Abhishek Rai

Critic
DISC Type : C

Senior Director of Engineering at Databricks

Palo Alto, California, United States

Overview

Abhishek is the Senior Director of Engineering at Databricks, where he leads the compute platform team. A seasoned entrepreneur, he co-founded two successful data analytics startups, ThoughtSpot and NetSpring. His expertise lies in building large-scale distributed systems, a skill honed as a tech lead for Googles renowned "Borg" platform. Colleagues describe him as thoughtful, dedicated, and a great technical leader.

His core passion is building software systems that solve significant problems and collaborating with people who share this drive. He holds a Masters from Stony Brook University and a B. Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He also has a professional certification in Deep Learning, indicating a keen interest in advanced AI.

Unique fact: Abhishek holds multiple patents, including one for a distributed transaction system and another for managing access to shared computer resources.

Personality Overview

ROI Driven

Objective Thinker

Critic

They are quite likely to negotiate on pricing or other key terms.  They prefer to do logical analysis and value evidence over emotions. They enjoy working alone and do not rely on others very often.

Topics They Care About

Scalable Compute Platforms
He leads the compute platform team at Databricks and previously was a tech lead for Google's planet-scale compute platform, Borg. He is actively hiring for these roles.
Data Analytics Startups
He has proven experience building companies from the ground up, having co-founded both ThoughtSpot (search-driven analytics) and NetSpring (customer analytics).
Distributed Systems
This is a core technical theme throughout his career, from his work at VMware and Google to holding patents related to distributed systems.

Media Appearances

Articles by Abhishek Rai – Databricks Blog. Featured in Databricks Blog

See Now

Work History

7-2023
Senior Director of Engineering at Databricks
3-2020 - 7-2023
Co-Founder, Chief Architect at NetSpring (Acquired by Optimizely)
10-2012 - 3-2020
Co-Founder, Vice President of Engineering at ThoughtSpot
8-2007 - 10-2012
Staff Software Engineer at Google
2005 - 2007
Member of Technical Staff at VMware

Education

2003 - 2005
M.S. from Stony Brook University
9-1999 - 5-2003
B. Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 21 Location : Palo Alto, California, United States Job Level : Senior Designation : Senior Director of Engineering at Databricks
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Insights For Selling To Abhishek

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Be ready for penetrating questions and critical examination of your pitch
  • Be ready to answer many clarity-seeking questions and requests for information
  • Leverage facts and figures wherever possible; use percentages, numbers etc.

DONT's

  • Don’t try to give too many examples of other users, they like to make their own decisions
  • Make extra effort to not seem pushy or confrontational
  • Avoid pushing them too much to involve other stakeholders unless it is critical

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Abhishek is

  • Strong evidence of ROI, effective pricing, and proven data points matter the most to them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Abhishek

  • It is not very hard for them to say no if they are not convinced about the decision.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Abhishek move?

  • They are neither the fastest nor the slowest decision makers, they are somewhere in the middle.
  • Can Abhishek take some risk or not?

  • They can bear some risk if their analysis backs the decision.

You And Abhishek

Personality Compatibility


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