BS Balaji Shanmugam Let’s connect ↗

Available for meaningful engineering conversations

Building systems
that move people forward.

I’m Balaji, an AI and software engineer building dependable backend platforms, cloud-native services, ML workflows and AI-powered experiences.

Start a conversation ↗ View GitHub ↗
Balaji Shanmugam
AI + SOFTWARE
ENGINEERING
CHENNAI · INDIA

Building with curiosity
Working across time zones

8+years building
software
04domains: backend,
cloud, data, AI
200+students coached
since 2017
“Good engineering is
quietly powerful.”
01Profile

Engineering with
clarity and care.

Software and AI engineer with 8+ years of experience delivering scalable backend systems, enterprise applications and cloud-based solutions. My work spans software modernisation, API development, data platforms, ML workflows and AI agent applications.

I enjoy solving the problems behind the product — from migrating large desktop systems and designing event-driven services to building MLOps pipelines and AI agents with RAG, tool calling and MCP. I bring a collaborative mindset, technical leadership and a steady focus on maintainability.

Clean systemsCurious teamsLasting impact
02Selected experience

Where I’ve
made an impact.

From financial services and international education to global shipping and healthcare, I build software for complex, real-world systems.

Thoughtworks09 / 2025 — PresentThoughtworks

Wealth Management Platform 09 / 2025 — 01 / 2026 · Senior Software Developer · Leading banking client

Worked on an in-house wealth management system for a leading banking client. The platform supported mutual fund transactions, investment portfolio management and customer reporting.

  • Developed workflows to support buying and selling mutual funds.
  • Processed reverse-feed files and used the data to update transaction and portfolio information.
  • Built portfolio reports, customer statements and other investment-related documents.
  • Developed backend services using Java and integrated services through Kafka.
  • Worked with MongoDB for portfolio, transaction and reporting data.
  • Supported workflow orchestration and scheduled processing using Airflow.
  • Worked with Kubernetes-based deployments for containerised application services.
  • Used Claude as an AI-assisted development tool to accelerate implementation and support rapid application development.
JavaMongoDBKafkaAirflowKubernetesMicroservicesClaude

Antibago 02 / 2026 — 04 / 2026 · ML Engineer · Leading healthcare client

Worked as an ML Engineer on an image-classification solution for a healthcare and laboratory platform.

  • Migrated image-classification workflows from TensorBoard to Vertex AI.
  • Supported the transition of machine-learning experiments and model workflows to a managed cloud platform.
  • Supported MLOps activities by helping build pipelines for machine-learning workflows and model delivery.
  • Worked with ML data preparation and AI-powered solutions for business users.
  • Supported IVDR audit activities related to the ML platform and project delivery.
PythonTensorBoardVertex AIMachine LearningImage ClassificationMLOpsIVDR

DNA Platform Solution Enablement 05 / 2026 — Present · AI Engineer · Leading biopharmaceutical client

Working as an AI Engineer on a platform that enables business lines of business to create workspaces and AI agents based on their requirements.

  • Building an agent platform that helps business teams create and use solutions for different business requirements.
  • Developing specialised AI agents using Amazon Bedrock and LangChain.
  • Working with ReAct agents, tool calling and Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect agents with tools and external capabilities.
  • Designing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) agents to work with business knowledge and provide context-aware responses.
  • Supporting reusable patterns for agent creation, workspace enablement and AI solution development.
Amazon BedrockLangChainReAct AgentsTool CallingMCPRAGAI AgentsPython
IDP Education04 / 2022 — 09 / 2025IDP Education Ltd

Booking Experience Platform 04 / 2022 — 09 / 2025 · Sr. Software Developer - L2

Worked on a booking platform for a global education services organisation, building the backend services and APIs that supported booking journeys across multiple markets.

  • Designed and developed scalable backend services and RESTful APIs using Python and PostgreSQL, following microservices and event-driven architecture.
  • Built serverless components using AWS API Gateway, Lambda, S3, SQS and SNS. Implemented Docker-based CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions and trunk-based development.
  • Improved PostgreSQL performance through query optimisation, indexing strategies and execution plan analysis.
  • Set up proactive monitoring with Splunk and AWS CloudWatch, helping detect and resolve production issues before escalation.
  • Led Priority-2 incident response, performed root cause analysis, and helped reduce recovery time and business impact.
  • Participated in Disaster Recovery validation activities to improve platform resilience and team preparedness.
  • Wrote efficient, on-demand SQL queries for real-time reporting, troubleshooting and operational insights.
  • Explored Generative AI tools, including Amazon Q, to improve development workflows and automate testing. Created a Data Seeding Tool to support environment setup.
  • Provided technical leadership through code reviews, mentoring and knowledge sharing with junior developers.

