Sumanth Saligram

Fresh out of my Information & Computer Science degree, I joined Deloitte and shipped my first production-ready Java class, convinced that clean code alone could build a rock-solid product. Then a global skincare client asked why their checkout felt clunky and why sign-ups were dropping off a cliff. That moment showed me the real magic lives where code, design, and users intersect. I swapped IDE shortcuts for whiteboards, grew into a Senior Consultant, and started turning fuzzy "we need something better" into features that actually shipped.

Each engagement widened my lens - from debugging SAP Commerce extensions to orchestrating roadmaps, stakeholder demos, and launch playbooks that powered full-scale digital transformations. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I discovered I loved the conversations as much as the code commits and pull requests: Interviewing end users, sketching pain points, and mapping journeys until the solution felt inevitable.

Now, at Duke's Master of Engineering Management program, I'm doubling down on that intersection. Courses in Managing AI in Business and AI Product Management have me prototyping with the newest LLMs, MCPs, and AI workflow tools, what Andrej Karpathy calls "vibe coding." I've dusted off my developer hat (a little rusty, still fits) and spin up Python or TypeScript when an idea hits, testing whether AI can quietly eliminate the friction users complain about most.

If we meet, you'll probably catch me with three windows open: one a user interview doc, Figma and, Cursor - AI Code Editor window. I listen first, code second (or try to :D), and measure impact always, because, the story isn't finished until the product feels effortless for the person on the other side of the screen.