Vinayak Shivapuje
Director of Engineering, ET @ Ford Motor Company
Impact is the ultimate measure of success.
Building world-class teams to solve complex problems at scale.
Philosophy & Journey
Impact First
Impact is the ultimate measure of success. It's not just about shipping code; it's about solving real problems and creating tangible value for users and the business.
Team & Ownership
I spend a lot of my time building the right teams. I believe in fostering a culture of ultimate ownership, where every engineer feels empowered to lead and innovate.
Simplicity
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Complex problems don't always need complex solutions. I strive for systems that are robust, understandable, and scalable.
Building & Scaling
Ford Motor Company
Director of Engineering, Enterprise TechnologyLeading Enterprise Technology and AI initiatives. Driving the future of fleet electrification through Ford Pro.
Electriphi
Senior Director of Engineering, India Site LeadScaled from startup to acquisition. Built the engineering team from ground up and delivered mission-critical charging infrastructure.
Appiness Interactive
Technical ArchitectStabilized complex systems and mentored engineering teams across multiple high-stakes engagements.
Pickdro
FounderBootstrapped last-mile logistics startup. Built the entire tech stack and operations from scratch.
Professional Journey
From startups to enterprise, building solutions that scale and teams that deliver
Director of Engineering — Charging - Enterprise Technology
Ford Motor Company
- Jan 2025: Integrated into Ford’s Enterprise Technology; among first teams to move into the new Bangalore office
- Currently leading a 60‑engineer org; shipping features and shaping EV charging strategy with an AI‑driven focus
- Driving AI integration into products, tools and processes; upskilling the team to be future‑ready
Director of Engineering
Electriphi - Ford Pro (Subsidiary)
- Scaled Electriphi team from 20+ to 80+ at peak; operated as a fully owned subsidiary through Dec 2024
- Delivered 20+ features while scaling the platform to handle tens of millions of charging transactions
- Led enterprise hardening across reliability, performance, security, cyber and regulatory compliance
Director of Engineering
Electriphi India
- Built a 20+ person team (Dev, QA, DevOps, Support, PM, HR/Ops) in ~6 months
- Established engineering fundamentals, delivery cadence, and quality bars from first principles
- Product: Fleet charging management — charge planning, bird’s‑eye operations, health monitoring, cost optimization
- Laid groundwork for enterprise readiness that supported Ford acquisition
Technology Consultant
Independent Consultant
- Took time off post‑Appiness; consulted selectively while reassessing long‑term goals
- Advised early teams on product direction, engineering discipline, and delivery fundamentals
Senior Software Engineer → Technical Lead
Appiness Interactive
- First assignment: stabilize and improve performance of Electriphi’s early product; introduced standards and enforced discipline in development processes
- Elevated to oversee multiple projects; led hiring, coaching, and team culture across 40+ engineers
- Contributed to 8+ client engagements; partnered with designers and PMs to raise execution quality
Lead Technical Consultant
Crowdproduct
- Supported an event‑engagement app during a critical phase; stabilized and shipped enhancements
- Collaborated with founders to align tech decisions with product milestones
Co-Founder & Head of Product/Engineering
Pickdro
- Bootstrapped last‑mile logistics startup: from daily errands to B2B home‑delivery marketplace; later specialized in home bakers
- Scaled to ~35 clients and ~20 deliveries/day with a 12+ member team — no external funding
- Served about 6000 customers; achieved 4.8/5 rating on Google
- Owned tech, operations, hiring, and UI/UX; shipped 4 apps: Admin Ops Dashboard, Marketplace, Service Booking, Rider
- Shut down responsibly when unit economics did not work — invaluable lessons in product, finance, and execution
Student, Computer Science & Engineering
Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering
- Built PlacementCell — a web portal to streamline campus placement activities
- Created an Event Management system for end‑to‑end college event workflows
- Developed a College Data Management system: reports, attendance, and learning materials
Core Competencies
A strategic blend of technical depth, domain expertise, and leadership acumen.
Leadership & Strategy
Building high-caliber teams, raising the bar, and delivering outcomes
Technical Architecture
Designing scalable systems that power millions of users
Cloud & Infrastructure
Running reliable systems with strong observability and delivery discipline
EV & Energy Domain
Charging ops, planning, health, and cost optimization at fleet scale
Programming Languages
Polyglot engineering — use the right tool for the job
Data & Analytics
Turning data into actionable insights
Technology Agnostic. Outcome Focused.
"I am not married to any single technology. I believe in using the right tool for the job. What matters most is building solutions that scale, teams that deliver, and products that make a tangible difference."
Strategic Impact
Defining moments that shaped products, teams, and business outcomes.
Ford Acquisition
Key technical architect in the acquisition of Electriphi by Ford Motor Company. Led the post-acquisition integration into Ford Pro.
Scaled Engineering Org
Grew the engineering team from early stage to 80+ engineers across multiple geographies while maintaining a high-performance culture.
Enterprise Scale EV Charging
Architected and delivered a platform handling tens of millions of charging transactions. Hardened for reliability, security, and compliance.
Product Delivery
Oversaw the end-to-end delivery of 20+ major features, driving the future of fleet electrification.
Bootstrapped Growth
Co-founded Pickdro and scaled to 35+ B2B clients with zero external funding. Achieved 100% organic growth.
Technical Leadership
Led multiple high-stakes projects at Appiness, stabilizing critical systems and mentoring a team of 40+ engineers.