M3 microcontrollers, including essential peripherals such as I2C, UART, ADC, Watchdog Timer, GPT, and GPIO, ensuring efficient hardware-software interaction for robust automotive applications.
• Board Support Package (BSP) Development: Created a BSP to support SoC components, streamlining driver integration and enabling easy deployment across different embedded platforms, optimizing system compatibility and functionality.
• Conducted extensive unit testing on device drivers to ensure functionality, reliability, and compliance with automotive industry standards, contributing to product reliability and customer satisfaction.
• Coordinated with hardware and validation teams to integrate and troubleshoot drivers across diverse system setups, addressing compatibility issues and optimizing driver performance for automotive environments.
• Maintained detailed technical documentation for all driver development activities, ensuring clarity and knowledge sharing across teams, as well as providing regular project updates to stakeholders.