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Santosh Chandankar
Project/Program/Delivery Manager | Technology Leader | Agile Coach | Transformation Lead | Open-Source Enthusiast

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Professional Identity

Who I Am

I am a Technology Leader, Technical Co-Founder, and CTO-grade execution partner with over 20 years of experience spanning software engineering, SaaS platforms, AI/ML systems, cloud architecture, and large-scale enterprise digital transformation.

My career blends deep hands-on engineering (Python, Django, PHP, Drupal), enterprise delivery leadership, Agile & SAFe program governance, and founder-level ownership of technology strategy and outcomes.

I treat technology as a long-term business asset — designed to survive scale, compliance, cost pressure, organizational change, and time.

Career Timeline & Evolution

1996–2002 | Academic Foundation

Completed B.Sc. in Computer Science followed by MCA from Amravati University, building strong theoretical and practical foundations in programming, systems, and software engineering.

2002–2005 | Founder – ICEM (Entrepreneurship & Education)

Founded and led the Institute of Computer Education & Management (ICEM). Owned curriculum design, faculty development, operations, sustainability, and government-aligned digital literacy programs (MSCIT).

This phase built lifelong strengths in mentoring, ownership, execution discipline, and people leadership.

2005–2010 | Software Engineer → Team Lead

Delivered CRM, CMS, and enterprise web platforms using PHP, Drupal, open-source stacks, databases, and REST/SOAP integrations. Gained deep production-level engineering experience.

2010–2017 | Technical Lead / SME – Capgemini & CGI

Served as Drupal SME and Technical Lead delivering large-scale, security-sensitive platforms for Eurostar, Royal Mail, and enterprise insurance clients.

2017–Present | Program Leadership, AI & Cloud Platforms

Led enterprise cloud migrations, CRM transformations, AI/ML platforms, security systems, and SAFe programs. Managed Agile Release Trains (40+ members) with 90–95%+ delivery success.

Flagship Programs & Projects (Complete Portfolio)

Starr Insurance – Enterprise Legal Management Migration

15-month enterprise migration from Legal Tracker to Mitratech TeamConnect. Owned end-to-end program delivery including roadmap, ETL, system configuration, integrations, testing, training, and go-live.

  • Zero data loss, minimal downtime
  • Improved legal compliance & invoice automation
  • 20-member cross-functional team leadership

TalkTalk UK – Salesforce & MuleSoft Digital Transformation

Agile Project Manager / Senior Scrum Master for Salesforce CRM modernization under SAFe. Managed Salesforce, MuleSoft APIs, Wholesale FTTP provisioning, and L3 support transition.

  • Agile Release Train with 40+ members
  • Time & Material billing governance
  • Copado-enabled CI/CD improvements

GALAXI – Global Alerts, Log Analytics & Intelligence

Designed and built an enterprise-grade Django-based security incident response platform for GSOC operations.

  • Django, PostgreSQL, REST APIs
  • SIEM integrations, ML-based anomaly detection
  • Dockerized deployment with CI/CD

Cigna Manipal Insurance – Digital Insurance Platform

Technical Project Manager and Drupal SME for customer-facing insurance portals covering policy purchase, lead management, document services, quotation engines, and Salesforce CRM integration.

MS Dynamics CRM 2016 → Dynamics 365 Migration

Led on-premise CRM migration to Dynamics 365 ensuring zero data loss, security compliance, integration compatibility, and operational readiness.

Eurostar – Travel Booking Platform (UK/EU)

Senior Drupal Consultant delivering large-scale travel booking, hotel, insurance, and third-party service integrations for millions of users.

Royal Mail Group – Enterprise Digital Services

Drupal SME for nationwide UK services including parcel tracking, government services, payments, and SSO using OpenSSO LDAP.

Iksula – E-Commerce Platforms (KaratCraft, eDabba)

Project / Technical Lead for Drupal Commerce platforms featuring dynamic pricing engines, loyalty systems, and multiple third-party API integrations.

WebAccess – LMS & Workforce Platforms

Senior Software Engineer / Team Lead delivering Learning Management Systems and workforce automation platforms.

VNV Solutions – Global CMS & CRM Platforms

Built CMS and CRM solutions for international clients including Paralympic Canada, healthcare, and retail organizations.

T3 Softwares – Early Career Engineering

Delivered CRM/CMS solutions end-to-end including development, deployment, and customer support, building strong SDLC fundamentals.

My Playbook – How I Build & Scale Technology

Technology Strategy

  • Architecture aligned to business outcomes
  • Scalability, security, and cost efficiency by design
  • Pragmatic technology choices

Execution & Delivery

  • MVP-first, architecture-aware execution
  • Agile, SAFe, or Hybrid based on context
  • Strong CI/CD and release governance

Teams & Culture

  • Clear ownership and accountability
  • High engineering standards
  • Mentorship-driven leadership

Technical Skills

Languages & Frameworks: Python, Django, PHP, Drupal, AngularJS, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, jQuery, C, C++, .Net,  REST, SOAP, AJAX
Databases: MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle
Cloud & DevOps: AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, CI/CD Pipelines
Web & App Servers: Apache, IIS, Nginx, LAMP/WAMP
Project & Agile Tools: JIRA, Confluence, MS Project, ADO, Rally, Trello, Miro, Mural
Version Control: GIT, GitHub, SVN
CMS / CRM: Drupal, AEM, MS D365, Salesforce, SharePoint, VtigerCRM
Utilities: Eclipse, PyCharm, Jupyter, Visual Studio, Visio, Anaconda

AI/ML: TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, Pandas, OpenCV, NLTK, ChatGPT, Copilot, PMI Infinity, 

 

Leadership Skills

Strategy & Value: AI-native technology vision, business–product–technology alignment, value & ROI realization, consulting-led solution strategy, enterprise & startup advisory

Delivery, Agility & Coaching: Program & portfolio management, Agile/SAFe & hybrid delivery, coaching & facilitation, risk & escalation management, distributed delivery leadership

Architecture & Engineering: SaaS & cloud-native architecture, AI/ML & GenAI platforms, API & integration ecosystems, secure & scalable system design, hands-on engineering leadership

Product, Innovation & Growth: Product strategy & roadmaps, AI-driven innovation, MVP-to-scale execution, data-led growth & monetization, platform & subscription models

Leadership, Culture & Trust: Global team leadership, CXO/client/partner engagement, quality & compliance governance, mentoring & culture building, Responsible AI & ethical engineering

 

Certifications & Education

  • PMP – Project Management Institute
  • Certified SAFe Scrum Master
  • Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
  • ITIL v4 Foundation
  • Generative AI for Managers – PMI
  • MCA – Amravati University
  • B.Sc. Computer Science – Amravati University

Professional Commitment

I commit as a long-term IT Professional to ethically and accountably steward the organization’s technology vision, architecture, and delivery in alignment with PMI’s principles of responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty and Agile / SAFe leadership values.

I lead technology with a product- and value-driven mindset, enabling Lean, Agile, and SAFe execution that emphasizes flow, transparency, continuous improvement, and predictable delivery at scale. I foster empowered, cross-functional teams; establish clear governance and decision frameworks; and ensure alignment between strategy, execution, and measurable business outcomes.

I remain hands-on where it matters—guiding architecture, coaching leaders and teams, and governing delivery—while embedding security-by-design, data privacy, regulatory compliance, and responsible innovation. My commitment is to build resilient, scalable, and sustainable platforms that minimize technical and operational debt, support organizational agility, and compound long-term enterprise value with integrity and trust.

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