Santhosh Shankar
Sr Manager – Network Design | Engineering | Architecture | Consultation
Bangalore
Summary
Results-driven dynamic Network Services Manager with proven track record of building and leading cross-functional, global teams and driving delivery excellence. Backed by 19 years of overall experience in managing network infrastructure services and delivering professional consulting services for designing, building, and operating scalable, secure, and high-performance network environments. I combine hands-on expertise in Routing, Switching, Datacenter, Network Security and Content Delivery tech stack with SAFe Agile leadership skills. Aligned with values of inspirational leadership, customer-centricity, and technology-enabled transformation.
At present I'm upskilling in Strategic Leadership via executive program from IIT Delhi. And deep self-interest in learning AI - underlying infrastructure that runs LLMs.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
5
5
Certificates
Work History
Sr Engineering Manager & Product Owner
London Stock Exchange Group
09.2024 - Current
- Engineering Manager and People Leader in the Network Design & Engineering group, overseeing multiple squads of subject matter experts in multi-vendor, global datacenter environments.
- I managed multiple, geographically dispersed teams of SMEs that design, implement and operate large-scale high-performance network infrastructure supporting LSEG's global Datacenter, Low-latency Capital Markets, and Campus Networks.
- Product Owner for LSEG’s Global Network Products and Services — developing technical roadmaps, prioritizing resources and team backlogs, and driving tactical and strategic solutions aligned to business requirements.
- Periodic 1:1 connect, Performance Management, talent/skill development, developing goals and objectives and mentoring team members.
- I co-chaired the Network Design Governance forum, lead vulnerability management, risk assessments, and regulatory audits to ensure continuous protection of systems and data.
- Collaborating closely with stakeholders, customers, infrastructure product management, and technical design authority to translate functional requirements into robust network solutions.
- Served as lead for technical escalation for high-priority operational issues, ensuring minimal downtime and service continuity.
- Project Management - Coordinating with global teams, vendors, and clients to ensure seamless project delivery and issue resolution in line with technical standards and organizational objectives and inline with budgetary obligations.
Network Systems Engineer III (Technical Lead)
Cisco Systems, Inc.
08.2013 - 09.2018
- Managed agile delivery squads as technical product owner for Cisco's internal datacenter Infrastructure - designing solutions and managing datacenter infrastructure based on Cisco ACI, Nexus switching platforms, Firepower and ASA firewalls, and Citrix ADC and A10 Load Balancers
- Drove security architecture improvements, led firewall policy rationalisation initiatives, and ensured compliance with Cisco's internal security standards.
- Mentored junior engineers and led knowledge-transfer programmes across geographically distributed teams.
Consulting Engineer - Professional Services
Cisco Systems, Inc.
09.2018 - 08.2020
- Senior Consulting Engineer in Professional Services, providing network design and build guidance to global customers, including HLD, LLD, network testing, and usability documentation.
- Participated in customer visitations for pre-sales scoping, hardware/solution sizing, proofof-concept and solutions validation testing.
- Business Critical Services - Network optimization services, software bugscrub, configuration best practices and network hardening.
- Closely coordinate with Business Units for consultation for product lifecyle, hardware and software roadmap planning.
Technical Consulting Engineer
Cisco Systems, Inc.
06.2013 - 08.2018
- Consulting Engineer in High-Touch Technical Services for global Tier-1 customers.
- Provided post-sales technical consultation and support for Cisco Nexus datacenter switching platforms as well as content networking platforms inclusing load balancers, WAN optimisation and video distribution solutioons.
Technical Lead
Cognizant Technology Solutions
08.2011 - 08.2013
- Technical Operations Lead and People Manager for L1/L2 support engineers in the Global Operations Center, managing 24/7 support for global customer network infrastructure.
- Technical lead for L5 IT support; consulted on design and implementation of load balancer solutions and security appliances.
- Provided escalation support across multi-vendor load balancers, proxies, and network security technologies.
Network Operations Engineer
AOL India Pvt Ltd
07.2007 - 07.2011
- 24/7 monitoring and troubleshooting of AOL's Data Center and Campus Network, including load balancers, WAN, and enterprise network infrastructure.
- Managed Incident, Change, and Problem Management within the ITIL framework, maintaining service levels and minimizing operational risk.
- Technical Skills: Cisco IOS 7600, Juniper JUNOS EX/MX/TX, Citrix NetScaler, WAN technologies.
Education
Executive Management Program - Advanced Strategic Leadership
IIT Delhi
12-2026
BSc - Network Technologies
Sikkim Manipal University
06-2014
Diploma - Computer Science & Engineering
VET BVL Polytechnic
06-2007
Skills
People Leadership: Team building and mentoring, conflict resolution, performance and succession planning, cross-functional leadership
Timeline
Sr Engineering Manager & Product Owner
London Stock Exchange Group
09.2024 - Current
Consulting Engineer - Professional Services
Cisco Systems, Inc.
09.2018 - 08.2020
Network Systems Engineer III (Technical Lead)
Cisco Systems, Inc.
08.2013 - 09.2018
Technical Consulting Engineer
Cisco Systems, Inc.
06.2013 - 08.2018
Technical Lead
Cognizant Technology Solutions
08.2011 - 08.2013
Network Operations Engineer
AOL India Pvt Ltd
07.2007 - 07.2011
BSc - Network Technologies
Sikkim Manipal University
Executive Management Program - Advanced Strategic Leadership
IIT Delhi
Diploma - Computer Science & Engineering
VET BVL Polytechnic
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Interests
Mentoring Engineers & Tech Community Engagement Indoor & Outdoor Sports General AI Trends & Developments Market research and Upskilling in new trending technology topics