Rekha Catherine Thomas
Engineering Manager
Bengaluru
Summary
Engineering leader with 17+ years of experience building and scaling high-performing teams and distributed systems across cloud platforms. Proven track record of delivering event-driven, cloud-native systems, leading globally distributed teams, and aligning engineering execution with product strategy. Experienced in microservices, AWS-based architectures, IoT platforms, and workflow orchestration, with growing focus on continuous delivery, automation, and scalable deployment systems. Strong advocate for engineering excellence, async collaboration, and AI-driven productivity.
Strong focus on team collaboration and achieving results. Skilled in project management, process optimization, and technical leadership. Adept at adapting to changing needs, ensuring reliability and fostering high-performance culture. Known for strategic thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
2
2
Certifications
Work History
Engineering Manager
Schneider Electric
02.2025 - 12.2025
- Lead and provide technical direction and support to a team of 17 distributed across India and Australia during execution.
- Collaborate with leads on the design and architecture of the software
- Lead and mentor a team of software and firmware developers, QA team and devOps team, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment.
- Provide guidance on technical decisions, architecture, and design patterns.
- Oversee the development lifecycle of software offerings, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget.
- Collaborate with project managers and scrum master to define project scope, objectives, and deliverables.
- Act as the main point of contact for technical discussions with stakeholders, including clients, product managers, and senior management.
- Communicate complex technical concepts in a clear and understandable manner.
- Ensure high-quality standards for software deliverables through code reviews, testing, and continuous integration practices.
- Advocate for best practices in software engineering and quality assurance.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technical goals with business objectives.
- Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the team.
- Encourage the adoption of new tools, technologies, and practices that enhance productivity and quality.
- Identify potential technical risks, and develop mitigation strategies to address them proactively.
- Monitor project progress, and adjust plans as necessary to manage risks effectively.
- Enhanced overall team productivity with continuous training and mentoring of junior engineers.
- Improved engineering processes by streamlining workflows and implementing efficient project management techniques.
- Identified areas of improvement in existing systems, providing recommendations that resulted in significant cost savings over time.
- Implemented quality control measures to reduce errors, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and repeat business.
- Managed risk assessments during project planning phases, proactively mitigating potential issues before they arose during execution stages.
- Fostered a culture of innovation and continuous improvement by encouraging the sharing of ideas, leading to increased creativity and problem-solving capabilities within the team.
- Streamlined communication between departments by establishing regular meetings, improving collaboration on complex projects.
- Led cross-functional teams for successful product development, ensuring timely delivery and adherence to specifications.
- Optimized resource allocation, effectively managing budgets and manpower for multiple simultaneous projects.
- Presented progress reports to executive leadership, demonstrating success in meeting project milestones on time and within budget constraints.
Engineering Manager
Ametek Instruments India
01.2024 - 01.2025
- I led the design of various components of the IoT Toolkit and managed the development, QA and DevOps teams of size 15 distributed across India and USA.
- Engaged closely with international business stakeholders and product managers to deeply understand project requirements and drive successful execution and delivery following agile methodologies.
- Spear headed the design and development of microservices using Java Spring Boot, contributing to a scalable and flexible project architecture.
- Expertly engineered a multi-tenant API framework leveraging AWS Cognito for enhanced security and scalability.
- Designed UI security utilising the Back-end for Front-end (BFF) architectural pattern to optimise user interface interactions.
- Completed MVP of the IoT Toolkit project, ensuring robust and efficient system functionality.
- I configured a suite of AWS services, including ECS Fargate, ECR, SNS, PostgreSQL, IoT Core, Cognito, and Elasticache Redis, demonstrating comprehensive cloud infrastructure skills.
- Designed Parameter configuration from API side for firmware devices using AWS IoT Core.
- MSK topics created using AWS lambda and produced messages using Confluent Kafka library. Confluent Kafka library is added as a layer to lambda function.
- Used MSK Kafka Connect to transmit data from MSK topics to S3 bucket.
- Utilized Confluent Kafka S3 sink connector to create MSK custom plugin.
- MSK connector is created with MSK custom plugin.
- Took full responsibility for the Run the Business (RTB) component, overseeing its development and performance.
