Vivek Unni

Java Lead Consultant

vijay.d@venusgeo.com

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

 Results-driven Full Stack Developer and Team Lead with 15+ years of experience in
designing, developing, and delivering complex Java/J2EE enterprise applications, with a
strong specialization in Cloud Platform Engineering, Infrastructure Automation, and DevOps
practices.
 Over 6 years of hands-on experience in Azure Cloud, with deep expertise in Kubernetes,
Terraform, Azure DevOps, and Python for building and managing scalable cloud-native
environments.
 Proven ability to develop and deploy robust web-based and microservices applications using
Java, Spring Boot, and Spring Cloud, with a focus on performance, maintainability, and
scalability.
 Skilled in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform, with experience in architecting and
automating Azure cloud services and resource provisioning.
 Strong leadership experience in managing multiple Agile teams, leading cloud engineering
initiatives, and providing end-to-end technical guidance on Azure-based solutions.
 Proficient in Guidewire Integration Development, supporting large-scale insurance
applications and maintaining complex Java/J2EE systems in production environments.
 Hands-on with DevOps tools such as Docker, GitHub, and Azure DevOps, managing full
CI/CD lifecycles, and setting up observability stacks using Prometheus and Elasticsearch.
 Recognized for excellent cross-functional collaboration, with the ability to lead, coordinate,
and work effectively across development, operations, and business teams.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

 Cloud Platforms: Microsoft Azure, AKS, ACR, AKV, Cloud Native Services, Terraform,
Helm, Docker
 DevOps: Azure DevOps (CI/CD), GitHub, Kubernetes, Prometheus, Elasticsearch
 Programming Languages: Java, JavaScript, Python, Bash, Terraform
 Frameworks: Spring Boot, Microservices, ReactJS, Java/J2EE, Kafka
 Messaging & Streaming: Event Streaming/Store, Confluent Kafka, RabbitMQ
 Monitoring Tools: Elasticsearch, Prometheus, Grafana
 Version Control: Git, GitHub

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

JPMorgan Chase (NYC, NY) October 2023 – present

Role: Lead Software Engineer

Project: Charles River Development (CRD)

Charles River is a vendor platform that is the target portfolio management/trading platform
for all discretionary programs for Global Wealth Management. It will be responsible for trading over
$600B in AUM, across 5 LOBs. Charles River is core to the Freedom program and will result in

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decommissioning multiple vendor legacy solutions with savings of over $30M of annual vendor
spend (Pershing, Tegra118/APL, LineData/LVTS, InvestCloud). Due to the criticality of the platform
as it is used by Portfolio Managers and Financial Advisors, the performance of the platform is of
utmost importance.

Responsibilities:

 Architected and developed robust RESTful microservices using Spring Boot, Spring Cloud,
and Java/J2EE, enabling scalable integration between multiple subsystems and ensuring high-
performance communication through well-structured APIs.
 Led end-to-end cloud platform engineering initiatives, with a focus on Kubernetes
orchestration and the Gaia Kubernetes infrastructure, empowering development teams to
rapidly build and deploy containerized applications in a self-service model.
 Worked hands-on with containerization and orchestration technologies, building and
deploying Dockerized microservices to Kubernetes clusters, optimizing resource utilization,
and improving system resilience.
 Integrated robust observability frameworks using Prometheus, Elasticsearch, and Grafana,
enabling real-time monitoring, proactive issue detection, and actionable insights into system
health and performance metrics.
 Utilized messaging and streaming platforms like Confluent Kafka and RabbitMQ for event-
driven architecture, enabling reliable inter-service communication and high-throughput data
streaming for real-time applications.
 Collaborated with cross-functional teams to align development and infrastructure goals,
provide mentorship on cloud-native patterns, and drive continuous improvement across
engineering practices.
 Leveraged full-stack capabilities with ReactJS and JavaScript for frontend integration,
ensuring seamless user experiences and rich interfaces complementing the backend services.

Environment: Java 21, Spring Security, SpringBoot Rest API, ReactJS, Redis, Kafka, Oracle,
Apache Spark, Jenkins, Kubernetes, Docker.

State Street (Boston, MA) August 2017 – October 2023

Role: Lead Software Engineer

Project: Alpha Grid Cloud Native

Alpha Grid Product provides cloud native platform engineering, design, architecture,
solutioning & provisioning activities related activities. Cloud native technologies currently
being supported and actively pursued includes:
AKS, ACR, AKV, Storage Account, Networking, Firewall, Cloud Native Services, VMs,
DevOps, Event Streaming/Store, Load Balancer, API GW, Reverse Proxy, DNS, PKI,
Observability.

