Headline

Senior Program & Delivery Leader | Telecom Software, 6G/ 5G RAN, Research-SON/SMO, OSS/BSS | AI/ML Network Automation | Portfolio Governance | 21+ Years

About

Senior program and delivery leader with 21+ years of experience across telecom software, 5G/4G RAN, SON/SMO, OSS/BSS, network automation, product development and quality transformation. Currently leading end-to-end delivery of AI/ML-enabled telecom software programs, managing a 42-member cross-functional organisation across engineering, QA, architecture and data science. Responsible for portfolio governance across five programs and four global customer accounts, supporting a $50M+ annual SON/ANA software portfolio. My experience covers roadmap execution, release governance, capacity planning, budget and risk management, customer SLAs, executive stakeholder communication, DevOps/CI/CD, presales and global delivery. I have delivered programs for Tier-1 telecom operators across India, Europe, the Middle East and the US, with strong expertise in 5G RAN, SON/SMO, OSS/BSS, AI/ML network automation and telecom digital transformation. Areas of interest: Senior Program Management, Technical Program Management, Telecom Delivery Leadership, Portfolio Governance and Digital Transformation.

Location

Greater Bengaluru Area

AI stack

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Work experience

Senior Architect – Program & Delivery Management at HCLSoftware, Nov 2021 - Present · 5 yrs, Hybrid, · Lead end-to-end delivery of complex telecom software and AI/ML-driven transformation programs, covering planning, estimation, execution, release management, deployment and customer acceptance. · Manage a 42-member cross-functional organisation comprising software engineers, development leads and QA specialists across multiple geographies, improving sprint predictability, team velocity and delivery performance. · Lead portfolio governance across five programs and four global customer accounts, covering roadmap execution, backlog management, capacity planning, release cadence, risks, dependencies, quality gates and stakeholder reporting for a $50M+ annual SON/ANA software portfolio. · Reduced production defect leakage by 15% by implementing QA automation, CI/CD quality controls and release-level defect governance. · Coordinate Product, Architecture, Engineering, QA, Data Science and Commercial teams to translate customer requirements and AI research prototypes into scalable product deliverables. · Drive AI/ML-based network optimisation and energy-saving solutions for LTE and 5G NR, supporting zero-touch automation and KPI-based benefit validation. · Establish CI/CD and DevOps practices using JIRA, Git, Bitbucket, Bamboo and automation scripts to improve release consistency and continuous validation. · Develop executive dashboards and governance reports covering milestones, KPIs, risks, mitigation plans, resource utilisation and customer commitments. · Mentor Scrum Masters, technical leads and engineering teams, promoting Agile discipline, retrospectives, lean execution and continuous improvement.

Service Project Manager at Ericsson, Nov 2019 - Nov 2021 · 2 yrs 1 mo, On-site, · Led end-to-end development, testing and deployment of 5G SA/NSA RAN features for US, Europe, MMEA and MANA accounts. · Improved year-on-year delivery efficiency by 10% through stronger release planning, resource utilisation and cross-team governance. · Managed a delivery organisation of 44 engineers and coordinated broader multi-team programs, ensuring release alignment, quality, schedule and budget adherence. · Owned software release planning, sprint execution, backlog prioritisation, UAT governance and cross-functional dependency management for critical customer programs. · Partnered with global stakeholders to convert business objectives into product roadmaps, customer-specific enhancements and go-to-market deliverables. · Prepared proposals, architecture evaluations, resource models, delivery estimates and risk assessments for presales and customer solution engagements. · Drove regional adoption of Ericsson Design and Optimization Platform and productisation of Root-Cause Analyzer solutions for Bharti, STC and MTN. · Created RASCI frameworks and governance mechanisms to improve accountability, throughput, transparency and executive decision-making.

Technical Project Manager at Wipro Limited, Mar 2018 - Oct 2019 · 1 yr 8 mos, Bangalore, · Managed end-to-end QA and delivery strategy for Cisco C-SON applications, aligning test execution with Agile product roadmaps and software release timelines. · Led globally distributed teams across test planning, estimation, environment readiness, data preparation, regression strategy, defect resolution and customer POCs. · Collaborated with development, product and program stakeholders to improve release quality, test governance and customer confidence.

Solutions Architect Application and Analytics at Nokia, Jul 2017 - Mar 2018 · 9 mos, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, • Delivered SON product deployment and HLD/LLD documentation in coordination with R&D and customer teams. • Translated customer requirements into implementation packages and supported agile delivery.

Solutions Manager at TEOCO, Sep 2016 - Jun 2017 · 10 mos, Kolkata Area, India, Led customer-facing RAN solution consulting across LTE, UMTS and 2G networks, identifying network performance and automation opportunities. Developed customer-specific advanced RAN and SON solution proposals covering mobility optimisation, predictive analytics and VoLTE. Managed a five-member team and coordinated solution definition with product, engineering and customer stakeholders.

Education

Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering, West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata

10 th & 10+2, Science, Hooghly Collegiate School