Headline

Engineering Manager | 18+ Yrs Scaling Mobile & AI-Native Platforms (Google, CoinSwitch, Lyft) | U.S. Work Authorised | H-1B Transfer (I-140 Approved)

About

Engineering leader with 18+ years scaling mobile and AI-native platforms at Google, Lyft, and CoinSwitch. I grew CoinSwitch's mobile engineering org from 5 to 25+ engineers during hypergrowth — building the hiring pipeline, levelling framework, and engineering standards (CI/CD, automated testing, on-call rotations) that sustained a 99.5%+ crash-free rate at 6M+ monthly active users. At Google, I led the technical roadmap for Gemini AI integration into the Smart Display ecosystem, functionally managing a core engineering pod while directing cross-team execution across Bangalore and Mountain View. I left Google in June 2026 to build Astro AI as founder — architecting and personally shipping a production multi-agent AI system (Gemini/Vertex AI, RAG, agent orchestration) end-to-end, including monetization strategy and a full security audit before launch. It's given me current, hands-on depth in AI-native architecture. U.S. Work Authorised | H-1B Transfer (I-140 Approved)

Location

Bengaluru

AI stack

aistudio

antigravity

claude code

claude

Work experience

Technical Lead — Smart Displays at Google, Oct 2023 - Jun 2026 · 2 yrs 9 mos, Greater Bengaluru Area, Functionally managed a core engineering pod of 4 engineers — owning task allocation, technical mentorship, and delivery accountability, alongside the architecture and stakeholder work below Leading strategic platform initiatives and next-generation AI integrations for the Google Smart Display ecosystem, powering millions of active devices globally. Directing technical strategy, architectural evolution, and high-level stakeholder alignment across distributed, cross-functional teams in Bangalore and Mountain View (MTV). Gemini AI & Next-Gen Systems: Directing a global, cross-functional engineering squad to integrate Gemini AI capabilities into the Smart Display product ecosystem; defining the technical roadmap and unblocking complex dependencies to pioneer AI-native device experiences. Platform Architecture (Server-Driven UI): Architected and scaled the "Remote Flutter Widgets" server-driven UI platform, enabling dynamic, real-time user experiences and significantly reducing client-side deployment cycles across millions of devices. Global Stakeholder Leadership: Orchestrate technical alignment and cross-team execution across a matrix of 20+ global stakeholders and engineering partners, bridging efforts between local squads and Mountain View (MTV) teams. Mobile Framework Innovation (Google Home App): Spearheaded the successful adoption and integration of the Android Motion framework within the Google Home App, significantly optimizing animation fluidity and UI performance at scale.

Engineering Manager at CoinSwitch Kuber, Oct 2021 - May 2023 · 1 yr 8 mos, Greater Bengaluru Area, • Led the growth of the engineering team at Coinswitch from 5 to 25+ members. • Successfully managed the development and release of a mobile application in React Native and Native Android Kotlin/ Java serving up to 6 million active monthly users at its peak. • Achieved a crash-free rate greater than 99.5% through the implementation of best practices and code review. • Mentored and managed a team of 25+ engineers and QA in mobile development best practices, including unit testing and technical specifications. • Implemented a secure framework for detecting and preventing fraud and abuse using Google SafetyNet. • Established and led several cross-functional processes, including on-call and pager duty integration. Oversaw all aspects of the release process for Coinswitch, serving as a single point of contact for unblocking builds and ensuring timely releases. • Implemented and drove adoption of key technologies, including Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD), Gitlab, Firebase, New Relic, and Google Play Store. • Proficient in Android SDK, Android Studio, Kotlin, and other mobile application development tools and technologies. • Maintained a customer-centric approach, ensuring that all development efforts aligned with the needs and expectations of the end-user. • Managed projects with top-down oversight throughout entire execution, ensuring adherence to standards of scope, budget, and timeline. • Facilitated discussions, decision making, and conflict resolution within the team. • Planned, executed, and finalized projects according to deadlines and budgets. • Collaborated closely with Architects, Developers and managed stakeholders. • Maintained technical competence to understand the solution and overcome bottlenecks, helping the team progress. • Successfully delivered large projects from inception to implementation.

Technical Lead at CoinSwitch Kuber, Jan 2021 - Oct 2021 · 10 mos, Bangalore Urban, Karnataka, India, • Instrumental in implementing Realtime Coin pricing in the Coinswitch application. • Set up SafetyNet anti-abuse APIs and CICD in Gitlab in React Native and Core Native Android Java/ Kotlin. • Encouraged the development team to use Unit test cases for a better quality of code. • Single point of contact for all the App releases both Android and IOS. • Integrated New Relic for efficient monitoring.

Senior Android Software Engineer L5 at Lyft, Aug 2018 - Feb 2020 · 1 yr 7 mos, San Francisco, California, • Built InApp messaging for Lyft Drivers & Riders Apps. • Built Proactive Intervention platform for Riders & Riders, which enabled Lyft to intervene & educate users to reduce support tickets. • Revamped Help & Support on Driver and Rider Apps. Android frameworks, Kotlin, Java, Scoop, Dagger 2, intelliJ, Gradle/Bazel

Android Developer at Lyft, Aug 2018 - Feb 2020 · 1 yr 7 mos, Built the in-app messaging system for Lyft's Rider and Driver apps, improving real-time communication and reducing support escalations. Designed and shipped the Proactive Intervention Platform — an intelligent system that educated users contextually, measurably reducing inbound support ticket volume. Delivered Help & Support overhaul across both Driver and Rider surfaces at Lyft's scale (millions of weekly active users).

Senior Android Engineer at IMVU, Jul 2017 - Aug 2018 · 1 yr 2 mos, Redwood City, California, • Introduced and implemented best practices in mobile to improve several features for IMVU App, responsible for core features, architecture, and bug fixes. • Optimized Graphics and implemented Android framework, Java, RxJava, Realm, Espresso, Robotium, Volley, MVP, VIPER.

Android Developer at IMVU, Jul 2017 - Aug 2018 · 1 yr 2 mos, Introduced and drove best-practice architectural patterns (MVP/VIPER, RxJava, Realm) that improved code quality, testability, and feature velocity for the core IMVU app. Led graphics optimization work using Android framework, OpenGL, and Espresso/Robotium for automated QA coverage.

Senior Android Engineer / Tech Lead at Leaf Group, Oct 2014 - Jun 2017 · 2 yrs 9 mos, Santa Monica, CA, • Led Android development for LIVESTRONG.COM rated 4.6 and featured in Google Play store. • Developed the platform from scratch with a focus on quality and scale, which currently has 1 million downloads with a 4.6 rating in the play store. • Researched and implemented Google Fit in the app and used Google console Beta review to improve the product. • Prototyped Image recognition using Tensorflow Machine Learning.

Android Developer at Leaf Group, Oct 2014 - Jun 2017 · 2 yrs 9 mos, Led Android development for LIVESTRONG.COM — a health and fitness app achieving 4.6 stars and 1M+ downloads on Google Play, featured by Google. Prototyped image recognition features using TensorFlow, exploring early on-device ML capabilities. Integrated Google Fit and leveraged Google Play Beta Review to ship data-informed product improvements.

Education

Entrepreneurship Essentials, Harvard Business School Online

Master of Science, Computational Science, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Public links

github: https://github.com/sayoojvalsan