Beyond his professional endeavors, he is deeply passionate about the transformative influence of education and mentorship. Sivakumar actively engages in guiding students and industry professionals in career development, resume & interview preparation, and staying abreast of the latest trends in Data Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning.

Presently, holding the position of Senior Data Engineer at Cognizant Technology Solutions U.S. Corp., a Fortune 500 company with a global clientele extending across the USA, UK, and beyond. With a career spanning over 17 years, his focus lies in the modernization of Banking and financial institutions’ data platforms, solidifying his position as a key figure in the Data Engineering field.

Notably, Sivakumar led a US banking client through the groundbreaking migration of analytical data platform & applications from on-premises to the AWS public cloud—a pioneering move in the U.S. banking industry. This cloud migration solution has garnered widespread recognition, setting a precedent for major banking and financial clients who are now adopting this approach for cloud migration and modernization. Additionally, Sivakumar contributed to modernizing a critical Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance platform, facilitating the development of new machine learning models for accurate identification of suspicious activities (SAR’s) with fewer false positives compared to traditional rule-based models.

During his tenure at Exusia Inc., Sivakumar played a crucial role in modernizing the credit product for one of the three major leading credit bureaus in the US, TransUnion. This transformative journey involved transitioning from a legacy mainframe CICS-based system to a Nextgen platform using Ab Initio-based solutions. This move not only fostered innovation and agility but also facilitated the expansion of services to various geographies outside the USA.

Sivakumar holds a Master’s in Computer Application from Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. His commitment to continuous learning and professional growth is evident through various certifications, including AWS Certified Solution Architect and Big Data Certified Professional. Actively participating in prestigious organizations such as a Senior Member of IEEE, a Professional Member of BCS, a member of IAENG, and a Fellow of RSA, Sivakumar contributes to research, having published five journal articles and a book chapter on ML-Based Finger Vein Biometric Authentication and Hardware Implementation Strategies

Engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion activities, particularly in mentorship programs for students and industry professionals. Sivakumar’s impact extends to judging hackathons at esteemed institutions like Ohio State University and the University of Tennessee. Additionally, he mentors high school & college students and contributes actively to associations such as TSA, VA chapter, Fairfax County Science Fair, and North Carolina Science and Engineering Fair. Serving as an independent reviewer at O’Reilly Publications, Sivakumar provides valuable insights and reviews for books related to Databases, Enterprise architecture and Practical Lakehouse architecture.

With an illustrious history of achievements and an unwavering dedication to excellence, Sivakumar Ponnusamy continues to shape the future landscape of Data engineering and Modernization.