Nirmala Rao Dhanawada

Summary

MTC Australia empowers over 20,000 vulnerable individuals each year, providing them with the skills, confidence, and opportunities to transform their lives through vocational education and employment services. I play a crucial role in this mission by architecting and delivering the technology solutions that underpin these vital services.

My current focus is building a robust and scalable Salesforce ecosystem that streamlines our service delivery. I’m passionate about creating solutions that are not only efficient but also user-friendly and accessible for everyone we serve. This involves collaborating closely with stakeholders to understand their needs, designing intuitive interfaces, and ensuring seamless integration with other essential systems. I’m equally committed to empowering our internal teams with the tools and workflows they need to maximize their impact. By optimizing our technology infrastructure, I aim to help MTC Australia extend its reach and create even more life-changing opportunities for the individuals we support

Education

University of Melbourne 2020.2 - 2021.12

Melbourne

• Distinction Awardee, 2021 Dean’s Honours List.
• Recipient of Melbourne School of Engineering Scholarship, 2020
• Recipient of Leaders in Communities Award, 2021
• Graduate Study (Master Program), Information Technology (Computing)
• Software Project Management, Enterprise Architecture, ICT Infrastructure, Digital Ethics and Technology Equity & Management

Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Pondicherry University 2011.08 - 2015.05

Pondicherry

• Undergraduate Study (Bachelor Program), Computer Science and Engineering
• Data Structures, Automata Languages and Computation, Object-Oriented Programming Languages and Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Technical Competencies

Core Expertise - Salesforce Ecosystem

• Solution Architecture: Architecting comprehensive Salesforce solutions spanning integrations, migrations, and custom development. Transforming business requirements into scalable, secure technical solutions that optimize user experiences. Extending core functionality through managed package customization and third-party application integration. Developing cross-platform solutions with seamless data synchronization between Salesforce and external systems.
• Development: Apex, Lightning Web Components, Visualforce
• Configuration: Security, Flows, and declarative automation tools
• Integrations: Salesforce connections with Marketo, AskNicely, FormAssembly, SMS Magic using APIs, middleware, and Node.js
• Data Management: ETL with Talend for Salesforce loading; MS SQL extractions for BI purposes; implementing data backup solutions

Technical Solution Domains

• Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS (Lambda), Azure, Google Workspace, Docker, Heroku
• Development & APIs: Node.js, JavaScript, .NET, C#, Python, Power Apps, Power Automate
• Databases & ETL: MS SQL, Talend, Salesforce Connect
• Web Technologies: JavaScript, .NET, SQL, WordPress
• Enterprise Architecture: TOGAF, ITIL, COBIT
• DevOps: Git, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Salesforce DevOps
• Compliance: Monsido (Web Accessibility)

Experience

_{Senior IT Solutions Analyst at} MTC Australia 2022.02 - Present

Sydney

Flagship Project: Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) Student Management System (SMS)

• Architected and delivered a service delivery platform using Apex, Salesforce Flow, custom Lightning components, and Visualforce to digitize enrollment, compliance, attendance tracking, AVETMISS reporting, and program management.
  • Business Impact: Reduced manual work for trainers/assessors by 60% by replacing fragmented Excel/Email processes.
  • Scale: Supports 5,000+ participants and 200+ staff with real-time dashboards for attendance marking, compliance and referrals.
  • Integrations: Marketo (Outreach Campaigns) and Third-party SMS services for assessment reminders and surveys.
  • Data Infrastructure: Built ETL pipelines to feed Salesforce data into BI tools for forecasting and revenue analysis.

Spearheaded the technical design and implementation of mission-critical Salesforce solutions for a diverse portfolio of educational and employment programs, including Skills for Education and Employment (SEE), Employability Skills Training (EST), Career Transition Assistance (CTA), VET training programs, Workforce Australia, Self Employment Assistance, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS). These solutions are used by 90% of the organization’s staff, demonstrating their widespread impact and adoption.

