Nishant Kumar Profile Photo

Nishant Kumar

Principal Engineer at Microsoft

12+ Years Speaks English
Software Engineering Cloud, DevOps & Infrastructure Senior IC & Architecture Product Management Technical Program Management Big Tech (FAANG+) Hiring & Interview Panels Communication & Executive Presence

About

I am a technology professional with experience in cloud platforms, infrastructure, automation, and service delivery. My background includes working with technologies such as Azure, Kubernetes, hybrid cloud environments, and open-source tools to build, improve, and support scalable systems. I enjoy solving complex technical problems, streamlining processes, and collaborating across teams to deliver reliable solutions. Along with technical depth, I bring strong ownership, communication, and stakeholder management skills. I am passionate about continuous learning, working on challenging problems, and creating meaningful impact through a combination of engineering, operations, and cross-functional collaboration.

Available Services

System Design Interview Design scalable distributed systems end-to-end. Practice architecture trade-offs, capacity estimation, database choices, and the structured communication style expected in HLD rounds at top companies.

Technical Leadership Round Prepare for the leadership and vision rounds in Staff+, Principal, and EM interview loops. Cover technical strategy, cross-team influence, mentoring, and driving org-wide impact.

API Design Interview Design clean, scalable APIs from scratch. Practice REST/GraphQL design, versioning, pagination, error handling, and rate limiting - a growing dedicated round at companies like Stripe, Google, and Shopify.

Product Sense Interview Practice the product sense round common in PM, EM, TPM, and senior engineering loops. Work through product design, improvement, and strategy questions - covering user empathy, prioritization, metrics definition, and trade-off communication calibrated to your target company.

Promotion Guidance Get a clear roadmap to your next level. Understand what the promotion committee actually evaluates, build your case with the right artifacts, and learn how to make your impact visible.

Salary Negotiation Learn to negotiate base, equity, sign-on bonuses, and counter-offers with confidence. Get strategies specific to how top tech companies structure and approve compensation packages.

Performance Review Preparation Prepare for your upcoming performance review cycle. Learn to write strong self-assessments, quantify impact, collect peer feedback strategically, and handle calibration conversations.

Career Roadmap Planning Map out your 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year career plan. Identify skill gaps, align your growth direction, and make intentional choices about specialization vs. generalization.

Skills Gap Analysis Identify exactly what skills, experiences, and knowledge you're missing for your target role or level. Get a prioritized learning plan with concrete resources and milestones.

Building Visibility & Executive Presence Learn how to make your work visible to leadership, build influence beyond your team, communicate in senior forums, and develop the executive presence needed for Staff+ and Director+ roles.

Toxic Workplace Navigation Dealing with a difficult manager, office politics, or a toxic culture? Get practical strategies to protect yourself, document issues, and decide when and how to move on.

Workplace Conflict Resolution Navigate disagreements with colleagues, cross-team friction, or difficult stakeholder relationships. Learn frameworks to resolve conflicts professionally without damaging your reputation.

Burnout & Stress Management Feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or disconnected from your work? Talk to experienced professionals who've navigated burnout and come out stronger - get actionable strategies, not just sympathy.

Work-Life Balance Struggling to set boundaries between work and life? Get advice on managing energy, setting realistic expectations, and building sustainable habits from people who've figured it out at demanding companies.

Building & Scaling Teams Learn how to build a team from scratch, scale it 2x-10x, set culture, define hiring bars, create onboarding processes, and maintain quality as you grow - lessons from leaders at top companies.

Experience

Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft

May 2022 — Present Current

Senior Cloud Architect

Rackspace Technology

Jan 2021 — May 2022

Engineer III

Ericsson

Jan 2016 — Jan 2021

Airship Working Committee

OpenStack

Aug 2019 — Aug 2020

Project Engineer

Wipro

Nov 2013 — Jan 2016