Mukesh Kumar Rai
Pune
Summary
Strategic technical architect with over 16 years of experience in developing enterprise solutions in Cyber Security, SASE(Cato Fortinet & Zscaler), ZTNA, and SD-WAN technologies. Proven expertise in Routing & Switching, Infrastructure Security, Storage, and Cloud services including AWS, Azure, and GCP. Seeking to transition into Consulting or Lead Architect roles to utilize skills in technical discovery and value realization while fostering executive partnerships.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Technical Lead Sales Engineer – SASE Solutions
Cato Networks
06.2024 - Current
- Experienced Technical lead in Pre-Sales Engineering specializing in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions, delivering tailored solution designs, and PoCs for Cato Networks’ SASE platform.
- Enable Customer’s network and security requirements into scalable cloud-native SASE architectures, supporting seamless transitions from legacy MPLS and VPN solutions.
- Having adept at understanding intricate customer requirements, mapping them into innovative SASE architectures, and effectively communicating the value proposition through tailored product demonstrations.
- Proven ability to serve as a primary technical advisor and subject matter expert throughout the enterprise sales cycle.
- Act as the technical lead in pre-sales engagements with CATO R&D and product engineering teams for SD-WAN, ZTNA, SWG, CASB, DLP, XDR, DEM, and NGFW.
- Collaborate with Sales to align customers’ technical strategy with CATO’s business goals, and drive successful deal closures for a deal value of approximately. QRR upto $1Mn.
- Experience selling network infrastructure-based security appliances, including, but not limited to, firewalls, SSL/IPSec VPNs, security proxies, and caches.
- Strong analytical skills, ability to analyze complex problems, and use a systematic approach to gain quick resolution.
Principal System Engineer (SME – SDWAN, SASE, ZTNA, Firewall & Threat Protection Solution)
Fortinet
03.2022 - 06.2024
- Strategic technical leader with a strong focus on secure network modernization, specializing in the design and implementation of enterprise-grade Fortinet SD-WAN and SASE architectures for Large Enterprise Customers.
- Demonstrated success in leveraging FortiGate, FortiSASE, FortiManager, and FortiAnalyzer to deploy SD-WAN overlays, dynamic routing, and application-aware traffic steering with robust NGFW integration, enabling significant network transformations for customer specific requirement and Solution in discussion.
- Implemented Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) frameworks to replace legacy VPNs, ensuring secure, identity-based access to applications and data.
Presales Consultant (SME – SDWAN)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
06.2018 - 03.2022
- Experienced technical professional providing end-to-end SD-WAN solutions and L3/L4 support for a global customer base, including design, implementation, troubleshooting, and cloud management (AWS/Azure).
- Expertise in understanding customer needs, managing escalations (Silver Peak), and leveraging WAN-OP technologies to deliver results.
- Delivered customer-centric engineering solution with tailored SD-WAN solutions and services (including Silver Peak), and delivering comprehensive L3/L4 support to over 1000 global customers.
Lead Support Engineer (TAC for CloudGenix SD-WAN Deployment/Customer Success Engineer)
GSLAB
11.2017 - 06.2018
- Successfully supported over 250 customers tickets/ queries with L3/L4 SD-WAN expertise, encompassing end-to-end solution design and implementation across diverse environments.
- Managed critical network infrastructure (VPN/BGP), led router migrations to SD-WAN fabric, and ensured secure and functional multi-site deployments through controller deployment (on-premise /AWS) and firewall configuration (Checkpoint/ASA).
Senior Principal Infrastructure Engineer
Mphasis
09.2015 - 11.2017
- Managed day-to-day data center activities and oversaw security policies for a Checkpoint VSX firewall (managed by Provider-1).
- Proficient in network problem resolution, root cause analysis (RCA), and ensuring 24x7 availability of services and infrastructure across multiple locations.
- Successfully managed the deployment and configuration of new SD-WAN solutions in client data centers and over 50+ branch locations, including policy configuration.
Senior Engineer (Sustaining Engineer)
Prorigo Software (TAC)
07.2013 - 08.2015
- Managed product sustaining engineering, prioritizing customer issue resolution and implementing solutions.
- Gathered feature requirements and designed/implemented firewall rules (Checkpoint/Cisco) and network infrastructure.
- Administered firewall systems, implemented DNS/DHCP, tracked bugs, and conducted comprehensive testing.
- Contributed to product enhancement and knowledge base creation.
QA Engineer
Calsoft
06.2012 - 06.2013
- Detail-oriented tester with a strong understanding of software testing principles and experience with VMware, Hyper-V, and Blue-Arc NAS storage.
- Adept at developing, reviewing, and executing test cases, managing defects, and providing knowledge transfer.
- Experienced in manual testing (ad-hoc, smoke, sanity) of NAS protocols (CIFS, NFS), data replication/migration, and identifying critical test scenarios.
- Proficient in utilizing Mercury quality center/Woggle for bug tracking and preparing status reports.
Associate IT Engineer
NDNTech
07.2009 - 06.2012
- Responsible for ensuring reliable high-speed server internet connectivity with integrated firewall security.
- Proactively managed internet access, transport, routing, and filtering, while collaborating with service providers to resolve network incidents.
- Implemented strategies to reduce network errors and downtime.
- Proficient in managing Cisco networking infrastructure across optical fiber and Cat6 environments, with expertise in LAN device configuration and troubleshooting.
Education
BCA -
RDVV University
HSC -
Madhya Pradesh State Board
SSC -
Madhya Pradesh State Board
Skills
- SASE architecture
- SD-WAN design
- Zero Trust network access
- Cloud management
Notable Certifications
- CCIE Security Certified
- CISM
- Cato-SASE expert
- Fortinet certified solution specialist -SDWAN Architect
- AWS Certified Solution Architect Professional
- Zscaler Certified Cloud Professional
Timeline
Technical Lead Sales Engineer – SASE Solutions
Cato Networks
06.2024 - Current
Principal System Engineer (SME – SDWAN, SASE, ZTNA, Firewall & Threat Protection Solution)
Fortinet
03.2022 - 06.2024
Presales Consultant (SME – SDWAN)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
06.2018 - 03.2022
Lead Support Engineer (TAC for CloudGenix SD-WAN Deployment/Customer Success Engineer)
GSLAB
11.2017 - 06.2018
Senior Principal Infrastructure Engineer
Mphasis
09.2015 - 11.2017
Senior Engineer (Sustaining Engineer)
Prorigo Software (TAC)
07.2013 - 08.2015
QA Engineer
Calsoft
06.2012 - 06.2013
Associate IT Engineer
NDNTech
07.2009 - 06.2012
BCA -
RDVV University
HSC -
Madhya Pradesh State Board
SSC -
Madhya Pradesh State Board
Similar Profiles
Marco TAIEBMarco TAIEB
Sales Development Team Leader at CATO NetworksSales Development Team Leader at CATO Networks
Shiri AmitShiri Amit
Director of Marketing Operations at Cato NetworksDirector of Marketing Operations at Cato Networks
Ronen JaffaRonen Jaffa
Security Engineer at Cato NetworksSecurity Engineer at Cato Networks
Pratik KawanePratik Kawane
Senior DevOps Engineer at KPIT Technologies LtdSenior DevOps Engineer at KPIT Technologies Ltd
Vaibhav R. KhedikarVaibhav R. Khedikar
Salesforce Developer at Hexaware TechnologiesSalesforce Developer at Hexaware Technologies