Headline

Innovative Technopreneur. I turn startup ideas into scalable, production-ready technology. 🚀 | Fintech-Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) | LLMs Explorer | Engineering Tomorrow’s Platforms — SaaS to AI, Across Every Industry

About

Director of Engineering with over a decade of experience building and scaling high-performing teams for complex fintech, SaaS, and AI-driven platforms. Expert in architecting cloud-native solutions and implementing intelligent payment infrastructures that serve millions of transactions. Proven track record in guiding startups from 0-to-1 and leading cross-functional teams across UI, Backend, DevOps, and Data Engineering. Passionate about integrating GenAI and cognitive technologies to solve real-world business challenges at scale.

Location

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

AI stack

anthropic apis

claude

gemini

glama

Work experience

Director of Engineering at Stealth Startup, Oct 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 10 mos, Noida, 💳 Led end‑to‑end payment operations across acquiring, UPI, cards, and alternative channels for emerging Indian markets. 🛒 Managed merchant onboarding & pay‑in/pay‑out flows, delivering seamless support for e‑commerce and fintech clients. 🔒 Established risk & fraud governance frameworks for high‑risk merchants, ensuring compliance with PCI‑DSS, RBI, and global data protection standards. 🏦 Collaborated with banks, acquirers & product/tech teams to optimize transaction success rates and reduce latency. 📊 Implemented advanced data engineering strategies to enhance scalability and boost application performance. 🏗️ Directed architectural decisions & technical roadmaps, aligning engineering priorities with business goals and market needs. 🚀 Played a pivotal role in product success, contributing directly to growth, market readiness, and startup scale‑up.

Seed Investor at Lemuria, Dec 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 8 mos, Remote, • Utilized AI-driven personalization to suggest tailored itineraries and destinations for travelers. • Implemented dynamic pricing technology for real-time access to the best deals on flights and hotels. • Developed an intuitive user interface for a streamlined booking process on both mobile and web platforms.

Engineering Manager at Vymo, Jun 2021 - Sep 2022 · 1 yr 4 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Leading digitization & standardization of strategic businessinterests, technology, and processes for Insurance SaaS products. Working synergistically with other stakeholders (CEO, CTO,Product, Sales, Marketing, Support, Clients)

Solutions Architect at M2P Fintech, Nov 2018 - May 2021 · 2 yrs 7 mos, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Solution Architect - Hybrid Cloud at IBM, Oct 2015 - Jul 2018 · 2 yrs 10 mos, Chennai Area, India, Worked closely with customers on their Cloud & Digital Strategy with IBM's comprehensive set of offerings on IBM Cloud Orchestration (Private & Public), Mobility (IBM MFP), Video Services offerings, Integration (ICP, IIB, API connect) and Deployment Automation for Cloud (Private & Public), DevOps (IBM UCD) Focused on Enterprise Customers that include all BFSI, Telecom, Travel and Manufacturing accounts in India and Srilanka To observe the team action and then suggest ways to improve the existing processes to reach our goals. Participate in presales phases including RFI, RFP, other customer interactions for technical solutions & assessment Effective and timely communication with team, customers, partners/vendors & stakeholders, Sr. Management and Other Supporting Groups

Education

Master of Computer Application (M.C.A), Computer Programming, Specific Applications, Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy

B.C.A, Computer Application, Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose College, Thiruvarur- 614 001.

Public links

github: https://github.com/manickalai