Resume

General Information

Name Karan Kumar Ratra
Expertise Innovative E-Commerce Systems Architect and Technology Leader in Retail Technology Innovation

Education

  • 2015
    Master of Science
    Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
    • Software Systems
      • Cloud computing
      • Distributed Systems
      • System Design and Architecture
      • Data Analytics
      • Machine Learning
  • 2005
    Bachelor of Engineering
    Government College of Engineering, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India
    • Computer Science and Engineering
      • Data Structures and Programming
      • Computer Architecture

Experience

  • 2023 - Current
    Senior Manager II, Software Engineering
    Walmart Global Tech
    • Lead engineering teams building Walmart’s Fulfillment Management System (FMS), orchestrating 100M+ daily messages across U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
    • Architected event-driven microservices and asynchronous frameworks that improved platform efficiency by 25% and reduced operational costs by 15%.
    • Spearheaded delivery of customer remediation platforms, enabling customers to self-remediate stuck orders, reducing contact-center dependency and improving satisfaction.
    • Mentored engineers and managers, fostering growth through technical leadership, system design reviews, and hackathon mentorship.
    • Recipient of Walmart Impact Award (2024) and multiple Excellence Awards for leadership in digital transformation.
  • 2022 - 2023
    Senior Manager I, Software Engineering
    Walmart Global Tech
    • Directed engineering efforts for Walmart’s Fulfillment Management System (FMS) orchestration framework, ensuring scalable order processing across U.S. distribution centers.
    • Partnered with cross-functional teams (Product, Operations, Data Engineering) to deliver enhancements that improved forecast reliability, allocation accuracy, and order fulfillment speed.
    • Led the development of Customer OTP enablement for secure deliveries and Pre-order scheduling using Walmart’s internal scheduler framework.
    • Designed and implemented the Error Framework and Asynchronous Microservices, enabling fault-tolerant workflows and improved resiliency across global fulfillment operations.
  • 2018-2022
    Staff Software Engineer
    Walmart Global Tech
    • Architected and developed Walmart’s Fulfillment Management System (FMS) components, enabling real-time orchestration of millions of e-commerce orders daily.
    • Built a Scheduler Framework using Azure Service Bus, now processing 100M+ messages per day across U.S., Canada, and Mexico markets.
    • Designed and implemented Error Handling Frameworks and Resilient Asynchronous Microservices, improving fault tolerance and reducing incident recovery times.
    • Built hybrid and cloud-native architectures for FMS, enabling seamless integration of on-premise and public cloud services to ensure resilience, scalability, and global availability.
    • Led the transformation of monolithic FMS services into distributed microservices deployed on the public cloud, accelerating deployments, improving maintainability, and supporting high traffic during peak events.
    • Conducted performance tuning (Gatling, JMeter) and system optimizations that reduced latency and improved throughput in high-volume fulfillment workflows.
  • 2017 - 2018
    Senior Software Engineer
    Walmart Global Tech
    • Designed and developed the Allocation ETL pipelines on Google Cloud, enabling accurate and timely data processing for Replenishment and Forecasting systems that power Walmart’s global distribution network.
    • Developed RESTful APIs and microservices that modernized legacy workflows, improving maintainability and scalability of supply chain applications.
    • Introduced data validation and monitoring pipelines, ensuring high data quality and reducing forecasting inaccuracies.
    • Partnered with product managers and cross-functional supply chain teams to deliver features that enhanced inventory accuracy, forecast reliability, and operational efficiency.
  • 2013 - 2017
    Senior Development Engineer III
    PayPal Inc
    • Designed and developed compliance APIs and rules engines that automated KYC/AML/OFAC/FATCA checks, ensuring regulatory compliance across global payment flows.
    • Architected and implemented real-time risk and fraud detection microservices, reducing fraudulent transactions and safeguarding millions of customer accounts.
    • Led critical initiatives that prevented a potential $10M U.S. Treasury fine, earning the PayPal Golden Envelope Award (2013) for excellence in compliance engineering.
    • Built high-throughput payment orchestration services integrated with distributed systems (Kafka, MySQL, Elasticsearch), improving transaction processing performance and reliability.
    • Collaborated with global compliance, product, and engineering teams to deliver scalable, secure, and audit-ready financial systems used in multiple regions.
  • 2009 - 2010
    Software Engineer
    Subex Ltd.
    • Designed and developed a Credit Risk Management Platform from the ground up, enabling major telecom operators to manage customer credit risk and improve billing/payment accuracy.
    • Built multi-threaded, high-performance workflows for risk evaluation and decisioning, ensuring scalability for millions of telecom subscribers across multiple regions.
    • Integrated the system with SOLR search and distributed databases for real-time query execution, accelerating fraud detection and credit checks.
    • Improved customer–provider relationships by delivering tools that reduced credit exposure, optimized customer interactions, and enhanced service reliability.
    • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deploy the solution globally at Tier-1 and Tier-2 telecom operators, supporting large-scale adoption.
  • 2010 - 2013
    Software Engineer
    Quest Global (Formerly Exilant Technologies Pvt. Ltd.)
    • Designed and developed UI modules using JSP, JavaScript, and Objective-C, including canned response automation and customer preferences management.
    • Built automation scripts in Bash and Python for scheduled jobs and customer follow-ups, improving operational efficiency and reducing manual effort.
    • Applied Test-Driven Development (JUnit), optimized controller logic for better downstream service performance, and enforced code quality using Sonar and JaCoCo frameworks.
    • Contributed to the development and enhancement of Sonar, Apple Inc.’s enterprise system for managing and resolving customer service requests across email, fax, and phone channels.

Open Source Projects

  • 2024-now
    multiwoven
    • Multiwoven is an open-source alternative to HighTouch, Census, and RudderStack.

Academic Interests

  • Event-Driven and Distributed Systems
    • Research on high-throughput event-driven architectures for e-commerce fulfillment at global scale
    • Focus on scalable microservices, hybrid cloud, and serverless architectures to enable fault tolerance and resilience.
  • Cloud and API Governance
    • Exploring API gateway security, unified governance frameworks, and zero-trust architectures for enterprise and retail platforms.
    • Integration of knowledge graphs, observability, and AI-driven automation in cloud-native ecosystems.
  • AI and Intelligent Automation
    • Leveraging AI/ML for predictive analytics, anomaly detection, and workload optimization in retail and fintech.
    • Investigating AI-driven test automation (shift-left testing) and generative AI’s role in DevOps and software lifecycle management.
  • Digital Transformation and Supply Chain Innovation
    • Applying cloud + edge computing to optimize supply chain replenishment, allocation, and forecasting.
    • Bridging research with industry-scale systems at Walmart Global Tech to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.

Other Interests

  • Professional & Personal Interests
    • Mentorship & Community Engagement – Mentoring young engineers, judging global hackathons (MIT, Harvard, Standford, NASA Space Apps).
  • Writing & Knowledge Sharing
    • Contributing blogs, research articles, and thought leadership on microservices, cloud, and AI.
  • Reading
    • Exploring books on leadership, digital transformation, and emerging tech.
  • Travel
    • Passion for cultural exploration and discovering global perspectives on technology and innovation.
  • Fitness & Wellness
    • Following a plant-based diet, regular workouts, and mindfulness practices.