Nagasree Ravindra
Cupertino,USA
Summary
Accomplished Senior Production Network Engineering and Software Development Leader with extensive experience spearheading large-scale data center and backbone network initiatives. Expertise encompasses network capacity delivery, expansion, and zero-touch network automation for provisioning, deployment, and change management of planet-scale global networks, alongside platform software development for cutting-edge data center networking solutions. Proven ability to build and lead high-performing global teams, combining a strong technical foundation with strategic leadership.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
Work History
Sr. Production Network Manager
Meta
09.2020 - Current
- Lead capacity delivery for one of the largest Backbone IP networks on the planet critical to supporting Meta's exponential growth driven by AI.
- Spearhead network expansion initiatives by deploying Backbone infrastructure in new data centers, points of presence, and Edge Metros/POPs.
- Manage complex network migrations to scale capacity while ensuring zero service disruption.
- Oversee provisioning and delivery of new platforms and network topologies to maintain cutting-edge, efficient infrastructure.
- Drove cutting-edge automation efforts to develop scalable solutions for provisioning, delivery, and new product introductions (NPIs), significantly enhancing operational efficiency.
- Consistently achieved multi-petabit capacity delivery targets across Backbone and Edge Networks, enabling seamless business growth and network performance.
- Built a strong horizontal, global organization of high talent, growing the team from 4 to 25 members within 3 years.
- Developed the vision, strategies, and organizational structure to establish specialized sub-teams aligned with the mission of capacity delivery and network expansion.
Director of Software Development, Data Center Business Unit
CISCO SYSTEMS
San Jose, CA
10.2016 - Current
- Company Overview: Leading Edge 400G platform delivery based on Innovium and Cisco Cloudscale ASICs
- Delivered Cisco's first 400G platform for the Data Center.
- Platforms included 12.8T Innovium ASICs on TORs and Fixed modular chassis with pluggable CPU-less modules with ports, Cloudscale 6.8T 400G ASIC based TORs.
- Project planning, Cross-functional engagement with ASIC/HW/Product Management teams, Vendor engagement.
- Driving Design and Development of: Software for 400G Port blocks of the ASIC, 400G link port state machine, Drivers for Third-party Retimers/Gearbox devices, 400G QSFP-DD Initialization Sequences, 400G Optics.
- Drove the team for the Bring up of 400G links, bleeding edge QSFP-DD transceivers, a first at Cisco and likely in the Industry as well.
- Taking the product for early Demos at several Plugfest events.
- Disaggregation of NX-OS on White Box Switches.
- Delivered NX-OS, Cisco's flagship Data Center Networking OS to run on third-party White Box Switches.
- Collaborated with Facebook team for requirements, hardware needs, feature set, technical issues.
- Successfully led the team to Win the preferred NOS Vendor status with a Service Provider for their Whitebox adoption competing with several SW vendors.
- Lead a major release that comprised of close to 100 Software features across all areas for the Multi-Layer/Multi-Protocol Data Center Networking Switches.
- Leading Edge 400G platform delivery based on Innovium and Cisco Cloudscale ASICs
Senior Software Development Manager, Insieme Business Unit
CISCO SYSTEMS
San Jose, CA
07.2015 - 10.2016
- Delivered 50+ count of 10/25/40/100G TORs, Linecards/Fabric modules for Nexus 9000 4/8/16 slot Modular switch based on Cisco Cloudscale family of ASICs.
- Drove team of Engineers that developed software for and brought up the ASIC, High speed Ethernet front-panel ports with all combinations of breakouts, optics, PHY, Gearbox, Retimer and all other board level devices such as Ethernet controller, SSD, USB, eMMC, FPGAs.
- Delivered ISSU feature for a slew of Broadcom Silicon based Nexus 9000 TOR and Modular Data Center Ethernet switches based on X86 and ARM processor family.
- Delivered the project being hands-on and managing/mentoring Engineers on the team on an extremely aggressive schedule of 4 months from design to FCS.
Senior Software Development Manager, Nexus 7000 DCBU
Cisco Systems
San Jose, CA
05.2010 - 06.2015
- Managing a Software team responsible for platform software development for Cisco's Nexus 7000 Data Center Ethernet switch and MDS Storage switch.
- Delivered NX-OS for Supervisor-3 module for Nexus 7700 Data Center Ethernet switch for all the control and management plane functions.
- Responsible for managing and design/development and delivery of U-boot, Linux kernel and SOC peripherals device drivers and bring up of all Nexus 7000 linecards based on LSI's ACP 3421 and 3502 SOCs with P476 PPC core.
- Managed and Delivered the large scale Linux kernel migration project which involved Upgrading Cisco's entire NX-OS code base to newer versions of Toolchain, Sysroot and Linux kernel from 2.6 to 3.4 version based on Windriver 5.0 distribution.
Software Development Manager
Cisco Systems
San Jose, CA
05.2007 - 04.2010
- Responsible for leading the team that developed kernel space device drivers for MDS9148, which is a 48-port, 8G non-blocking 1RU Fibre-Channel switch.
- Led the team that sustained software components such as proprietary ASIC drivers, Kernel loadable modules for device configurations, Applications for control functionality on the Linecards.
Technical Lead
Cisco Systems
San Jose, CA
03.2004 - 04.2007
- Did Linux kernel support for Freescale MPC8541/8548 based linecards.
- Designed and developed overall infrastructure of driver and kernel loadable module for forwarding engine of the ASIC.
Software Engineer
Andiamo Systems
San Jose
04.2001 - 02.2004
- Company Overview: Storage Startup later acquired by Cisco
- Worked on design, development and bring up of the device driver for Fibre channel Virtualization engine ASIC.
- Designed, developed and did the bringup of an application to download image of the data path processors (DPP).
- Storage Startup later acquired by Cisco
Education
Bachelor's degree - Computer Science and Engineering
University of Mysore
IndiaSkills
- Data center and Backbone Network Technologies
- Network automation and Operations
- Vendor management
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Customer relationship management
- Project management
- Strategic visioning
- Linux systems and embedded solutions
- Kernel development for Linux
- Driver development for devices
- Disaggregated system architecture
- Board bring-up processes
- Configuration of whitebox switches
- Ethernet networking principles
- C, Python programming
Technical Toolset
- Linux
- C
- KGDB
- Git
- Gdb
- Open Source Software
- U-Boot
- BIOS
- Cisco NXOS
Timeline
Sr. Production Network Manager
Meta
09.2020 - Current
Director of Software Development, Data Center Business Unit
CISCO SYSTEMS
10.2016 - Current
Senior Software Development Manager, Insieme Business Unit
CISCO SYSTEMS
07.2015 - 10.2016
Senior Software Development Manager, Nexus 7000 DCBU
Cisco Systems
05.2010 - 06.2015
Software Development Manager
Cisco Systems
05.2007 - 04.2010
Technical Lead
Cisco Systems
03.2004 - 04.2007
Software Engineer
Andiamo Systems
04.2001 - 02.2004
Bachelor's degree - Computer Science and Engineering
University of Mysore