Manickalai Rajan — Director of Engineering
I specialize in building and scaling product engineering teams that deliver AI-powered fintech platforms. With over a decade of hands-on experience across organizations such as IBM, ICICI, TATA AIG, and TATA-AIA, I have successfully led cross-functional engineering teams through complex initiatives — ranging from cloud-native payment systems and SaaS platforms to AI-driven solutions in Forex, remittance, lending, insurance, and digital commerce What I bring to the table: → Product Engineering Leadership — I architect, coach, and grow high-performing teams across UI, Backend, QA, DevOps, and Data Engineering. I've taken products from 0→1 and scaled them through rapid growth. → AI & Cognitive Technology — I integrate AI/ML capabilities into fintech workflows: intelligent underwriting, fraud detection, conversational AI, and predictive analytics that drive real business outcomes. → Cloud & Platform Architecture — Deep expertise across AWS, Azure, GCP, and hybrid cloud environments. I design scalable, resilient platforms built for millions of transactions. → Fintech & Payments Domain — Hands-on experience with payments infrastructure, BNPL, ONDC, and digital lending ecosystems across India's rapidly evolving financial landscape. → Startup Building & Advisory — As Founder of Lemuria and advisor to early-stage startups, I help founding teams make the right technical bets, hire smart, and build engineering culture from day one. My tech stack runs deep: Hybrid Cloud | ONDC | Cognitive technology | SaaS | ELK Stack | Payments | Fintech | Agripreneur | GenAI/LLMs I'm passionate about the intersection of AI and financial services — where intelligent systems meet real-world impact at scale. Always happy to connect with founders and tech folks in fintech or startups—whether you’re scaling engineering teams or exploring how AI can elevate your product. Let’s chat!
Stackforce AI infers this person is a Fintech expert with strong capabilities in AI and cloud architecture.
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Experience: 20 yrs 9 mos
Skills
- Product Engineering Leadership
- Cloud & Platform Architecture
- Ai & Cognitive Technology
- Startup Building & Advisory
- Engineering Management
- Solution Architecture
Career Highlights
- Expert in building AI-powered fintech platforms.
- Proven track record in leading engineering teams.
- Strong background in cloud architecture and SaaS solutions.
Work Experience
Lemuria
Seed Investor (3 yrs 5 mos)
Stealth Startup
Director of Engineering (3 yrs 7 mos)
Vymo
Engineering Manager (1 yr 3 mos)
M2P Fintech
Solutions Architect (2 yrs 6 mos)
Kadalunavu - Chennai's Leading Online Fish Market
Seed Investor (1 yr 8 mos)
IBM
Solution Architect - Hybrid Cloud (2 yrs 9 mos)
Gem3s Software Solutions
Technical Project Manager (4 yrs 9 mos)
MTS - Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd
Assistant Manager – IN & VAS (1 yr 11 mos)
Aircel Limited
Software Engineer (4 yrs)
Education
Master of Computer Application (M.C.A) at Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy
B.C.A at Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose College, Thiruvarur- 614 001.
School at V.S.BOYS'HR.SEC SCHOOL,Thiruvarur - 610 001