AKHIL AGGARWAL

Senior Technical Program Manager – MS/PMP/CSM

Dallas, TX : Email: adf2lc@r.postjobfree.com: Cell: 919-***-**** SUMMARY

Highly accomplished, results-driven Senior Technology professional with 14+ years of experience in consumer electronics and technology product management. Spearheaded diverse global teams to launch Android smartphones for major US operators including Verizon, AT&T and T-mobile US. Experience in handling all phases of product management from concept to launch. Recognized for ability to collaborate cross-functionally and build customized solutions to meet business and customer needs. Specific capabilities include:

Experience in technical product certification and launch of consumer electronics products

Skilled in grasping the big picture, conceptualizing and implementing solution collaborating with business leaders and C-level executives

Experience with a complete mobile ecosystem including Operators, OEMs and solution providers

Strong Customer Relationship building and Negotiations skills

Agile Project Management and cross-geographic People Management skills with proven abilities in handling complex product development with multiple stakeholders EXPERIENCE

Sony Mobile Communication

Sr Technical Program Manager (San Francisco, CA) Sept 2014 – Present Part of the Customer Portfolio Management (CPM) team in US team where my mission is to deliver "best in class" smartphones. Complete responsibility for driving technical acceptance and overall launch management Android based smartphones and tablets with key operator partners in the US.

Direct cross-functional global and local teams from SW/QA/R&D/ to facilitate the timely and successful launch of Xperia smartphones in the US market

Engage technical discussions with US operators such as Verizon, AT&T and TMobile to lead and coordinate overall technical launch acceptance of the smartphones

Drive customer negotiations on resolving product defects and prioritizing critical issues to help secure product acceptance

Proven ability to understand complex business and technical problems and make balanced judgments when faced with trade-offs

Recognized by Executive Management for an excellent performance. Grown the US Retail Unlocked business by $10M in increased sales in less than a 1 year by offering innovative solutions with minimum R&D investment

Collaborate closely with Sales and marketing team around unique features of the device to increase product visibility and support Go-To market planning

An excellent track record for on-time successful completion from RFP to product delivery ensuring high quality.

Product Customization Manager (Atlanta, GA) May 2010 – Sept 2014 Responsible for managing US operators smartphone product configuration requirements to provide the best out of the box experience tailored to specific needs for the US market.

Improved product offering by defining customized proposal and product configuration tailored to specific operator requirements for the US market

Responsible for driving the engagement with 3rd party application developers from NDAs, App verification and integration of services and features into Xperia android devices

Work closely with software architects, developers and UX designers to drive customer requirements into product features

Project manage the collateral approval for commercial HW kit setup and drive approvals with the supply chain team including FAI (First Article Inspection) audit at manufacturing facilities.

Coordinate with Product compliance team to ensure the global product meet US local regulatory requirements for FCC, HAC, PTCRB, IEEE, CEC etc.

Due to outstanding performance in challenging US market, selected as a principal advisor to help outline Sony Mobile SW customization strategy towards the global market.

Technology Used: Android OS, MS Project office, Jira, Confluence, Sony Flash and Debug Tool Sony Ericsson

Software Development Team Lead (Raleigh, NC) Oct 2008 – May 2010 Team leader responsible for coordinating engineering resources and managing mobile phone SW settings and content specifications for the US R&D site. Lead a team of four engineers from milestone Invest to Ship for different SW releases for a product launch

Steered execution and delivery of Customization Data file (CDF) for global 100+ operators worldwide with localization of content and settings. This included requirement gathering, feasibility study, UX, testing and release planning

Received recognition award to implement the memory stick customization for cell phones to allow preload for large content files on SD Card

Tracked and triaged software customization issues for multiple projects using Rational ClearQuest

Perform root-cause analysis on complex technical issues and lead efforts to mitigate by cross- collaborating with various stakeholders to ensure high-quality software delivery

Technology Used: Android SDK, Focal Point, Rational ClearQuest, Rational Clearcase Software Engineer (Raleigh, NC) June 2006 – Oct 2008 Part of the SW development team responsible for creating and verifying configuration packages in mobile phones for global customers. Experience of working on Ericsson Mobile Platform and Symbian based phones

Developed Customized SW packages for carrier-specific data settings, network settings, SIM lock codes, icons, text labels, games, pictures, themes and ringtones for mobile phones

Coordinated requirements gathering and translation to functional and technical design

Compile the list of Test Case scenarios in coordination with each Product Lead to ensure compliance with customer and product requirements

Technology Used: C++, XML, XSLT

KLG Systel Ltd - Delhi, India Nov 2003 – June 2004 Software Developer

Assisted in the implementation of Geographical Information System (GIS) application for Electricity Network to minimize electricity theft and help in better Asset Management. Used Magik OOP language to implement the programming logic.

Technology Used: GE Smallworld3, C++

ACHIEVEMENTS

Selected for Executive leadership and coaching program by Sony. Only offered to selective 1% employees in the company.

Constantly promoted to areas of increased responsibility within Sony Mobile for being a top performer.

Filed with the US Patents and Trademark office US20080309621-“Proximity-based Stylus and Display Screen, and Device incorporating the same”.

Awarded full scholarship for MS program by Dept of Computer Science Clemson University due to outstanding performance in my core electives

EDUCATION

Clemson University – Clemson, SC USA Aug 2004 – May 2006 Masters of Science, Computer Science, GPA 3.85

Apeejay Institute of Information Technology – Haryana, India Jul 2000 – May 2004 Bachelor of Software Engineering, GPA 3.70

CERTIFICATIONS

Project Management Professional (PMP)

The Project Management Institute (PMI), License 1976257

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Scrum Alliance, License 000455761

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