Nithin Reddy Manda
Raleigh,USA
Summary
Seasoned infrastructure engineer/leader experienced with leading technical teams to develop and implement cutting-edge solutions. Utilizes strategic planning and problem-solving abilities to drive project success and align with business objectives. Knowledge of fostering team collaboration and delivering impactful results in dynamic environments.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Technical Leader
Five9
San Ramon, CA
03.2024 - Current
- Architected and led a global storage modernization strategy supporting a 30% increase in SaaS transaction volume while maintaining 99.999% availability across a multi-vendor environment (NetApp, Pure, HPE), aligned with hybrid cloud and cloud-native architectures.
- Engineered scalable, high-performance infrastructure patterns for data-intensive and latency-sensitive workloads, aligned with cloud-native and ML-driven environments.
- Designed and launched a self-service storage platform/API, reducing provisioning time from days to minutes and accelerating developer productivity and release velocity.
- Enabled scalable Kubernetes platform operations by integrating CSI and SDS solutions, improving workload portability, developer self-service, and platform scalability.
- Drove operational excellence through automation-first initiatives using Python and Ansible, eliminating 75% of manual toil and improving deployment consistency and scalability.
- Implemented observability and monitoring frameworks (metrics, logging, alerting) to enhance incident detection, response times, and overall platform reliability.
- Led incident response and root cause analysis (RCA) for critical production issues, delivering systemic fixes and improving resilience for high-performance, latency-sensitive workloads.
- Developed advanced capacity forecasting and performance analytics to support multi-million-dollar CapEx decisions, ensure zero downtime during peak demand, and optimize resource utilization.
- Reduced storage TCO by 22% through vendor optimization, asset consolidation, and migration of legacy workloads to cost-efficient cloud tiers.
- Strengthened security and compliance posture by leading RBAC audits and automating firmware and infrastructure compliance across global environments.
- Collaborated cross-functionally with engineering, product, and security teams to improve delivery velocity by 25% and align infrastructure strategy with business goals.
- Mentored and developed high-performing teams, driving internal promotions, reducing operational churn, and fostering a culture of reliability and continuous improvement.
- Developed and implemented technical strategies aligning with organizational goals and industry best practices.
- Managed project budgets, ensuring resource allocation aligned with strategic priorities and business objectives.
- Streamlined processes by integrating new technologies, resulting in increased operational efficiency.
- Contributed to strategic planning initiatives by providing valuable insights on current technology trends and market demands.
- Delivered high-quality products by enforcing strict adherence to coding standards and best practices within the team.
- Created an environment conducive to open feedback and constructive criticism, empowering team members to voice their opinions and contribute to collective success.
- Developed comprehensive technical documentation to facilitate knowledge sharing and improve product understanding.
- Championed continuous learning within the team, fostering a culture of innovation and growth.
- Established robust monitoring systems to proactively identify potential issues before they escalated into critical incidents.
- Spearheaded technology evaluations, recommending optimal tools and frameworks to enhance team capabilities and product offerings.
- Led successful system migrations with minimal downtime, coordinating efforts across multiple teams for seamless execution.
- Streamlined project workflows for improved efficiency, resulting in timely project completion.
- Drove incident management processes, ensuring prompt resolution of production issues while minimizing impact on business operations.
- Diagnosed and troubleshot hardware, software and network issues.
- Developed and implemented preventive maintenance procedures.
- Assisted in development of system security protocols.
Sr. Infrastructure Engineer – Systems & Storage
Cisco Systems – Webex
RTP, NC
07.2016 - 03.2024
- Designed and operated large-scale hybrid infrastructure across on-prem datacenters and cloud environments, supporting SAN/NAS, OpenStack, VMware, and Kubernetes-based platforms for enterprise and cloud-native workloads.
- Automated infrastructure provisioning, lifecycle management, and compliance using Python, Ansible, and Kubernetes-native tooling, reducing manual effort, improving consistency, and enabling scalable platform operations.
- Built and enhanced observability and monitoring systems using metrics-driven approaches, enabling proactive alerting, faster incident detection, and improved reliability and performance.
- Led incident response and root cause analysis (RCA) for production systems, implementing long-term reliability improvements and minimizing unplanned downtime.
- Architected high-availability and disaster recovery solutions across global environments, aligning failure-domain design, RPO/RTO, and resiliency strategies with business requirements.
