I am Shekhar Krishnan and I began my tech career over 25 years ago working as a consulting engineer and focusing on technical support, software development, and DevOps. I was part of one of the biggest startup successes in the mid 1990s, which meant that I was able to work with a fast paced company and learn valuable skills on the job. It also set me up for success in working with startups in the future.
While only the beginning of my career, I realized how many different hats I was comfortable wearing,(technical support, software development, and DevOps) and how rare a skill that was in our industry.
Fast forward to today, and I’m still working in several areas of the tech industry. Instead of spending the last 20 years restricting myself to developing the same type of applications, I diversified my expertise to include other technical areas like cloud computing, mobile apps, AI/Machine Learning, and other facets of software development such as software architecture, management, and training.
Notable Clients
Past projects have included work for:
- Dell Computers(Now part of DELL/EMC2)
- Ford Credit
- Hewlett Packard
- Legato Systems (Now part of DELL/EMC2)
- Mentorware Inc. (one of the earliest e-learning companies)
- Mercedes Benz Financial
- Morgan Stanley
- OPENLANE
- Porsche Financial
- Southern Cal Edison
Experience is a benefit, not a liability
As someone who reinvents myself every few years, I can say with certainty that being above the median age in the software industry is a benefit, NOT a liability.
I combine my dedication to lifelong learning with years of experience and the ability to change direction quickly. I also have a solid understanding of troubleshooting, because let’s face it, I know what can go wrong after this many years in the business, but I also know how to fix it.
Maybe you’re The VP of Engineering or Chief Technology Officer who oversees software development as part of your responsibilities. You need someone who can come in and manage your team and give them the training they need to get to the next level.
Or, maybe you’re the CEO of a startup looking to jumpstart your product implementation and for guidance on technical direction or software development. Or, perhaps you could use help building out your engineering department.
Forget feeling like you need to train someone, or manage their every move to get what you need. I get the job done with the highest ethical standards and my proven track record shows that I mean business. Of course, I’d never expect you to just take my word for it. Here’s what others have said about working with me:
“Shekhar is a top notch Java developer. When he was on my team I could rely on him to take a business requirement and turn it into high quality code quickly. Shekhar is good at asking the right questions to make sure that you get exactly what you are looking for and he is able to focus on getting the job done with a minimum of fuss.”
Julias Shaw, VP Engineering Voyat/Intent Media
“Shekhar is capable, competent and dedicated. A great asset and team player.” – Roger Butterwick, Partner at Cambridge Management Associates
“Shekhar worked both for me and alongside me during his employment at Legato. He was always a pleasure to have on the team, he always had a professional attitude and a strong work ethic, he possessed excellent technical knowledge of the operating systems and products he was responsible for, and was able to communicate well with customers at all levels of expertise.” – Rich Mangel, Sr. Data Center Engineer at Sigmanet Inc.
So, what does all this mean for you – the client?
There are three core values I’ve built my business on and I bring them to every project I take on. Big or small.
Education and educating others
I am an avid learner and believe that education is never over. My current degrees and certifications include:
- Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
- Sun/Oracle Certified Enterprise Architect for Java EE
- Google certified GCP Professional Architect
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional
- Certificate courses in Machine Learning (Stanford University)
- Deep Learning (Stanford University)
- Hadoop Framework and Analytics (UC San Diego)
- Machine Learning and Big Data (UC San Diego)
- Big Data Analytics (UC San Diego)
I have mentored several developers in various stages of their careers and continue to train expert software engineers through my teaching position at Foothill De-Anza College.
I believe in giving back, so I’m happy to offer guidance and mentorship if I see ways I can help improve the team I’m working with.
Ethical standards
When you hire someone to work for your company you need to know that you can trust them and that they will get the job done right.
It is always my goal to maintain the highest ethical standards in my business and it is of the utmost importance to me that I earn the trust of my clients so that we can work together long term.
Experience
As someone with 25 years in the business I can save you the trouble of reinventing the wheel. While I fully understand and embrace the idea that our industry changes quickly and that it’s of the utmost importance to constantly be learning new skills, I also know what potential pitfalls could meet you along your journey.
I understand what could go wrong because I’ve fixed it a dozen times before. I also know that each project is unique and requires time and consideration to get it done right.
Once we set the project requirements, deliverables, and parameters I make sure it gets done, even if that means more time on my end. I believe in the work I do, and it is my passion to help businesses achieve their tech goals and reach their milestones.
A communicator for all facets of your business
When it comes to communicating, I can work on both sides of the fence, so to speak. Sure, I’ve got the technical language down, and can communicate as needed with technical audiences, but I am also skilled at working with the business side of your operations and can put tech topics into human terms easily.
Bridging the gap between engineers and business folks is critical to your business running smoothly and to execute the product vision. Without this skill, both the engineering and business sides of your company might assume their needs are being understood by the other department. As you probably know, that is hardly ever the case. As one of my managers succinctly said about me – you can put me in front of any audience.
“I worked with Shekhar directly and indirectly over five years and will gladly take a reference call for him anytime. He is always enthusiastic, analytical, will question the fundamentals of a project to make sure that they make sense and he understands them – then jump in with both feet and get things done. He is a no-nonsense type of guy who will do what he says, within the time that he says. He is a most valuable asset to any organization.” – Jorge Borbolla, Engineering Program Manager at Apple
Are you ready to find out how we can work together? Fill out this short form here and I’ll be in touch to talk about your project.
If you would like to learn more about my history, past projects I’ve worked on, and read more rave reviews of my work, please check out my LinkedIn profile.