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Santhanakrishnan Rajendran

Seasoned Engineering Leader | Technical Product Management Leader | Rail Technology & Industrial Digitalization Expert | Driving Innovation, Product Growth & Engineering Excellence

Greater Bengaluru Area

19+ years of work experience

Wabtec Corporation
Sep 20233 yrsPresent

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · Hybrid

Lead the strategy, development, and commercialization of Digital Intelligence solutions focused on transportation automation, remote train operations, predictive maintenance, asset tracking, and intelligent rail ecosystems. Partner closely with engineering, commercial, customer, and leadership teams to align product roadmaps with business objectives and market opportunities. Drive customer engagement, market intelligence, competitive analysis, localization initiatives, and solution positioning for transportation and industrial customers. Play a key role in advancing Make-in-India programs, optimizing product costs, enhancing market competitiveness, and supporting the growth of innovative transportation technologies across domestic and international markets.
Wabtec Corporation
Feb 20197 yrs 7 mosPresent

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · Hybrid

Led the transformation of engineering organizations from traditional Waterfall methodologies to SAFe Agile delivery models, establishing scalable governance frameworks, KPIs, dashboards, and release management processes that improved predictability and engineering productivity. Managed multiple engineering portfolios supporting embedded systems, enterprise applications, diagnostics platforms, and intelligent transportation solutions. Built and scaled high-performing teams, fostered an innovation-driven culture through leadership development initiatives and hackathons, and drove continuous improvements in quality, delivery performance, and engineering maturity. Also expanded engineering lab infrastructure and enabled remote engineering capabilities to support global collaboration and hybrid work environments.
GE Transportation, a Wabtec company
Oct 20171 yr 4 mosJan 2019

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Provided strategic leadership for the LOCOTROL® product portfolio and distributed power solutions, strengthening engineering capabilities, product ownership, and technical expertise across global teams. Successfully transitioned critical architecture and technical leadership responsibilities from the United States to India, enabling stronger regional ownership and capability development. Influenced significant investments in engineering infrastructure, expanded team capacity, and established knowledge-sharing programs that enhanced organizational effectiveness and long-term product sustainability.
GE Transportation, a Wabtec company
Feb 20152 yrs 8 mosSep 2017

JFWTC, Bangalore

Managed global engineering delivery for locomotive automation and transportation technology solutions within a complex matrix environment. Oversaw product modernization initiatives, sustaining engineering activities, feature development programs, and new product introductions while ensuring high standards of quality and execution. Directed embedded software engineering, system integration, and validation activities across geographically distributed teams and implemented engineering best practices that improved operational efficiency, consistency, and delivery outcomes.
GE Transportation, a Wabtec company
May 20149 mosJan 2015

JFWTC, Whitefield, Banglaore

Led the successful execution of the Expert on Demand Remote Monitoring & Diagnostics program for Roy Hill, Australia, coordinating multidisciplinary teams across India, the United States, and Australia. Managed complex technical integrations involving networking, VPN infrastructure, and third-party technologies while ensuring delivery within schedule, budget, and quality expectations. Established strong customer engagement frameworks that drove repeat business opportunities and increased adoption of additional solution capabilities.
Faiveley Transport
Apr 20118 mosNov 2011

Hosur, Tamilnadu

Established an independent software validation organization supporting SIL2-certified railway applications in compliance with EN50129 standards. Led the end-to-end development and commercialization of the Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS), collaborating with regulatory authorities, OEMs, and customers on specification development, compliance validation, pilot deployments, and production readiness. Also drove supplier qualification, manufacturing setup, testing infrastructure development, and cost-effective training programs that enhanced organizational capabilities and operational efficiency.
Faiveley Transport
Sep 20082 yrs 7 mosMar 2011

Hosur, TamilNadu

Worked closely with global engineering teams to support safety-critical railway applications, embedded systems validation, and SIL2 certification activities. Collaborated with engineering teams in Italy on brake application software verification, compliance testing, and product validation initiatives, contributing to the delivery of reliable and standards-compliant transportation solutions.
Premier Evolvics Pvt. Ltd.
Nov 20052 yrs 10 mosAug 2008

