Salaja Balakrishnan

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT SALAJA BALAKRISHNAN

Proven technology leader with over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, currently serving as a Lead Engineer at Xero. I have a strong track record of delivering complex, high-impact projects and leading high-performing teams across cloud-native, event-driven, and scalable backend systems.I bring a unique blend of deep technical expertise and strategic business insight, combining engineering excellence with a customer-first mindset and a focus on delivering real business value. My core expertise includes the.NET ecosystem, RESTful APIs, AWS, Kubernetes, and modern software architecture.Passionate about mentoring, I actively support the growth of engineers, foster psychologically safe environments, and help teams align around shared goals. My MBA has further shaped my leadership approach, sharpening my skills in product strategy, influence, and building sustainable team cultures.I\'m known for driving innovation, simplifying complexity, and continuously learning — most recently expanding into Generative AI and modern cloud practices (MCPs) to accelerate performance. I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned and mentoring others navigating growth, transformation, and early-stage challenges.