Responsibilities:

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  Led infrastructure engineering for middle office applications under the CRD Alpha project for
a major financial institution, focusing on Azure cloud platform to ensure high availability,
performance, and security for mission-critical systems.
 Designed, automated, and maintained Azure-based infrastructure, leveraging services such as
AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service), ACR (Azure Container Registry), Azure Key Vault, VNets,
Subnets, and Private DNS, following Infrastructure-as-Code principles using Terraform.
 Implemented and maintained scalable CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps (ADO),
integrating with Python and Bash scripts for custom automation tasks such as environment
provisioning, app deployment, configuration management, and health checks.
 Managed Kubernetes infrastructure across Azure and AWS, including hands-on experience
with migrating EKS clusters and workloads from AWS to Azure, ensuring minimal downtime
and seamless service continuity.
 Deployed and managed observability and telemetry stacks on Kubernetes using Helm charts,
including:
i. EFK Stack (Elasticsearch, Fluentd, Kibana) for centralized logging.
ii. Prometheus and Grafana for metrics collection and performance monitoring,
enabling real-time insights and alerting.
 Engineered and supported Helm-based deployments for Confluent Kafka clusters on
Kubernetes, ensuring robust, scalable, and secure event-streaming capabilities across
distributed microservices.
 Designed and executed Chaos Engineering strategies using Litmus Chaos to simulate failures
and validate system resilience of both the Kubernetes infrastructure and deployed
applications.
 Performed version upgrades and lifecycle management of core Kubernetes components and
observability tools, including Kubernetes itself, as well as EFK, Prometheus, and Grafana,
ensuring compatibility, enhanced features, and security.
 Worked closely with cross-functional DevOps and application teams, providing cloud
infrastructure guidance, deployment support, and performance optimization across the SDLC.

Environment: Java, SpringBoot Rest API, Azure Kubernetes, Docker, Elasticsearch, Fluentd &
Kibana, Confluent Kafka.

Ernst & Young LLP (Madison, WI) September 2015 – August 2017
Role: Guidewire Integration Developer

Project – American Family Insurance (AmFam)

The integration workstream builds and/or oversee the development of the communication
between ClaimCenter and other systems – American Family systems and External trading
partners. The Integration workstream is responsible for expanding Claim Center functionality
by interfacing with legacy, internal, and external (vendor) systems. This includes real-time
communication with these systems as well as batch and asynchronous processes. There are 56
prioritized integrations for Release 1, which can be categorized as follow:
· External Vendors: 23
· Internal: 33
· Services: 17 (Services can be categorized as Internal or External)

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Responsibilities:

 Collaborated directly with customer-side Business Analysts and SMEs, offering technical
insights and strategic recommendations to shape and finalize system requirements for the
Claim Center project, ensuring business needs were effectively translated into technical
solutions.
 Architected, designed, and implemented new integration functionalities as part of Agile user
stories, contributing to the enhancement of the Guidewire Claim Center platform and
delivering scalable, modular, and maintainable codebases.
 Authored comprehensive technical specification documents, capturing design decisions, code
structures, and integration points to facilitate development handoffs, code reviews, and future
system maintenance.
 Led the development and unit testing of Claim Administration functionalities by building and
extending Guidewire implementation frameworks, ensuring alignment with enterprise
standards and regulatory compliance.
 Actively participated in Agile ceremonies, including:
1. Daily Scrum meetings to communicate project status, blockers, and progress.
2. Sprint planning sessions to identify key tasks, estimate effort, and define the delivery
scope for each iteration.
 Managed end-to-end defect lifecycle using Visual Studio - Team Foundation Server (TFS),
tracking bugs, prioritizing fixes, and ensuring timely resolution to maintain high system
reliability and quality.
 Supported the configuration, optimization, and execution of performance-enhancing tools and
utilities, contributing to improved system responsiveness and resource efficiency.
 Coordinated closely with Line of Business Analysts (LOBA) and Subject Matter Experts
(SMEs) for clarifications on functional specifications and workflows, helping bridge the gap
between business logic and technical implementation.

Environment: Gosu, SOAP API, Guidewire Claimcenter.

Syntel Inc. (Phoenix, AZ) August 2010 – August 2015

Role: Senior Application Developer

Project – American Express (Amex):

Acquisition is a very big project which contains number of modules like GNA, CARE,
TRIUMPH, CAS and many more. Global New Business supports processing of applications for new
credit cards. This system primarily validates data, verifies the customer information, checks previous
card experience with Amex, checks for fraud etc., gets credit information from Credit Bureaus, does
credit scoring, and finalize the application after appropriate decision. It further assigns card numbers
to the approved applications. This system also sends data to the various downstream like Triumph &
CARE (billing system), CAS (Card Authorization), MIS–DB2 (reporting system), GNAT and GRMS
etc.

Responsibilities:

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  Collaborated with business teams and external vendor partners during the analysis phase to
create K245 documentation, capturing detailed business and system requirements to guide
solution design and implementation.
 Utilized strong expertise in Core Java/J2EE, working extensively with Spring Framework,
Oracle, SQL, and Unix Shell Scripting to develop backend solutions that are performant,
scalable, and maintainable.
 Designed UML class diagrams and performed data modeling activities, helping define clear
object-oriented structures and ensuring database schema alignment with business rules and
data flow requirements.
 Developed shell scripts as value-added utilities to automate operational tasks, enhance
application functionality, and improve system maintainability.
 Contributed to all phases of the software development lifecycle, including:
1. Build phase: coding, documenting, and unit testing of new features.
2. Testing phases: active support during Assembly Testing, System Integration Testing
(SIT), User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and Regression Testing, ensuring smooth
defect resolution and functionality validation.
 Handled code deployment activities and environment synchronization for various NASP
codebases on IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS), maintaining version integrity and
deployment consistency across multiple environments.

Environment: Java, Spring MVC, Oracle, DB2, IBM Websphere, Unix and Shell Scripting.

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS:
 Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Computer Science & Engineering – Anna University,
Chennai