Hi, I'm Bala.
I build backends that are secure, boring in production and measurably fast.
Today I'm a senior software engineer at IBM, working on HashiCorp Vault in Go: secrets, access and identity.
Over 13 years I've gone from Chennai to Bengaluru to Toronto, building OAuth 2.0 and JWT platforms, fraud-detection microservices and more IBM ODM rule engines than I'd like to admit. I like untangling slow queries, designing APIs that don't need a manual, and explaining tricky things simply.
History
Since 2026 · Toronto
IBM
Senior Software Engineer, HashiCorp Secure
- Go services for Secure Hub, Secure Runtime and Vault
- Automating secrets and access management
2022 – 2026
Cognizant
Senior Software Engineer III
- Cut latency by about 25% with PostgreSQL tuning and load tests
- Led the move from Pivotal Cloud Foundry to OpenShift
- Owned 10 fraud-detection microservices
- Technical lead for the offshore teams
2021 – 2022
CGI
Senior Consultant
- Moved IBM ODM 8.6 apps to 8.10, with new Kafka consumers and producers
- Java microservices for legacy systems
2020 – 2021
Collège LaSalle, Montréal
AEC, Information Technology – Programmer Analyst
2018 – 2019 · Bengaluru
Netradyne
Software Engineer → Senior Software Engineer
- OAuth 2.0 across the product with Spring Security
- A throttling algorithm to save device bandwidth
- Soft rollouts for over-the-air updates
- Built Ops-Dashboard for the operations team
2017 – 2018 · Chennai
Zeta Global
Software Engineer
- Secure REST APIs with Java, Node.js and Spring Boot
- Support automation that cut ticket time by 14%
- 85% test coverage with TDD
2014 – 2017
Cognizant
Programmer Analyst Trainee → Programmer Analyst
- Team lead for 8
- Mentoring newcomers and running code reviews
- Working directly with the client on requirements and defects
- 43 SOAP services and their business rules on IBM ODM
2012 – 2014
Adaptavant
Intern → Junior Software Engineer
- REST APIs, moved onto Google App Engine
- A JavaScript library for chat and analytics
- Spoke at SYK, the internal knowledge-sharing sessions
- One of 3 interns, out of 50, offered a full-time role
2009 – 2013
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada
B.Tech, Computer Science Engineering