Greater Coimbatore Area

Led embedded product development initiatives for industrial and electronic control systems, managing engineering activities from requirements gathering and design through development, testing, and deployment. Coordinated cross-functional teams, supported customer engagements, and ensured successful delivery of high-quality solutions while driving continuous improvements in product performance and engineering efficiency.
R. STAHL Group
Nov 20041 yr 1 moNov 2005

Greater Chennai Area

Designed and developed electronic systems and industrial automation solutions for hazardous and safety-critical environments. Participated in product design, circuit development, testing, validation, and documentation activities while ensuring compliance with quality standards and customer requirements.

Santhanakrishnan’s AI Stack

perplexity
perplexity
railway
railway

Education

Institute of Product Leadership

Executive MBA, Product Leadership

Institute of Product Leadership

20202 yrs2022
Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning

PGDBA, Operations

Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning

20052 yrs2007

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Headline

Seasoned Engineering Leader | Technical Product Management Leader | Rail Technology & Industrial Digitalization Expert | Driving Innovation, Product Growth & Engineering Excellence

About

Engineering and Product Management Leader with 20+ years of experience driving innovation, digital transformation, and business growth across rail transportation, industrial automation, embedded systems, and intelligent mobility solutions. Proven track record of leading global engineering organizations, managing multimillion-dollar product portfolios, and delivering complex hardware-software integrated solutions from concept through commercialization. Recognized for aligning technology strategy with business objectives, accelerating product innovation, and building high-performing teams that consistently deliver measurable outcomes. Successfully led large-scale engineering transformation initiatives, including enterprise Agile adoption, engineering process optimization, and capability expansion across globally distributed teams. Demonstrated success in reducing product costs by more than 66%, scaling strategic business revenues from $2M-$4M to $15M-$18M annually, and influencing over $5M in engineering infrastructure investments. Experienced in technical product management, product strategy, embedded systems, IoT and edge computing, transportation automation, predictive maintenance, remote operations, asset intelligence, and safety-critical systems. Adept at identifying market opportunities, shaping product roadmaps, driving localization initiatives, and delivering customer-centric solutions that enhance competitiveness and operational performance. Strong leadership background in building Engineering Centers of Excellence, mentoring future leaders, fostering innovation-led cultures, and managing cross-functional collaboration across engineering, product, commercial, operations, and executive stakeholders. Expertise spans product lifecycle management, system architecture, Agile and SAFe delivery models, industrial communication technologies, digital rail ecosystems, and next-generation transportation technologies. Passionate about leveraging technology to solve complex business challenges, accelerate digitalization, and create scalable, high-impact solutions that drive operational excellence and sustainable growth.

Location

Greater Bengaluru Area

AI stack

perplexity

railway

Work experience

Technical Product Manager at Wabtec Corporation, Sep 2023 - Present · 3 yrs, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · Hybrid, Lead the strategy, development, and commercialization of Digital Intelligence solutions focused on transportation automation, remote train operations, predictive maintenance, asset tracking, and intelligent rail ecosystems. Partner closely with engineering, commercial, customer, and leadership teams to align product roadmaps with business objectives and market opportunities. Drive customer engagement, market intelligence, competitive analysis, localization initiatives, and solution positioning for transportation and industrial customers. Play a key role in advancing Make-in-India programs, optimizing product costs, enhancing market competitiveness, and supporting the growth of innovative transportation technologies across domestic and international markets.

