Harish K.

Principal / Senior Engineering Leader - Network Security & Systems @ Lavelle Networks

About

Principal Engineer with 20+ years of experience building, scaling, and securing complex networking systems, including over a decade owning core engineering at Lavelle Networks. I specialise in network security, protocol development, and high-performance packet processing, with a strong track record of solving deep, production-critical technical problems. I have designed and implemented scalable packet processing engines, security controls, and network stacks used in demanding enterprise environments, including deployments for some of India’s largest banks. My work has involved diagnosing and resolving hard-to-reproduce issues across performance, reliability, and security - often at scale and under strict operational constraints. I operate comfortably across roles depending on what the situation requires: - as a hands-on individual contributor writing and debugging complex systems code, - as a technical architect making long-term design and trade-off decisions, and - as a technical lead mentoring teams and driving execution without losing engineering depth. I value clarity, correctness, and pragmatic engineering - building systems that are not only fast and secure, but also debuggable, maintainable, and production-ready. I believe Principal Engineers add the most value by combining deep technical hands-on work with sound judgement - knowing when to write code, when to redesign, and when to simplify. Core focus areas: Network protocols • Secure systems design • Packet processing pipelines • Performance optimisation • Production debugging • Architecture & technical leadership

Country

India

City

Bengaluru

Industry

Computer Software

Skill

Network Protocol Engineering (TCP/IP, routing, SD-WAN), Network Security Architecture & Implementation, Scalable High-Performance Packet Processing, Systems Programming & Low-Level Debugging, Distributed & Enterprise Networking Systems, Performance Analysis & Optimisation, Architecture Reviews & Technical Decision-Making, Mentorship & Technical Leadership, TCP/IP, Ethernet, Routing, IP, MPLS, QoS, Embedded Systems, VxWorks, Linux Kernel, RTOS, Linux, Wireless Networking

Experience

Principal / Senior Engineering Leader - Network Security & Systems

Lavelle Networks

2015-4 - Present · 11 yrs 5 mos

Bengaluru Area, India

• Owned and evolved core networking and security components, with deep involvement in protocol implementation, packet pipelines, and system-level performance optimisation. • Designed and implemented scalable packet processing engines supporting high-throughput, low-latency enterprise networking use cases. • Led investigation and resolution of deep technical issues in live production environments, particularly for large banking and financial services customers with strict reliability and security requirements. • Acted as a technical authority across the stack — driving architectural decisions, reviewing critical designs, and stepping in as an individual contributor when problems required hands-on debugging. • Balanced long-term system design with immediate operational needs, ensuring production stability while continuing to evolve platform capabilities. • Mentored engineers and technical leads, raising engineering quality around correctness, performance, and operational discipline.

Lead Engineer

Versa Networks

2013-12 - 2015-3 · 1 yr 4 mos

Bengaluru Area, India

Built and enhanced enterprise networking and security features, addressing low-level protocol and performance challenges in a fast-growing product environment.

Software Engineer Staff

Juniper Networks

2010-8 - 2013-11 · 3 yrs 4 mos

Bengaluru Area, India

Contributed to mobile packet core networking software (GGSN/SGW/PGW) for large-scale service provider deployments on Juniper Trinity chipset–based platforms. • Owned critical datapath features for MobileNext Broadband Gateway (2G/3G/4G), including subscriber programming, charging, and DPI flow offload implemented directly in packet forwarding hardware • Architected and led a redesign of the PFE charging pipeline, enabling efficient traffic accounting and real-time charging trigger detection for millions of concurrent subscribers, delivering substantial throughput and scalability gains • Developed deep expertise in ASIC-based datapath design, Trinity architecture, and LU microcode programming • Collaborated cross-functionally with system, control-plane, and product teams to deliver carrier-grade, production-hardened platforms

Technical Lead

Aviat Networks

2005-10 - 2010-7 · 4 yrs 10 mos

Bengaluru Area, India

Led and contributed to packet and wireless networking systems with a focus on reliability, scalability, and performance. Technical lead for WiMAX (802.16d/e) base station software, delivering control-plane, datapath, and mobility features deployed in tier-1 telecom networks in India. • Architected and owned subscriber station lifecycle management, the core control-plane subsystem governing network access, session state, and mobility • Designed and integrated R6/R1 interfaces, carrier-grade forwarding paths (bridging, IP, tunneling), and handover mechanisms across fixed and mobile deployments

Senior Software Engineer

Samsung R&D Institute India

2002-6 - 2005-9 · 3 yrs 4 mos

Bengaluru Area, India

Developed embedded and systems-level software in performance-sensitive environments, building foundational control-plane and datapath components for enterprise and service-provider router platforms, with hands-on work across routing and MPLS traffic engineering, DiffServ-aware resource management, and high-performance IPv4/IPv6 forwarding pipelines on programmable network processors, including scalable control-to-datapath integration.