PRAJESH THANKAPPAN
Mumbai
Summary
Strategic technology modernization leader and technical program manager with over 19 years of experience, including 9 years leading large-scale cloud modernization transformations from on-premise to Azure multi-tenant environments. Skilled in aligning technical initiatives with business objectives, fostering collaboration across cross-functional teams, and implementing DevSecOps practices. Proficient in managing complex program budgets and timelines for seamless cloud modernization projects, prioritizing exceptional software quality and reliability. Strong foundation in QA and test automation, including development and implementation of advanced automation frameworks. Passionate about AI-driven testing, large language models (LLMs), and DevOps practices, with knowledge in Azure ML and cloud-based AI applications. Continuously driving process improvements, defect reduction, and data-driven decision-making to enhance software quality, reliability, and scalability.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Engineering Manager
DUCKCREEK TECHNOLOGIES SOFTWARE INC
02.2016 - Current
- Orchestrated the technical program management for a 7-year cloud transformation, migrating a legacy on-premise product to a multi-tenant Azure platform, fostering collaboration across diverse engineering and product teams
- Managed the technical roadmap and execution of the Azure cloud migration, coordinating with Product Management, Account Management, Infrastructure, Operations, and Technical Architecture teams to ensure alignment and successful delivery
- Facilitated cross-functional collaboration to implement DevSecOps practices, integrating tools like Snyk, Splunk, and Grafana, driving security and observability enhancements within the Azure environment
- Drove the collaborative implementation of shift-left testing strategies, working with development and QA teams to integrate automated testing into the CI/CD pipeline, improving software quality and release velocity
- Coordinated the design and implementation of infrastructure-as-code (IaC) solutions using Azure native services, fostering collaboration among infrastructure and development teams to automate provisioning and management
- Served as the central point of contact for technical program updates, facilitating communication and resolving dependencies across multiple teams to ensure timely and effective cloud migration progress
- Managed and coordinated the migration of complex data workloads to the Azure cloud, working closely with data engineering and operations teams to ensure data integrity, availability, and performance
- Collaboratively developed and maintained comprehensive documentation for cloud architecture, deployment processes, and operational procedures, ensuring knowledge sharing and streamlined operations
- Partnered with security and compliance teams to implement best practices and standards within the Azure environment, ensuring adherence to industry regulations and data protection policies
- Facilitated collaborative optimization of Azure resource utilization and cost management strategies, working with engineering and finance teams to achieve significant operational efficiencies
- Served as a presales engineer, collaborating with sales and marketing teams to provide technical expertise and demonstrations, translating complex technical concepts into compelling value propositions for potential clients
- Developed and managed program budgets and cost estimations, ensuring financial accountability and resource optimization throughout the cloud transformation initiative
- Defined and executed recruitment strategies, including sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding technical talent to support the expanding cloud engineering team
- Managed the recruitment process for technical positions, ensuring the acquisition of skilled professionals to meet the project's evolving needs
- Headed overall QA and Test Automation activities, driving the implementation of comprehensive test strategies and automation frameworks to ensure software quality and reliability
- Technology stack: ASP.Net(MVC) C#, SQL Server, XML, Entity Framework, Jscript, Python, Azure PAAS, Snyk Splunk, Grafana
- Product Involved – Claims, Policy, Billing, AgencyPort, Distribution Management
Senior Consultant –GuideWire TCOE
Capgemini
11.2012 - 02.2016
- Oversaw end-to-end test management by developing an automation test approach in 20 days and expanded the team by 600% in 3 years
- Successfully expanded from 1 LOB to 5 LOBs and generated revenue of ~3 M USD, for Guidewire ClaimsCenter, PolicyCenter, and ContactCenter implementations
