Sowmya V Kumaran in

Sowmya V Kumaran

Commander · DISC type D
Director , Engineering - AI Infrastructure Platforms at Cisco
📍 Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Sowmya V Kumaran is the Director of Engineering for AI Infrastructure Platforms at Cisco, specializing in multi-cloud environments, Kubernetes, and modern applications. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, colleagues consistently describe her as an amazing, meticulous, and accomplished manager with deep functional knowledge.

Sowmya is passionate about mentorship and developing future leaders, particularly in an AI-driven world. She actively encourages growth within her teams and has a keen interest in fostering talent and exploring the skills needed for the next generation of leadership.

She proudly contributed to a significant milestone at Intel, helping to launch a full EdgeAI software stack including a container OS and management platform.

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Experience
21 Years
Current Role
Director , Engineering - AI Infrastructure Platforms
Job Level
Mid-senior
Location
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Personality Overview

How Sowmya shows up

Strong-Willed
Candid & Clear
Impact-Driven

They prefer to be the ones controlling the conversation or defining the terms. They respond well to strong and respectful communication. More than the product, they care about the impact of the product.

Priorities

Topics Sowmya cares about

AI-Powered Leadership
She is actively engaged in discussions about the future of leadership in an AI-powered world, focusing on the necessary skills and mindsets to stay ahead.
Building AI Teams
She is currently hiring for an innovation team at Cisco, focused on reimagining how enterprises can harness AI with startup-like agility and rapid iteration.
+5 more topics Login to view topics
Career

Work history

8-2025
Director , Engineering - AI Infrastructure Platforms
Cisco
12-2023 - 7-2025
Senior Director , Engineering - Edge Software Platforms Division , Intel
Intel Corporation
2-2023 - 12-2023
Director , Engineering R&D - Modern Apps , Multicloud connectivity and Security
VMware
2-2022 - 2-2023
Senior Engineering Manager - CTO Office - Networking and Advanced Security , Innovation Products
VMware
12-2020 - 1-2022
Senior Engineering Manager - Office of the CTO ,Research & Innovation - Cloud Architecture
VMware
In the press

Media appearances

No media yetWe could not find public media appearances for this person.
Education
2016 - 2016
Tanmatra - Women in Leadership
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Social presence
in
Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

D

Dominance (D)

Dominance (D) reflects how goal and task oriented a person is, and their ability to accomplish results irrespective of how demanding the circumstances might be. Those scoring high tend to be motivated by winning, competition, and success.

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