- Took additional responsibility of a scrum master when need arised.
- Supported the Documentation of all designs in Confluence.
Technical Manager / Architect
Israel Lopez Consulting
05.2017 - 11.2022
- Technically managed and mentored a team of 7 members to improve their productivity and guide them in the success of projects.
- Designed and developed multiple EDI applications that run as Windows services using C#.Net, MySQL, MVC, and SQL Server, MQTT, Python, AWS IoT Core, S3, Kinesis Streams, Kinesis Analytics, Lambda, SNS, Dynamodb, EC2, FLASK, AWSIoTPythonSDK
- Designed and developed Java plugins for the Fishbowl client.
- Designed and developed WPF applications that helped import data from CSV/Excel files to Fishbowl using MVVM architecture.
- Designed and Developed Fishbowl Integrations with Shopify, Zoho, Airtable, WooCommerce, etc., by writing REST API clients.
- Weekly meetings and giving demos on the progress. Participation in project kick-off meetings and project handovers.
- Created comprehensive documentation of processes and procedures to ensure consistency throughout the department''s operations.
- Developed suggestions for technical process improvements to optimize resources.
- Delivered comprehensive technical training programs for staff members, enhancing overall team competency levels.
Sr. Consultant
Capgemini
12.2012 - 04.2014
- Technologies - C#.Net, SQL Server 2008, Windows 7, VS2010, .Net Framework 4.0, MVC 3.0, HTML, Javascript, JQuery, Entity Framework.
- Spearheaded the integration of HP's PRISM Application with Oracle Database, transitioning from SQL Server 2008, and executed enhancements to an existing module within the PRISM Application.
- I successfully upgraded the Application's Infragistics framework from version 6.2 to 11.1, addressing all compatibility issues that arose.
- Supervised and provided mentorship to two junior team members on the tasks above.
- Collected project requirements through active participation in client meetings and correspondence.
- Designed and planned database architecture, including tables, stored procedures, constraints, relationships, and indexes.
- Mentored junior consultants, helping them enhance their skills and contribute more effectively to projects.
- Prioritized projects and project tasks depending upon key milestones and deadline dates.
- Troubleshot issues by understanding issue, diagnosing root cause and coming up with effective solutions.
- Built strong relationships with clients through consistent communication and proactive problem-solving efforts.
- Increased client satisfaction by providing tailored consulting services and effective problem-solving strategies.
.Net Programmer
AJW Inc.
09.2008 - 11.2012
- Technologies - C#.Net, SQL Server 2005, Windows Vista Ultimate, VS2010, .Net Framework 4.0, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), HTML, AJAX, JavaScript, Wireframe Sketcher, XML, XslFo, jQuery
- Roles – Requirements gathering, Application development and maintenance.
- Consistently met project deadlines by effectively managing priorities and maintaining a strong work ethic.
Project Engineer
Wipro Technologies
10.2005 - 05.2008
- Technologies - C#.Net, SQL Server 2005, SSRS, Windows 2000 Professional.
- Roles – Requirements gathering, Application development and maintenance.
Education
B. Tech - Computer Science and Engineering
Cochin University of Science And Technology
India06-2005
Skills
Engineering Leadership and Team Building (Distributed teams) (5 years)
Continuous Delivery & Deployment Automation
Distributed Systems & Event-Driven Architecture
Cloud-Native Architecture (AWS, GCP)
Microservices & API Design
Kubernetes & Containerization (ECS, Docker)
Agile Delivery & Execution
AI-enabled Developer Productivity
Observability, Reliability & Performance
Certification
May 2021 - Jun 2022: IIT Madras Advanced Certification in Software Engineering, IoT, Cloud, Blockchain
Timeline
Engineering Manager
Schneider Electric
02.2025 - 12.2025
Engineering Manager
Ametek Instruments India
01.2024 - 01.2025
Technical Manager / Architect
Israel Lopez Consulting
05.2017 - 11.2022
Sr. Consultant
Capgemini
12.2012 - 04.2014
.Net Programmer
AJW Inc.
09.2008 - 11.2012
Project Engineer
Wipro Technologies
10.2005 - 05.2008
B. Tech - Computer Science and Engineering
Cochin University of Science And Technology