- Displayed excellence in project management by sprint planning and estimation, coordination with stakeholders, designing framework using Protractor and UFT, developing guidelines, and handling change management demands
- Developed and deployed change management strategy, process, tools, etc
- Handled escalations from business owners, IT Business Partners, program managers, delivery managers, etc
- Led status reporting & set KPI metrics at the enterprise level and ensured changes are compliant with ICS SoX standards
- Helmed presales for the general insurance vertical specifically for
- Product Involved: Guidewire ClaimsCenter, PolicyCenter, ContactCenter
SAP Test Automation Lead
ACCENTURE SERVICES
08.2010 - 11.2012
- Developed the test framework and collaborated with 6 agile teams, while leading a team of 4 members
- Implemented the Test Automation framework using UFT, SAP TAO for Cargill US for their Logistics execution, Supply chain Management project using SAP MM, SD, FI CO, PP, QM, TM
- Effectively coordinated between teams to identify and mitigate risks
Senior Software Engineer
MINDTREE
02.2007 - 08.2010
- Designed and implemented a structured automation framework for Symantec BESR, leveraging NUnit and custom scripting, increasing test coverage by 40% and reducing manual testing efforts by 60%
- Developed automated validation scripts for bare-metal recovery, hardware-independent restore (HIR), and P2V conversions, improving system recovery validation efficiency by 50% and reducing post-release defects by 30%
- Implemented early structured testing methodologies, incorporating data-driven and keyword-driven automation approaches, which laid the groundwork for future BDD adoption and enhanced test reusability
- Optimized VSS snapshot testing and disk imaging validation using automation frameworks and VM-based virtualization, ensuring 100% backup integrity and achieving 99.9% success rate in disaster recovery simulations
- Gained deep expertise in VM-based virtualization technologies by automating image creation and system recovery processes, building a strong foundation that later facilitated the transition to modern containerized environments like Docker and Kubernetes
Test Engineer
RELQ PVT.LTD(Acquired by HP)
05.2005 - 02.2007
- Executed functional and compatibility testing across PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC platforms, ensuring 100% compliance with first-party certification standards (Sony TRC, Microsoft TCR)
- Conducted performance and stress testing using PIX (Performance Investigator for Xbox) and FRAPS, identifying frame rate drops, memory leaks, and rendering issues, leading to a 30% improvement in gameplay stability
- Developed and maintained automation scripts using Lua and in-house testing tools, reducing manual regression testing efforts by 40% and accelerating test execution for game releases
- Tested games across diverse hardware configurations by benchmarking performance with 3DMark and system profiling tools, ensuring optimized gameplay across various GPU, CPU, and RAM setups
- Identified and reported critical game crashes using Visual Studio Debugger and crash dump analyzers, helping reduce post-launch defects by 25% through detailed defect documentation and collaboration with developers
Education
Executive MBA - General Management
IIM Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad 01.2020
Master of Science - Information Technology
Adhiyamaan Engineering College
Hosur Tamilnadu 01.2005
Skills
- Technical Program Management & Cross Functional Collaboration
- Strategic Technology Modernization & Cloud Transformation Leadership
- DevSecOps Implementation & Security Best Practices
- Advance Test Automation & Quality Engineering Strategy
- Budgeting, Cost Estimation & Financial Management
- Presales Engineering
Technical Stack Expertise
.NET legacy, Multi-tenant Paas, .NET C#, ASP, Jscript, Vbscript, Python, MS SQL/Server, UFT, Performance Center, JMeter, Postman, Worksoft, SOAP UI, HP ALM, Selenium Web driver, Galen framework, Specflow, Nunit, Gherkins, protractor, SAP TAO, PostMan, NighTwatch, TDD, BDD, Azure, GIT, Teamcity, ADO, Docker, Kubernetes, Snyk, Splunk, Grafana, REST API, XML, JSON
Timeline
Senior Engineering Manager
DUCKCREEK TECHNOLOGIES SOFTWARE INC
02.2016 - Current
Senior Consultant –GuideWire TCOE
Capgemini
11.2012 - 02.2016
SAP Test Automation Lead
ACCENTURE SERVICES
08.2010 - 11.2012
Senior Software Engineer
MINDTREE
02.2007 - 08.2010
Test Engineer
RELQ PVT.LTD(Acquired by HP)
05.2005 - 02.2007
Executive MBA - General Management
IIM Ahmedabad
Master of Science - Information Technology
Adhiyamaan Engineering College
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