Rekha Sivakolundhu is an accomplished Lead Software Engineer with over 14 years of experience in delivering scalable, highly available software solutions and managing enterprise-wide products. Based in Frisco, TX, Rekha currently works at a leading Fortune 100 company, where she leads engineering teams, drives key initiatives in cloud architecture, DevOps, and automation, and fosters a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
Rekha’s journey is marked by remarkable resilience and determination. Coming from a small village where education was not easily accessible and facing significant financial constraints, she demonstrated extraordinary perseverance. Her parents were not financially stable and left her to work as a maid at their relatives’ place when she was just 10. Rekha faced numerous challenges while working as a maid and attending school, but her dedication and hard work earned her a place in college, where she continued to thrive. She earned her Bachelor of Engineering from Anna University in Chennai, India, in May 2008.
Rekha’s career began in Chennai at one of the leading technology and IT consulting services companies, where she led development and support teams for critical applications across multiple domains, including banking, mortgage, and auto finance. Her efforts in implementing performance-enhancing best practices drove continuous improvement in application reliability and scalability.
In December 2015, Rekha joined a prominent Fortune 100 fintech company in Virginia as a Software Engineer. She created a user-friendly self-service portal for secure file transfers, automating workflows and ensuring compliance with security standards. She also spearheaded the transition to modern batch scheduling tools, ensuring minimal disruption to business processes. Her tenure in this role showcased her ability to lead and innovate, setting the stage for her subsequent roles.
As a Senior Software Engineer from July 2019 to December 2021, Rekha implemented a one-click self-service solution for log ingestion pipelines, drastically reducing onboarding time and saving considerable manual efforts across the enterprise. She administered and optimized monitoring platforms like Splunk and ELK, ensuring high availability and reliability, and developed automation tools that enhanced operational efficiency.
Since December 2021, Rekha has been serving as a Lead Software Engineer. She has been instrumental in leading the design and implementation of scalable data pipelines using AWS services, significantly enhancing data integration and processing. Her expertise in automation with Ansible has streamlined application deployment, reducing manual intervention and achieving substantial cost savings. Notably, in 2023, she collaborated with a vendor to develop a custom Kafka Connect software, ensuring critical application visibility for leadership and saving significant costs for the organization. In 2024, Rekha architected, designed, and implemented the Ansible Automation Platform for the enterprise as a self-hosted solution, empowering multiple teams across the organization to effectively manage their platforms and focus on creative problem-solving.She holds certifications as an AWS Solutions Architect – Associate and a Certified Secure Software Engineer – Professional.
In addition to her technical prowess, Rekha has published several research papers relating to technology and has peer-reviewed papers for journals as part of the editorial board in the International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) and also for IAEME (International Association of Engineering and Management Education). She is also an Editorial board member of the International Journal of Computing Techniques (IJCT). As a strong advocate and core member of organization-wide Women in Tech programs, she actively mentors women in technology and colleagues, guiding them in personal branding, career development, and learning new technologies. She also participates in internship programs for aspiring technologists, assisting high school and college-bound students in navigating their career paths.
Rekha’s journey from a challenging background to a successful career in technology is a testament to her perseverance and focus. She is passionate about creating an inclusive and supportive environment that empowers individuals to achieve their professional goals. Her efforts in cost management, vendor collaboration, and technical innovation have been recognized within her organization, showcasing her ability to deliver high-impact solutions that drive organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