Engineering practices

Followed Test-Driven Development, clean code, design patterns and SOLID principles to maintain high engineering standards across the backend and cloud components.

PythonPostgreSQLAWS LambdaAPI GatewayS3SQSSNSDockerGitHub ActionsTrunk-based DevelopmentREST APIsMicroservicesSplunkCloudWatchAmazon QTDDSOLID
MSC Technology08 / 2018 — 04 / 2022MSC Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd.

OVA Migration 08 / 2018 — 04 / 2020 · Software Developer · One Vision Agency

Worked on the modernisation of a large shipping ERP desktop application with more than 1,000 screens.

  • Migrated 100+ legacy C++ screens to C# WinForms.
  • Rebuilt screens and sub-forms while preserving existing business workflows.
  • Contributed to Booking, Container Management, Shipping and Cost Control modules.
  • Developed and optimised SQL Server stored procedures, views and functions for business logic and high-volume data processing.
  • Applied OOP principles, clean code practices and design patterns to improve scalability and long-term maintainability.
  • Supported debugging and troubleshooting during high-risk migration phases and performance issue resolution.
  • Helped modernise a mission-critical ERP platform supporting global shipping operations across 140+ countries.

Cost Control Platform 04 / 2020 — 04 / 2022 · Senior Software Developer

Following the completion of the OVA Migration project, transitioned to the Cost Control project as a Senior Software Developer. The platform managed third-party service expenses across terminal and port operations.

  • Designed and implemented key features for tracking operational costs such as container cleaning, vessel loading and unloading, and third-party services.
  • Developed desktop interfaces using C# and WinForms and integrated them with backend services through REST APIs and SQL Server.
  • Implemented backend business logic using RESTful architecture and the MVC pattern.
  • Practised Test-Driven Development, clean code and design patterns to build maintainable and testable software.
  • Identified performance bottlenecks, optimised application efficiency and proposed improvements to system functionality.
  • Participated in Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, daily stand-ups and retrospectives.
  • Conducted code reviews and mentored junior developers to support high-quality engineering practices.
  • Supported Power BI dashboards, Azure Blob Storage file-upload workflows and Azure DevOps Pipelines for build and delivery automation.

Engineering practices

Used OOP, design patterns, clean code and Test-Driven Development across the desktop application, APIs and database components.

C++C#WinFormsSQL ServerStored ProceduresREST APIsMVCPower BIAzure BlobAzure DevOps PipelinesOOPDesign PatternsClean CodeTDDAgile
03Primary tech stack
01

Backend & data

Python · Java · C# · PostgreSQL · MongoDB · SQL Server · REST APIs · Kafka · Microservices

02

Cloud & delivery

AWS Lambda · SNS · SQS · RDS · S3 · API Gateway · Azure Blob · Cloud Run · Docker · Kubernetes · Azure DevOps

03

AI, ML & insight

Amazon Bedrock · LangChain · Vertex AI · RAG · MCP · Tool Calling · MLOps · Databricks · Apache Spark · Power BI

04In the lab

Personal project · Pagila MCP

Making databases
easier to talk to.

A conversational application that lets people interact with database information using natural language queries. Built with backend integrations, data retrieval workflows and database interaction components.

PythonPostgreSQLLangChain
Explore the work ↗
05Credentials
Power BI Data Analyst Associate MicrosoftDatabricks Certified Associate Developer Apache SparkDocker Foundations Professional Docker, Inc.
06Coaching

Learn by building · Grow with direction

Practical learning
for every starting point.

I coach students and professionals through structured learning, real projects and focused problem solving. Choose a format based on your goal, level and learning path.

01

Course-based

Structured learning paths with concepts, examples, exercises and guided practice.

02

Project-based

Build practical projects that turn theory into a portfolio and useful experience.

03

Curriculum-based

Support aligned to school, college, board or professional curriculum requirements.

04

Topic-based

Focused sessions for one skill, concept, tool or problem you want to master.

Academic levels

Advanced BeginnerClass 1Class 2Class 3Class 4Class 5Class 6Class 7Class 8Class 9Class 10Class 11Class 12First YearSecond YearThird YearFourth YearProfessional

Curriculum support

CambridgeCBSEGCSEIBICSEIGCSEISCNIOSState Boards

Current courses

Power BIBasic PythonIntermediate PythonAdvanced PythonBasic SQLAdvanced SQLLinuxAI coursesMore coming soon
Discuss a learning goal ↗

Coming next · 03

Beyond the
commit history.

A space for hobbies, ideas, achievements and the things that keep me curious.