Sr.Manager software engineering at Wabtec Corporation, Feb 2019 - Present · 7 yrs 7 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · Hybrid, Led the transformation of engineering organizations from traditional Waterfall methodologies to SAFe Agile delivery models, establishing scalable governance frameworks, KPIs, dashboards, and release management processes that improved predictability and engineering productivity. Managed multiple engineering portfolios supporting embedded systems, enterprise applications, diagnostics platforms, and intelligent transportation solutions. Built and scaled high-performing teams, fostered an innovation-driven culture through leadership development initiatives and hackathons, and drove continuous improvements in quality, delivery performance, and engineering maturity. Also expanded engineering lab infrastructure and enabled remote engineering capabilities to support global collaboration and hybrid work environments.

Sr Software Manager at GE Transportation, a Wabtec company, Oct 2017 - Jan 2019 · 1 yr 4 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Provided strategic leadership for the LOCOTROL® product portfolio and distributed power solutions, strengthening engineering capabilities, product ownership, and technical expertise across global teams. Successfully transitioned critical architecture and technical leadership responsibilities from the United States to India, enabling stronger regional ownership and capability development. Influenced significant investments in engineering infrastructure, expanded team capacity, and established knowledge-sharing programs that enhanced organizational effectiveness and long-term product sustainability.

Engineering Manager at GE Transportation, a Wabtec company, Feb 2015 - Sep 2017 · 2 yrs 8 mos, JFWTC, Bangalore, Managed global engineering delivery for locomotive automation and transportation technology solutions within a complex matrix environment. Oversaw product modernization initiatives, sustaining engineering activities, feature development programs, and new product introductions while ensuring high standards of quality and execution. Directed embedded software engineering, system integration, and validation activities across geographically distributed teams and implemented engineering best practices that improved operational efficiency, consistency, and delivery outcomes.

Engineering program leader at GE Transportation, a Wabtec company, May 2014 - Jan 2015 · 9 mos, JFWTC, Whitefield, Banglaore, Led the successful execution of the Expert on Demand Remote Monitoring & Diagnostics program for Roy Hill, Australia, coordinating multidisciplinary teams across India, the United States, and Australia. Managed complex technical integrations involving networking, VPN infrastructure, and third-party technologies while ensuring delivery within schedule, budget, and quality expectations. Established strong customer engagement frameworks that drove repeat business opportunities and increased adoption of additional solution capabilities.

Executive Engineer at Faiveley Transport, Apr 2011 - Nov 2011 · 8 mos, Hosur, Tamilnadu, Established an independent software validation organization supporting SIL2-certified railway applications in compliance with EN50129 standards. Led the end-to-end development and commercialization of the Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS), collaborating with regulatory authorities, OEMs, and customers on specification development, compliance validation, pilot deployments, and production readiness. Also drove supplier qualification, manufacturing setup, testing infrastructure development, and cost-effective training programs that enhanced organizational capabilities and operational efficiency.

Sr.Engineer (Electronics) at Faiveley Transport, Sep 2008 - Mar 2011 · 2 yrs 7 mos, Hosur, TamilNadu, Worked closely with global engineering teams to support safety-critical railway applications, embedded systems validation, and SIL2 certification activities. Collaborated with engineering teams in Italy on brake application software verification, compliance testing, and product validation initiatives, contributing to the delivery of reliable and standards-compliant transportation solutions.

Team Leader BU-OLQ1 at Premier Evolvics Pvt. Ltd., Nov 2005 - Aug 2008 · 2 yrs 10 mos, Greater Coimbatore Area, Led embedded product development initiatives for industrial and electronic control systems, managing engineering activities from requirements gathering and design through development, testing, and deployment. Coordinated cross-functional teams, supported customer engagements, and ensured successful delivery of high-quality solutions while driving continuous improvements in product performance and engineering efficiency.

Design Engineer at R. STAHL Group, Nov 2004 - Nov 2005 · 1 yr 1 mo, Greater Chennai Area, Designed and developed electronic systems and industrial automation solutions for hazardous and safety-critical environments. Participated in product design, circuit development, testing, validation, and documentation activities while ensuring compliance with quality standards and customer requirements.

Education

Executive MBA, Product Leadership, Institute of Product Leadership

PGDBA, Operations, Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning