Akash Mani
Building scalable and innovative software for large-scale distributed systems.
About Me
I am a Software Engineer at Arista Networks, working on EOS platform development for next-generation data center switches. I hold a Master's degree in Computer Science from Stony Brook University and a Bachelor's degree with Distinction from the National Institute of Technology, Trichy.
My experience spans network programming, distributed systems, and systems software development for large-scale platforms. From building TCAM memory management frameworks to developing ACL and CoPP features for data center operating systems, I thrive on solving complex systems-level challenges.
Work Experience
Arista Networks, Inc.
Nashua, NH
Software Engineer, EOS Sand Platform
Jan 2026 — Present
- EOS Platform Development for Jericho-based switches
Software Engineer Intern
May 2025 — Aug 2025
- Architected a model-based testing framework for the TCAM memory manager package that validates system invariants by simulating a random sequence of events (e.g., concurrent TCAM requests, TCAM profile changes, linecard removals, process restarts) to proactively find critical bugs
- Designed and implemented a new feature for a major customer to support security access-control lists (ACLs) on complex IPvX-over-IPvX-over-MPLS tunneled packets
- Discovered and fixed a critical sev1 bug in the TCAM memory manager that caused traffic disruption. Developed a new breadth test to prevent regression
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Bangalore, KA, India
Software Engineer II, Distributed Systems Engineering
Aug 2022 — Aug 2024
- Owned the development of several access-control list (ACL) and control plane policing (CoPP) features for the Cisco NX-OS data center operating system with C, C++, Python, and Linux programming
- Led cross-functional efforts to enhance code quality and optimization of automation and logging frameworks across development and QA teams
- Played a pivotal role in the software bring-up of a new 400G-bandwidth Cisco Nexus data center platform
Software Engineer I
Aug 2021 — Aug 2022
- Contributed to the development and ongoing maintenance of Cisco NX-OS ACL, CoPP, and model-driven programmability features
- Resolved several critical customer-reported and internally-found issues on Cisco Nexus 9K/7K/3K switches
Software Engineer Intern
May 2020 — Jun 2020
- Created a Python-based tool that generates stateful traffic streams of 30+ control-plane protocols using the open-source Scapy packet manipulation library
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Tiruchirappalli, TN, India
Research Assistant
Dec 2019 — May 2020
- Participated in an academic-industrial research study under Prof. M. Sridevi, NIT Trichy to establish comprehensive design guidelines for implementing a real-time CAN network in heavy-duty commercial vehicles
- Presented a prototype simulation of the CAN SAE J1939 network using open-source Busmaster software
Education
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY
Master of Science — Computer Science
Aug 2024 — Jan 2026 | GPA: 3.97/4
Coursework: Distributed Systems, Operating Systems, Computer Networks, Computer Architecture
Research: PACE Lab — Sustainability cost modeling for data center workloads
Teaching Assistant: CSE548 Graduate Analysis of Algorithms
National Institute of Technology, Trichy
Tiruchirappalli, TN, India
Bachelor of Technology with Distinction — Computer Science
Jul 2017 — May 2021 | CGPA: 8.9/10
Research: Detection and Classification of DDoS attacks using Machine Learning Techniques
Projects
Distributed Banking System
Engineered a fault-tolerant distributed banking system using Stable-Leader MultiPaxos consensus protocol. Utilized goroutines for concurrent node operations and NetRPC for network communication, ensuring sequential transaction consistency and high availability across 5 nodes despite up to 2 concurrent failures.
Go
RV64IM Processor
Implemented a functional 5-stage RISC-V processor with set-associative cache, supporting load/stores and ECALL instructions with pipeline flush over AXI4 bus communication protocol.
SystemVerilog