- Enabled scalable Kubernetes storage and platform operations through CSI and SDS integrations, improving workload portability, developer self-service, and time-to-market.
- Performed deep performance analysis across compute, storage, and network layers, identifying bottlenecks and delivering optimizations that improved latency, throughput, and overall system efficiency.
- Developed predictive maintenance, capacity forecasting, and proactive monitoring strategies to enhance reliability, optimize resource utilization, and support long-term infrastructure planning.
- Partnered with cross-functional and executive teams to assess infrastructure risk, drive cloud-native modernization, and align platform strategy with business goals.
- Mentored engineers and fostered a culture of automation, reliability, and continuous improvement, increasing team effectiveness and delivery velocity.
- Led infrastructure design and implementation for Webex services to enhance system performance and reliability.
- Managed cloud-based solutions, ensuring optimal resource allocation and scalability across platforms.
- Streamlined network operations through automation tools, improving efficiency and reducing downtime.
- Conducted regular system audits to identify vulnerabilities and implement proactive security measures.
- Developed disaster recovery strategies, ensuring business continuity in critical situations.
- Drove process improvements by analyzing system performance data and implementing best practices.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to design, develop, and deploy scalable IT infrastructure solutions.
- Played a key role in the organization''s digital transformation journey by enabling agile infrastructure solutions that supported evolving business needs.
- Optimized cloud-based infrastructure for improved performance, cost savings, and increased security measures.
- Evaluated emerging technologies to determine potential benefits, risks, and impacts on current infrastructure environments.
- Performed regular audits of existing systems to identify areas for improvement, leading to enhanced efficiency across the organization.
- Implemented disaster recovery strategies, minimizing data loss and ensuring business continuity during unexpected events.
- Conducted thorough risk assessments on proposed infrastructure changes, mitigating potential negative impacts before implementation.
- Established robust backup policies that safeguarded valuable company data while reducing overall storage costs.
- Streamlined data center operations by consolidating servers and optimizing storage solutions.
- Spearheaded the migration of legacy systems to modern platforms, resulting in improved functionality without sacrificing security or compliance requirements.
- Aligned IT infrastructure strategy with organizational goals by collaborating closely with key stakeholders at all levels of the company.
- Developed comprehensive documentation on infrastructure architecture, processes, and procedures for easy reference by colleagues and stakeholders.
- Championed a culture of continuous improvement among team members through knowledge sharing sessions and training opportunities related to new technologies in the field of Infrastructure Engineering.
- Simplified complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences during project presentations, facilitating better understanding of infrastructure projects'' value and requirements.
- Managed the successful integration of acquired companies'' IT systems, ensuring seamless transition for end-users and minimal disruption to business operations.
- Maintained regulatory compliance by adhering to industry standards and implementing necessary controls within the IT environment.
- Managed vendor relationships to ensure timely delivery of services and products necessary for infrastructure projects.
- Reduced downtime and increased system reliability through proactive monitoring and maintenance of critical infrastructure components.
- Provided 2nd and 3rd level technical support and troubleshooting to internal and external clients.
- Participated in system development life cycle from requirements analysis through system implementation.
- Wrote and maintained custom scripts to increase system efficiency and performance time.
- Defined enterprise processes and best practices and tailored enterprise processes for applications.
Storage Engineer
Cisco Systems – IT
RTP, NC
07.2010 - 07.2016
- Designed and implemented multi-site, high-availability storage architectures that improved capacity utilization, data accessibility, and business continuity across enterprise applications.
- Led end-to-end backup and disaster recovery strategy, including cloud-integrated solutions, significantly reducing recovery times and strengthening data integrity during outages.
- Optimized SAN performance and I/O efficiency by analyzing latency and workload patterns, driving measurable improvements for mission-critical applications.
- Developed automated monitoring, predictive capacity planning, and AI-driven analytics to enable proactive maintenance, minimize disruptions, and improve operational efficiency.
- Analyzed long-term storage performance trends to inform strategic tuning and architectural adjustments, resulting in sustained efficiency gains across platforms.
- Maintained comprehensive architecture documentation to support compliance, audit readiness, and operational consistency.
- Fostered a collaborative, high-performing team culture that enabled timely delivery of critical infrastructure initiatives.
