Rahul Sawhney

Engineering Manager

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India11 yrs 7 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

Led a 20-person engineering team at Microsoft.
Drove significant cost savings through resource governance.
Architected Azure SQL Free DB offering, enhancing user experience.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Cloud Computing expert with a focus on database solutions and team leadership.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

LeadershipEngineering ManagementDatabase DevelopmentCloud ComputingProject ManagementProduct KnowledgeSoftware Development

Other Skills

Team LeadershipTeam ManagementSQL AzureProblem SolvingTechnical RequirementsTime ManagementLeadership DevelopmentTeam BuildingPeople ManagementOperational ExcellenceEmployee Learning & DevelopmentCommunicationIOTData StructuresAngularJS

About

As Principal Software Engineering Manager at Microsoft, I lead a manager-of-managers organization within Azure SQL, focusing on platform efficiency, serverless experiences, and product-led growth. With over a decade of experience in the tech industry, I manage two core platform pillars: Azure SQL Resource Governance and Azure SQL Serverless, enabling improvements in performance and cost optimization. My work emphasizes project management, cross-functional team leadership, and fostering an inclusive and diverse culture of technical excellence. By collaborating with talented individuals, I contribute to building scalable solutions aligned with organizational goals, while driving innovation and growth in the cloud-based database domain.

Experience

11 yrs 7 mos

Total Experience

2 yrs 9 mos

Average Tenure

4 mos

Current Experience

Google

Engineering Manager 2

Feb 2026 – Present · 4 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · Hybrid

Team LeadershipTeam ManagementLeadershipEngineering Management

Microsoft

2 roles

Principal Software Engineering Manager

Sep 2024 – Jan 2026 · 1 yr 4 mos · On-site

I’m a Principal Software Engineering Manager leading a manager‑of‑managers organization in Azure SQL, focused on platform efficiency, serverless experiences, and product‑led growth. I grew the team from 3 engineers to an ~20‑person org, hiring exceptional new talent while developing and promoting internal talent, and cultivating an inclusive, diverse culture with clear ownership, coaching, and technical excellence.
I drive two core platform pillars:
Azure SQL Resource Governance — managing CPU, memory, and disk at node level, plus Overbooking to maximize utilization and deliver $xx Million annual COGS savings while maintaining SLAs.
Azure SQL Serverless — owning Database Pause/Resume, resource reclamation, and Proactive Pause/Resume to address slow startup and deliver a responsive, cost‑efficient experience at scale.
From the serverless side, I also architected and led the Azure SQL Free DB offering, building activation funnels and telemetry‑driven guardrails that enabled a consistent 10× increase in net‑new database creation and attracted & retained new customers through a smoother first‑run experience.
I care deeply about scaling leaders, shipping outcomes (not just features), and measuring what matters—linking engineering rigor to business impact.

Team LeadershipTechnical RequirementsLeadershipEngineering Management

Senior Software Engineering Manager

Jun 2021 – Sep 2024 · 3 yrs 3 mos · On-site

Managing and Leading Azure SQL Resource Governance and Azure SQL Serverless teams. The team develops the cutting edge technology to improve performance and reducing COGS as well as governing the resources for both PaaS and SaaS offerings

Technical RequirementsProblem SolvingDatabase DevelopmentCloud Computing