_{University Research Placement Student at} Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research 2021.07 - 2021.10

Melbourne

• Requirements Assessment: Determined the requirements of the Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division at WEHI and the Centre for Stem Cell Systems at the University of Melbourne.
• Implementation: Executed the implementation, enabling the expansion of the application’s functionality.
• Documentation: Provided detailed technical documentation to facilitate future understanding and use by researchers.
• Client Collaboration: Engaged in constructive discussions with the client to suggest ideas and improvements, leading to the application’s expansion.
• Publication: Compiled and published the new implementation on NECTAR Research Cloud, making the application accessible to researchers.

_{Senior Technology Analyst at} Victoria’s Secret & Co. 2016.10 - 2020.2

Bangalore

• Recipient of Individual Achievement Award
• Accelerator Program: Implemented and facilitated an internal corporate accelerator program, working with over 150 startups to validate technology feasibility and integration. Led collaboration with 12 startups in developing use cases for prototypes and successfully delivered them to the organization.
• Technology Integration: Managed the integration of technology within the organization, partnering with a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure successful implementation.
• Innovation Framework: Developed a framework to enable internal innovation and technology advancement, collaborating with 200+ associates from 10 business verticals and a project worth USD 650k.

_{Assistant System Engineer at} Tata Consultancy Services 2015.6 - 2016.10

Chennai

• Recipient of Star of the Learners Group
• Technology Research: Conducted research on emerging solutions, products, and startup opportunities in retail technologies and provided the organization with the necessary tools to stay ahead in the industry.
• Technology Implementation: Applied new technologies to existing problems to create disruptive competitive advantages for retail enterprises.
• Technology Maintenance: Ensured that the technology was always operational, maintained network code, managed enterprise sandboxes, coordinated regular activities in the innovation space, and managed enterprise sandboxes.

Volunteering

_{Head of Technology at} Teaching for Impact 2021.02 - 2024.04

Melbourne

• Web Infrastructure & Services: Assisted the organization in establishing web infrastructure and services for seamless operations.
• Partnerships & Grants: Fostered partnerships with Google, Salesforce, and Canva, securing technology grants to enable more efficient content development.
• Technology Workflow: Implemented an end-to-end technology workflow process utilizing Salesforce and Microsoft to streamline internal processes.
• Marketing & Brand Strategy: Developed a marketing and brand strategy to promote Teaching for Impact, both in Australia and globally.
• Website Management: Created and maintained the organization’s website, resulting in increased engagement at events.
• Advertising & Marketing: Managed a 120k AUD advertisement budget through Google Ads, and devised marketing strategies to enhance brand awareness.
• Volunteer Coordination: Motivated and directed over 30 volunteers to achieve the organization’s goals and strategies.

_{Store Coordinator at} Australian Red Cross 2021.01 - 2022.05

Melbourne

• Customer Service: Volunteered to serve customers, leading to increased sales and higher customer engagement.
• Visual Merchandising: Created window displays and visual merchandising displays that piqued customers’ interest in merchandise.
• Donation Management: Assisted in the preparation of donations for sale, raising capital for the organization’s projects and operations.

Research

Big Data Scalability, Methods and its Implications: A Survey of Current Practice [PDF]March 2015

Article No.: 56,pages 1–5

J. Amudhavel, D. Sathian, R. S. Raghav, Nirmala Rao Dhanawada, P. Dhavachelvan, and K. Prem Kumar
ICARCSET ‘15: Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Advanced Research in Computer Science Engineering & Technology (ICARCSET 2015)

Featured Personal Projects

StandUp+ (Live Demo) Active

An open-source tool for effortless tracking and real results. StandUp+ helps teams streamline their daily standups and track progress effectively.

Technologies: React, TypeScript, Node.js, MongoDB

SpinOnSubmitJS (NPM) Active

A compact JavaScript library that enhances form submit buttons with a visual loading spinner, providing immediate and intuitive feedback to users upon submission.

Technologies: JavaScript, CSS, DOM API

LiveValidateJS (NPM) Active

A lightweight JavaScript library that provides real-time form validation and input checking for HTML forms. Create custom validation rules for each input field and receive instant feedback as users type.

Technologies: JavaScript, Form Validation, DOM API

Timeless Veil (Firefox Add-on) Completed

A minimalist Firefox theme with an elegant color palette. Sometimes the simplest things catch on - this theme brings a touch of sophistication to your browsing experience.

Technologies: Firefox Theme, Design, CSS