Milind Patel

Critic
DISC Type : C

Director Central Engineering at Nexthop AI

Fremont, California, United States

Overview

Milind Patel is the Director of Central Engineering at Nexthop AI, with extensive experience leading hardware validation and verification teams at companies like Cruise, Arista, and Cisco. A holder of an MSEE and an MBA, colleagues describe him as a respected, cheerful, and excellent leader focused on execution.

Beyond his core technical roles, Milind is passionate about fostering innovation within the engineering community. He was a key organizer for the Cisco Innovating Test Conference for five years, helping it grow into a global event for professionals to exchange new ideas and technologies.

Unique fact: During his graduate studies, he published a paper on Indium Phosphide (InP) based device characterization.

Personality Overview

Critic

ROI Driven

Objective Thinker

It is very likely that they will negotiate pricing or other important 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

Hardware Validation
His entire career, from Cisco to Nexthop AI, has been focused on leading hardware validation, verification, and test engineering teams at high-profile tech companies.
Building Engineering Teams
Recommendations repeatedly praise his ability to build and shape highly capable engineering teams, with one former colleague calling him their "first choice" to lead a validation team.
AI Networking
His current role is at Nexthop AI, a company he states is on a "mission to reinvent AI networking infrastructure. "

Media Appearances

Milind has no verified media appearances

Work History

12-2024
Director Central Engineering at Nexthop AI
7-2023 - 8-2024
Sr. Hardware Verification Manager at Cruise
1-2022 - 1-2023
Senior Manager, Hardware Validation Engineering at Cerebras Systems
10-2014 - 12-2021
Sr Manager, Design Validation at Arista Networks
2-1996 - 10-2014
Sr. Engineering Manager at Cisco

Education

1999 - 2000
MBA from University of Phoenix
1990 - 1991
MSEE from New Jersey Institute of Technology

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 29 Location : Fremont, California, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director Central Engineering at Nexthop AI
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Insights For Selling To Milind

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Don’t forget to mention how you compare to competition on both features and pricing
  • Be ready to answer many clarity-seeking questions and requests for information
  • If you can, show them industry reports or analyst comments instead of sharing anecdotal stories

DONT's

  • Don’t try too hard to build a relationship with them
  • Make extra effort to not seem pushy or confrontational
  • Avoid phrases like ‘trust me’, ‘others just love’ etc.

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Milind is

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

  • 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 Milind move?

  • Their decision-making is neither very fast nor very slow, they are somewhere in between.
  • Can Milind take some risk or not?

  • They can take risks if their analysis shows that it would be worth it.

You And Milind

Personality Compatibility


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