Ashish Muralidharan
Tech Lead & Senior Software Engineer | System Design & Java/Node.js Specialist
With over 9 years of experience, I am a Tech Lead specializing in system design and building scalable, resilient backend systems with Java and Node.js. My expertise extends to maturing products for enterprise environments, with a proven track record of delivering 50x performance improvements and 50% infrastructure cost reductions. My work focuses on driving architectural decisions, mentoring engineers to elevate their skills, and fostering a culture of high-quality, secure code. I thrive on solving complex problems, whether through hands-on coding or by guiding my team to successful outcomes. My goal is to build impactful products and empower the teams behind them.
Professional Experience
This timeline provides an overview of my career, showcasing my progression through various roles and responsibilities. Each entry highlights my key contributions and the technologies I've worked with, demonstrating a consistent path of growth and impact in the software development field.
June 2022 - Present (3+ years)
Tech Lead & Senior Software Engineer (ZP3)
Zoom, Remote
- Leading a team of engineers as Tech Lead, driving architectural decisions and technical strategy for the Ecosystem team.
- Zoom Certified Security Champion driving secure coding practices and elevating team security standards across the organization.
- Providing technical leadership by guiding the team in PRD, MR, and tech-spec reviews, ensuring high-quality deliverables.
- Leading the architecture, design, and implementation of Node.js and Next.js-based microservices and applications.
- Led the creation of a user-friendly and automated integration platform for third-party apps, improving developer experience.
- Created a reverse-proxy authentication system for streamlined third-party integration API calls, reducing complexity by 40%.
- Organizer of team-wide "Bi-weekly Technical Friday" knowledge-sharing sessions, fostering continuous learning culture.
- Mentoring junior and mid-level engineers, conducting code reviews, and providing technical guidance for career growth.
Nov 2020 - May 2022 (1 year 7 months)
Fullstack Senior Software Developer
Freshworks Inc., Chennai
- Served as Squad Lead, Scrum Master, and Mentor, driving team efficiency and growth.
- Collaborated with the Product team to design solutions for a highly scalable product using Ruby on Rails and EmberJS.
- Proficiently triaged and debugged technical support requests, and minimized ticket influx by optimizing affected areas.
- Championed clean code, TDD, and proactive knowledge sharing within the team.
June 2018 - Oct 2020 (2 years 5 months)
Fullstack Software Developer
Freshworks Inc., Chennai
- Led a dynamic squad, providing mentorship and contributing to full stack development.
- Revamped and optimized Import/Migration tools, resulting in significantly improved performance benchmarks.
- Implemented Core CRM Features and played a pivotal role in integrating Segment.
- Nurtured and guided junior team members, fostering their professional development.
May 2016 - May 2018 (2 years 1 month)
Member Technical Staff
Zoho Corporation, Chennai
- Worked as a Server-end Java Developer with the Zoho Books Engineering Team.
- Played a substantial role in the development and launch of Zoho's GST returns filing platform.
- Became skilled in creating REST APIs for accounting and taxation processes.
- Guided and mentored newcomers to foster their professional growth.
My Engineering Approach
As a Tech Lead approaching Staff Engineer level, my impact extends beyond writing code. I focus on creating leverage for my team and organization through a balanced approach to technical leadership and hands-on development.
30% - Technical Discussion & Architecture
I dedicate significant time to technical discussions with the team, helping them make the best architectural decisions. This includes design reviews, system architecture planning, and guiding the team through complex technical challenges to ensure we build robust, scalable solutions.
30% - Hands-On Programming
I stay deeply connected to the codebase, contributing to critical features and tackling ambiguous problems with Node.js and Next.js. This hands-on work keeps my skills sharp, informs my architectural decisions, and allows me to lead by example in code quality and best practices.
30% - Strategic Initiatives & Ad-hoc Tasks
This includes crucial team success activities like effort estimation ("T-shirt sizing"), roadmap planning, cross-team collaboration, and addressing urgent technical challenges. I help ensure our engineering efforts are well-planned and efficiently executed.
10% - Mentorship & Team Growth
I am passionate about helping other engineers grow. Through 1-on-1s, pair programming, and sharing knowledge, I work to elevate the technical capabilities of the entire team, fostering an environment of continuous learning and improvement.
Technical Skills
Here's a breakdown of my technical abilities. The chart visualizes my years of dedicated experience with key technologies, offering a quick, quantitative look at my primary strengths. You can explore the full range of my skills in the categorized lists below.
Back-end
Front-end
Database & Caching
Tools & Platforms
Leadership & Mentorship
Throughout my career, I've actively sought opportunities to lead, mentor, and improve team processes. Here are some of the formal roles where I've had the privilege to guide teams and champion technical excellence.
2024 - Present
Security Champion, Ecosystem Team
Zoom
2022 - Present
Tech-Lead, Ecosystem Team
Zoom
2020 - 2022
Scrum Master / Tech-Lead
Freshworks
2015 - 2016
Chairman, IEEE Computer Society
College of Engineering Chengannur
Key Achievements & Impact
Throughout my career, I've consistently delivered measurable impact through technical leadership, team development, and innovative solutions.
Complexity Reduction
Streamlined authentication system reducing integration complexity
Years Experience
Progressive growth from developer to Tech Lead
Engineers Mentored
Direct mentorship and career guidance
Security Champion
Zoom certified security practices implementation
Certifications
I am committed to continuous learning and professional development. These certifications represent my dedication to mastering new technologies and architectural principles.
Software Architecture: From Developer to Architect
LinkedIn Learning
Advanced Microservices: Tactical Forking
LinkedIn Learning
Spring Boot 2.0 Essential Training
LinkedIn Learning
Certificate of Security Achievement - Green Belt
Zoom (for Javascript)
Publications
I believe in sharing knowledge with the community. Here are some articles I've written to explore technical concepts, share solutions, and document my professional journey.
Clean Code Series
Featured Articles
Navigating Challenges as First Member in Zoom India R&D
Personal journey of building from scratch, leading teams, and achieving technical milestones at Zoom.
Bulk Import in Ruby On Rails older versions
A technical guide to performing efficient bulk imports in legacy Rails applications.
Featured Projects
Below are some of the projects I've developed, showcasing my ability to apply technical skills across different domains. From modern web applications to machine learning explorations, these projects demonstrate my versatility and problem-solving approach.
Reporting Module Redesign
Redesigned and optimized a critical reporting module, achieving 100x performance improvement through architectural improvements and efficient data processing algorithms.
Node.js, System Architecture, Performance Optimization
Third-Party Integration Platform
Led the development of a comprehensive integration platform for third-party applications, improving developer experience and reducing integration complexity.
Node.js, Next.js, Microservices
Reverse-Proxy Authentication System
Designed and implemented a streamlined authentication system for third-party API integrations, reducing complexity by 40%.
Node.js, Authentication, API Design
Speech Based Gender and Emotion Recognition
A machine learning project to identify gender and emotion from speech using advanced audio processing techniques.
Python, Tkinter, MySQL
Forum WebApp
A full-featured forum application with user management, content moderation, and real-time features.
PHP, HTML, Bootstrap, MySQL
Automatic Light Detecting Robot
An autonomous robot that can detect and follow light sources using sensor technology and embedded systems.
Arduino, Embedded Systems