From chemical engineering foundations to leading the commercialization of next-generation food biotechnology, my career has focused on translating scientific innovation into scalable manufacturing systems that improve human health and sustainability.
Over the past decade, I have worked across biotechnology, fermentation, process engineering, and global manufacturing operations - leading the scale-up of technologies ranging from immune-health ingredients and sustainable proteins to AI-derived bioactive compounds.
My work combines technical rigor, engineering leadership, manufacturing excellence, and commercialization strategy to bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and industrial-scale execution.
My engineering journey began at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), where I built a strong foundation in chemical engineering, industrial manufacturing systems, and process optimization. During this time, I developed a deep interest in large-scale technologies and the role engineering plays in solving complex industrial challenges.
I began my professional career at Reliance Industries, contributing to the world’s largest gasification and oil refining operations. Working within a highly complex manufacturing environment strengthened my understanding of process systems, operational reliability, industrial safety, and large-scale execution. These early experiences established the engineering discipline and systems-thinking mindset that would later shape my work in biotechnology commercialization.
I then pursued a Master of Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering at Cornell University, where I further specialized in advanced process engineering, biotechnology systems, and scalable manufacturing technologies. My graduate work deepened my expertise in industrial biotechnology and reinforced my long-term focus on translating scientific innovation into commercially viable manufacturing platforms. Cornell also became an important milestone in my professional journey, and I later returned as an invited industry speaker to engage with graduate engineering students on real-world applications of biotechnology and process engineering.
At Kerry, a global leader in taste and nutrition technologies, I progressed through multiple engineering and leadership roles across fermentation manufacturing, functional ingredients, purification technologies, and global process optimization. Over nearly seven years, I evolved from a technical process engineer into an engineering and technology leader responsible for large-scale fermentation systems, technology transfer and scale-up initiatives, sustainability projects, and manufacturing optimization programs across global product lines.
My work focused heavily on scaling complex biotechnology processes while enhancing product quality, operational reliability, process efficiency and manufacturing capacity. During this time, I led initiatives involving fermentation scale-up, contamination reduction, advanced filtration systems, process automation, clean-label ingredient technologies, and capacity debottlenecking.
I also supported mergers and acquisitions activities, global technology transfers, and strategic manufacturing expansion initiatives. Among the technologies and ingredient platforms I helped optimize and commercialize were immune-health ingredients, probiotic systems, hydrolyzed protein technologies, and clean-label food preservation solutions used in global food and nutrition applications.
This phase of my career significantly expanded both my technical depth and leadership responsibilities while strengthening my expertise in industrial biotechnology commercialization and global manufacturing systems.
I later joined Air Protein as Director of Engineering, where I led engineering and scale-up efforts for one of the world’s first gas-fermentation platforms designed to produce sustainable protein using carbon dioxide and hydrogen as feedstocks. This role marked a major transition into frontier biotechnology and climate-focused food innovation.
At Air Protein, I directed the design, construction, and commissioning of a first-of-its-kind pilot facility with gas fermentation and downstream purification technologies. My responsibilities included process scale-up, pilot plant development, techno-economic analysis, engineering team leadership, process safety systems, and commercialization planning.
Under my leadership, the organization successfully advanced its technology from laboratory development toward pilot-scale manufacturing capability, demonstrating the feasibility of carbon-negative food biotechnology systems. The company and technology later received international recognition from organizations and publications including CNN, the World Economic Forum, MIT Technology Review, and various government-backed biotechnology initiatives focused on sustainable manufacturing and food security.
I currently serve as Head of Operations & Engineering at Nuritas, a biotechnology company pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to discover and commercialize bioactive food ingredients. My work focuses on translating AI-discovered biotechnology into scalable commercial manufacturing systems capable of serving global nutrition and health markets.
In this role, I lead operations and engineering strategy across technology scale-up, process optimization, commercialization, global manufacturing partnerships, and product quality systems. My work has supported the commercialization of clinically validated AI-derived ingredients including Peptistrong® and Peptisleep®, helping bridge artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and industrial manufacturing into commercially viable nutrition technologies.
Over the course of this work, I have led significant manufacturing expansion initiatives, including a tenfold increase in production capacity, major reductions in cost of goods sold, and expansion of manufacturing operations across the United States and Europe. These efforts have supported the broader mission of advancing next-generation nutrition systems through scalable and sustainable biotechnology platforms.
Today, my work continues to focus on advancing the future of food biotechnology through engineering leadership, commercialization strategy, and sustainable manufacturing innovation. Alongside my industry work, I actively contribute to the broader scientific and professional community through technical reviewing, scientific judging, publications, professional leadership, and mentorship.
I currently serve as Chair Designate of the Biotechnology Division of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), and I have also been recognized as a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science & Technology (FIFST) and a member of Phi Tau Sigma, the Honor Society of Food Science & Technology.
My long-term goal is to help accelerate the development of scalable biotechnology platforms that make global food systems healthier, more sustainable, and more resilient.
