Arun Giri

About Arun Giri

I am an architect of possibilities—a builder of platforms that not only meet the demands of today but anticipate the challenges of tomorrow. With over three decades of engineering and architectural expertise, I’ve earned a reputation as a leader who sees around corners, envisioning solutions before problems arise. My work isn’t just about technology; it’s about creating scalable, adaptive systems that unlock innovation and empower teams to drive change.As Head of Platform Engineering at Union Pacific Railroad, I’ve been leading the transformation of legacy systems into AI-driven platforms that not only scale for billions of daily interactions but also embed intelligence into workflows, enabling teams to operate with greater agility and foresight. My approach combines visionary foresight with pragmatic execution, preparing organizations for the future by designing systems that evolve alongside their needs.Key AchievementsAI-Driven Platform Transformation: Led the integration of Generative AI (RAG, conversational analytics) and autonomous agents into mission-critical workflows, improving operational efficiency, decision-making, and organizational agility.API Ecosystem Leadership: Designed and deployed a resilient API platform that powers over APIs, processing billions of interactions daily, connecting diverse systems and supporting continuous innovation.Data-Driven Innovation: Pioneered data mesh and MLOps strategies, enabling real-time analytics and predictive insights that unlocked new operational opportunities across the enterprise.AI & Automation Integration: Embedded AI solutions into the core of business operations, enhancing human decision-making with machine intelligence and driving value through autonomous actions.Visionary R&D: Spearheaded development of innovative data grid solutions to support high-scale transactions, alongside future-proofed AI workflows.Team Builder & Mentor: Cultivated a culture of innovation, empowering teams to challenge the status quo, experiment, and scale new ideas with resilience.Leadership PhilosophyI lead with humility and clarity, focusing on enabling others to thrive and fostering a culture of curiosity, innovation, and responsibility. I believe leadership is about empowering individuals, guiding teams with a shared purpose, and continuously unlocking opportunities for growth. Success, for me, is not just the technology we build but the people and ideas we empower along the way.

Experience

1. Head of Platform Engineering, Architecture & Lead Enterprise Engineer

   Union Pacific Railroad

   Aug 2023 — Present · Omaha, NE, US

   Serving as both the Head of Platform Engineering and Lead Enterprise Architect, guiding the architecture and delivery of enterprise-scale platforms, cloud foundations, and next-gen AI systems. Focused on accelerating time-to-value from strategic technology investments, enabling real-time insights, and embedding AI across business workflows.Key initiatives and responsibilities:• Defined and launched enterprise GenAI strategy, aligning AI investments with business outcomes, governance, and platform reuse.• Designed and deployed an extensible AI Intelligence Platform featuring agent orchestration, semantic search, and tool registries built on MCP.• Led production deployment of multiple RAG and agentic AI systems, including legal research assistants, claims assessment engines, and enterprise knowledge search apps.• Built reusable frameworks for secure AI deployment, observability, and role-based access.• Continued advancement of hybrid cloud platforms, MLOps pipelines, and Zero Trust architecture to support real-time analytics and AI workflows.

Education

• University of Mysore

  Bachelor's Degree, Computer Science and Engineering

  1987 — 1991

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln

  MS, MIS

Skills

• J2ee
• Ejb
• Object Oriented Design
• Tibco
• Graph Algorithms
• Xml
• Database Design
• Rest
• Tomcat
• Architectural Patterns
• Microservices Architecture
• Maven
• Java Enterprise Edition
• Enterprise Software
• Enterprise Architecture
• Solution Architecture
• Jsp
• Java
• Jdbc
• Distributed Systems
• Application Architecture
• Soa
• Agile
• Concurrent Programming
• Junit
• Agile Methodologies
• Team Building
• Soap
• Jms
• Ooad
• Linux
• Spring
• Neo4j
• Test Driven Development
• Platform Design
• Architectural Design
• Integration
• Oracle Coherence
• Weblogic
• Design Patterns