Manohar Kunchanapalli
Dallas, TX 路 MBA candidate at SMU Cox, class of 2028
Engineer first, MBA by choice. I spent 5 years at HERE Technologies in Mumbai going from intern to Senior Software Engineer, mostly at the intersection of data platforms and applied AI. The pattern across my favorite work: find the expensive, manual, ambiguous thing, and ship the system that makes it fast, measured, and boring.
Outside work: karate black belt, hackathon mentor, and volunteer with the Nanhipari Foundation supporting underprivileged girls and children in New Delhi.
The path so far
MBA, Strategy
Merit-based scholarship.
Senior Software Engineer
Led AI and data platform initiatives; mentored roughly 10 engineers and interns.
Software Engineer 2
Cloud cost optimization, release automation, shared internal libraries.
Software Engineering Intern
Converted the internship into a pre-placement offer.
B.Tech, Computer Science
CGPA 8.71/10, merit-based scholarship. Joint Secretary, Technotix Robotics Club.
Leadership, outside the day job
Joint Secretary, Technotix Robotics Club
Directed a 15-member organization through 10+ events reaching 400+ participants, launched its first inter-college competition attracting 50+ students from 10+ institutions, and grew its audience 10x in a year.
Mentorship at HERE
Mentored and coached roughly 10 engineers and interns through code reviews, one-on-one guidance, and structured knowledge-sharing sessions.
AI Talent Pipeline Initiative
Proposed a hackathon-based campus recruitment model to Talent Acquisition; formally adopted by the company as a new structured campus talent channel.
Teaching Assistant, AI/ML Course
Supported 100+ students at Bennett University: lab prep, independent doubt-clearing sessions, and one-on-one guidance through projects.
Awards & recognition
5+ Kudos Awards
HERE Technologies, for exceptional work across technical projects and team initiatives.
Best Engineering Team Award
HERE Technologies.
Smart India Hackathon 2020, Runner-up
Among the top 5 finalist teams at the Grand Finale. Organized by MHRD, Government of India.
Top 10% of 9,000, DengAI
Mentored 2 teams of 5 students through nationwide ML competitions; finished 811 of 9,000.
Karate Black Belt
1 state-level gold medal, 3 district-level bronze medals.
Merit scholarships, twice
Bennett University and SMU Cox School of Business.