Sumitha Susan Raj

CTO

Canada20 yrs 3 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

Over 15 years of experience in data center networking.
Expert in validating complex networking protocols.
Passionate about mentoring engineers and improving product reliability.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Networking Infrastructure Specialist focused on data center solutions and system testing.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

NetworkingData CentersVxlanBgpSystem TestingQuality AssuranceFcoeLoad Balancing

Other Skills

Cisco NexusPython (Programming Language)BGP-EVPNNexus 9000SpirentIxiaNDFCSAN InsightsNexus 9KFibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)Test plansAutomation testingCarrier Ethernet SolutionLayer 2 featuresBorder Gateway Protocol (BGP)

About

As a Technical Leader at Cisco with over 15 years of experience, I focus on data center networking, system testing, and product verification. I am committed to ensuring the quality and reliability of Cisco’s innovative networking solutions. I have a strong background in validating Data center protocols, including VxLAN, BGP-EVPN, L2/L3 routing, OSPF, FCoE, PFC, vPC, and VLAN. My work spans feature testing, scale validation, and system integration, and I’ve designed and executed complex test environments across Nexus 9K/7K/2K, ACI, MDS, UCS, and Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) ecosystems. I have hands-on experience with traffic tools such as Spirent, Ixia, JDSU, and Sanblaze. I also collaborate with development, TME, and customer-facing teams to troubleshoot issues, validate end-to-end solutions, and support customer-focused testing initiatives. I am a certified networking professional with an active CCNP Datacenter and multiple Cisco specialist certifications, and I strongly believe in continuous learning and staying current with emerging technologies. I enjoy solving complex technical problems, improving product reliability, and mentoring engineers. I’m passionate about datacenter systems and building robust, scalable solutions that meet real-world customer needs.

Experience

20 yrs 3 mos

Total Experience

10 yrs 1 mo

Average Tenure

Current Experience

Cisco

4 roles

Software Engineering Technical Leader

Feb 2026 – Present · 4 mos

Project: Enterprise Switching

NetworkingCisco NexusData CentersPython (Programming Language)

Software Engineering Technical Leader

Promoted

Jun 2021 – Feb 2026 · 4 yrs 8 mos

August 2023 – Present
Project: Nexus 9K VxLAN Feature Testing
Feature verification of VxLAN BGP-EVPN on Cisco Nexus 9000 platforms
Validated key features: Tenant Routed Multicast (TRM) for TTL1, VxLAN with IPv6 underlay - single-site and multi-site, and Security Group ACLs – Port Vlan and Interface mappings, URIB streaming with SGTAGs.
Conducted POC validation for RoCEv2 with Spirent and Ixia.
Collaborated with the dev team for validation of RoCEv2 on ACI.
Designed and executed test plans and regression tests.
Collaborated with developers and customer account teams for issue reproduction and resolution
June 2021 – July 2023
Project: Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) – System Testing
Led system verification of SAN Insights telemetry at scale (up to 1 million flows)
Validated NDFC cluster deployments (virtual, physical, and bare-metal).
Tested L3 HA and disaster recovery configurations
Integrated Nexus Dashboard Insights with Nexus 9K (standalone and ACI)
Served as Feature Lead for Device Connector (MDS) and Adoption Telemetry on Intersight/Nexus Cloud
Automated NDFC installations using REST APIs (Python)

VxLANBGP-EVPNNexus 9000SpirentIxiaBGP

Senior Software Quality Assurance Engineer

Aug 2012 – May 2021 · 8 yrs 9 mos

Design and Develop Test plans and topologies (Core-Edge-Core and Spine-Leaf topology) for verification of Cisco’s Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Solution for various products including MDS 9k, Nexus 2567k, Nexus 9k in standalone and ACI mode, DCNM-SAN, Network Insights Base, SAN Insights Discovery
Ensure the quality of the solution through rigorous System, Regression, Upgrade and automation testing for various Development and maintenance releases.
Participate in Test plan reviews and give feedback to team based on customer issues seen.
Configured various devices like UCS C-series and B-series chassis which are used as end hosts, managing hosts with vCenter, deploying VMs on the server and using tools like DIT, vdbench, iperf to send traffic, RAID configuration on UCS C-Series, basic storage configuration on EMC and Netapp,

Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)Test plansAutomation testingQuality AssuranceFCoE

Software Quality Assurance Engineer

May 2010 – Aug 2012 · 2 yrs 3 mos

Product: Cisco ACE (Application Control Engine) Load balancer
The Cisco ACE Module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers is a next-generation load-balancing and application-delivery solution
Developed and executed test plans for the verification of Load Balance features for multiple development and maintenance releases of Cisco ACE
Worked on features like server load balance hash algorithms, Max connections, failover, sticky server farm etc.

Load BalancingTest plansQuality Assurance

Infosys technologies ltd

Technology Lead

Sep 2005 – Apr 2010 · 4 yrs 7 mos

Client: Nortel Networks
Product: Metro Ethernet Routing Switch and Secure Router
Developed and executed test plans for verification of Carrier Ethernet Solution and Layer 2 features for Secure Router
Worked on features like MAC learning on the UNI, TDI/I-SID, ARP, VLAN, Link Aggregation, IPv6 Path MTU and hop limit

Carrier Ethernet SolutionLayer 2 featuresQuality AssuranceNetworking