From QA Automation to Lead Product Manager — 14 Years of Building Things That Matter
Every career has a thread running through it. Mine is this: build things that work reliably, at scale, for real people.
It started in 2011 in Pune, writing automation scripts for Symantec's Data Center Security product. The work was unglamorous — test frameworks, PowerShell scripts, defect tracking. But I learned something invaluable: quality is not a phase, it's a discipline. That discipline has shaped everything I've done since.
The Architect Years (Continental, 2015–2021)
Moving to Continental as a Technical Architect was a turning point. I was given a blank canvas: build a Continuous Integration platform for automotive embedded software teams spread across the globe. We built a custom IDE, code analysis pipelines, ELK dashboards, and Jenkins plugins — from scratch, with a small team, against a ticking clock.
Six years. Six consecutive performance awards. And a deep appreciation for what it means to own infrastructure that thousands of engineers depend on daily.
The Product Turn (Siemens, 2021–2023)
When I moved to Siemens as a Technical Product Owner, I discovered my next evolution. I wasn't just building systems — I was deciding what to build and why. The Industrial Cloud and SensProducts platforms served real industries: automotive manufacturing, high-voltage energy grids. The stakes were tangible.
This is where I truly internalized the power of a well-maintained backlog and a clear product vision.
Lead Product Manager — VDO Fleet (Continental, 2023–Present)
Today, I lead product for VDO Fleet at Continental AG, Germany — a global telematics and fleet management SaaS platform serving enterprise customers across Europe. My scope spans B2B SaaS onboarding, telematics monetization, and a central billing platform integrated with SAP and Billwerk+.
The job is equal parts strategy and execution. I talk to CTOs and Directors in Germany in the morning, and review sprint backlogs with engineers in Bengaluru in the afternoon.
What's Next — AI & LLMs
My current obsession is training 3B-parameter large language models — both on cloud and on-prem hardware. I'm building domain-specific GenAI solutions: code-builder assistants, document intelligence tools, and yes — this very portfolio site is powered by Claude AI.
I believe the next decade of software will be defined by teams that can combine product intuition with AI engineering. That's exactly where I want to be.
If you'd like to discuss product management, AI engineering, or just connect — I'd love to hear from you.