Engineering at Goldman Sachs: A "Boomerang" Story

Starting at the beginning, tell us a little bit about your path to first joining Goldman Sachs.

I was working as a C++ developer focusing on systems in the life sciences domain when I applied for a role at the firm. I was invited to have a first round of interviews at our first office in Bengaluru which was set up on interim basis. I got the opportunity to interact with team members globally and learn about different business units.

The key drivers for my decision to join Goldman were getting first-hand experience in building systems driving transformation in the financial markets and being part of Goldman Sachs’ growth journey in Bengaluru right from inception.

I joined in 2004 as an analyst in Equities Technology, developing and supporting Core Trading systems – the backbone of our low latency electronic trading platform (GSET today) and one delta trading applications.

You were among the initial employees in the Bengaluru office, 20 years ago. What was that like? 

With just a few hundred people in our first Bengaluru office, everyone knew each other. Our leaders at the time had worked in other Goldman Sachs offices and brought institutional knowledge and their networks to our new office. 

I was fortunate to get a domain and system walk through from Balaji Sivasubramanian, who was working in London and also in-charge of mentoring new Equities technology teams in Bengaluru. Balaji’s key message was to “invest time in learning this complex space, as the impact of what you do is high.” That was very inspiring. 

You left the firm for several years. What drove your decision to return as a "boomerang"? What has changed in the Bengaluru office, and what has stayed the same? 

After I spent some time outside of Goldman Sachs leading global markets engineering functions, Balaji asked me to consider returning to the firm. He encouraged me to have conversations to see if the opportunity set at the firm might match my aspirations.

I got connected to Rohan Deshpande (who is now my manager), who has remarkable experience in building and delivering products at scale. Rohan explained the vision in Core Engineering, including the focus on driving a best-in-class developer experience. Knowing the culture and reflecting on the relationships I had at the firm – I rejoined as Mobile Platform lead in early 2022. Returning felt like “gṛham punaḥ āgamanam”— which means coming home again in Sanskrit. 

Having left, and come back, what truly distinguishes the firm is our people, our network, and our investment in engineering. We have the best people, collaborating at all levels, and even stay connected with our alumni network! Within engineering, we’re investing in the latest technologies to drive commercial outcomes. 

Coming back to Bengaluru specifically, it’s also been wonderful to see the growth. From inception, GS Bengaluru has been built like any other Goldman Sachs office, always operating with excellence and role modeling our culture through collaboration and teamwork. 

Thanks to our center head – Gunjan Samtani – and our people across Bengaluru and Hyderabad, our offices continue to elevate the operating model, driving forward the firm’s flagship initiatives, including those focused on the AI revolution. 

Can you tell us more about your role, and what your team manages on behalf of the firm? 

I have two roles, the first is serving as global head for API and Content enablement in the Engineering division – the function offers firm-approved products to mediate secure API traffic management and managed site hosting. 

The second role is representing the Engineering AI workstreams within Developer Productivity for the India Engineering organization, including driving adoption of AI coding assistants. 

India engineers were part of the proof-of-concept, participated in the Beta evaluation, hackathons and contributed to the broader launch, senior leadership demos, and floor walks, among other initiatives. 

What is it like to have a global role and team, based in Bengaluru? What strategies help you manage your responsibilities internationally? 

It is imperative to know people’s experience and operating style, as well as their aspirations and strengths. Throughout my career, I have learnt from my managers, mentors and hands-on experiences to shape the way I operate, and there are four things I try to follow: 

1. Prioritize the day – join meetings/calls only where you are needed – to learn something new or actively contribute. Strike a balance between where you need the micro or macro view.
2. Delegate Effectively – build trust, invest time and effort in developing team members, enable them to make decisions, and provide support as needed.
3. Be open and transparent – I focus on aligning goals and fostering trust with my managers, and facilitating timely dialogue, enabling my leadership to empower me to operate.
4. Establish a feedback mechanism – receiving feedback is a privilege and I always look for feedback from my team, peers, managers and mentors.

What is the best advice you ever received? 

Ask questions. In my Equities technology days, my default was – do not assume that you either know or do not know. This approach continues to serve me well, including as I learn about and adopt new technology trends. 

Asking the right question is also important – a well-crafted question can unlock a deeper understanding and generate meaningful conversations. 

Outside of work, where might we find you on the weekend? 

I am an avid foodie and like to discover local eateries. I also like to cook, mostly on Saturdays. I find that cooking is a full-fledged project management activity, starting from planning, getting resources (ingredients), time bound execution, adaptability – improvise if the recipe is not going as expected, and finally, feedback (the acknowledgement from the family). 

I also watch cricket with my son, specially the T20 tournament and IPL matches – it is thrilling to watch how technology is being leveraged to achieve decision accuracy, cricket analytics, dynamic camera views.