- Designed and operated mission-critical infrastructure with strong focus on reliability, availability, and performance.
- Developed automated monitoring and alerting systems to proactively detect failures and reduce downtime.
- Led disaster recovery and failover testing, improving recovery time objectives (RTO) and system resilience.
- Optimized storage and infrastructure performance through data-driven analysis and capacity planning.
- Built automation scripts and tools to streamline operational workflows and reduce manual overhead.
- Designed and implemented storage solutions for enterprise-level data management systems.
- Optimized storage architecture to improve data retrieval speeds and enhance system performance.
- Led cross-functional teams in deploying scalable storage infrastructures across multiple platforms.
- Developed automated backup strategies to ensure data integrity and availability during outages.
- Conducted regular audits of storage systems to identify inefficiencies and recommend enhancements.
- Collaborated with cybersecurity teams to secure sensitive data stored within infrastructure environments.
- Evaluated emerging technologies to inform strategic decisions on future storage investments and upgrades.
- Contributed to capacity planning efforts by analyzing growth trends and making recommendations based on organizational needs.
- Aligned closely with security teams in order to ensure adherence to regulatory compliance standards throughout all storage-related initiatives.
- Developed custom scripts for automating routine tasks, increasing productivity within the engineering team.
- Kept current with industry trends and emerging technologies, regularly recommending updates to existing systems or new solutions as needed.
- Designed disaster recovery plans specific to each application''s requirements, ensuring minimal impact during unexpected events.
- Optimized storage performance by implementing effective data management strategies and policies.
- Evaluated vendor offerings for relevance to company needs, negotiating contracts that resulted in cost savings while maintaining high-quality service levels.
- Championed the adoption of new technologies within the organization, presenting compelling business cases that led to successful implementation.
- Assisted in the migration of data from legacy systems to modern storage platforms, reducing operational costs and improving efficiency.
- Enhanced system reliability with regular maintenance and upgrading of storage hardware and software components.
- Implemented effective monitoring tools to proactively identify potential issues before they impacted business operations.
- Standardized configuration management practices across all storage devices, simplifying administration tasks and reducing human error risk factors.
- Provided tier-2 support for complex issues related to SAN/NAS devices, troubleshooting problems until resolution was achieved.
- Increased storage capacity by utilizing data deduplication, compression, and thin provisioning techniques.
- Performed systems and data analysis using variety of computer languages and procedures.
- Documented data warehouse architecture to guarantee capacity met current and forecasted needs.
Library IT Assistant
Virginia International University
Fairfax, VA
08.2008 - 07.2010
- Managed and maintained library IT systems, improving reliability and user access.
- Developed inventory and user tracking solutions in VB.Net, SQL, and Access.
- Enhanced IT support by collaborating with staff, boosting user satisfaction.
- Conducted system audits, strengthening security and reducing downtime.
Education
Masters - Computer and Information Sciences
Virginia International University
Fairfax, VABTech - Information Technology
JNTU Hyderabad
Hyderabad, IndiaSkills
- Technical Architecture & System Design
- Strategic Planning & Process Improvement
- Hybrid Cloud & Infrastructure Management
- Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity
- Security & Regulatory Compliance & Governance
- DevOps & Automation
- Team Leadership & Mentoring
- Machine learning, Observability, Incident Management
Languages
English (Proficient)
Telugu (Highly proficient)
Hindi (Novice)
Timeline
Technical Leader
Five9
03.2024 - Current
Sr. Infrastructure Engineer – Systems & Storage
Cisco Systems – Webex
07.2016 - 03.2024
Storage Engineer
Cisco Systems – IT
07.2010 - 07.2016
Library IT Assistant
Virginia International University
08.2008 - 07.2010
BTech - Information Technology
JNTU Hyderabad
Masters - Computer and Information Sciences
Virginia International University
SRE & Platform Engineering Highlights
- Defined and improved SLOs, SLIs, and reliability metrics across infrastructure services.
- Reduced operational toil through automation-first mindset.
- Built scalable monitoring and alerting systems using modern observability practices.
- Led incident response and postmortem culture with actionable improvements.
- Designed hybrid cloud infrastructure integrating AWS and on-prem systems.
- Enabled infrastructure scalability to support high-growth and ML-adjacent workloads.