Monica Vedhanayagam

Accomplished Agile Leader with 9+ years of experience driving SDLC efficiencies for cross-functional engineering teams in high-scale, global environments. Expert in Scaled Agile (SAFe), Kanban, and Lean methodologies, with a proven track record of increasing Team Velocity by 25% and reducing Cycle Time through data-driven bottleneck analysis. Specialized in facilitating all Scrum Ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Retrospectives) and managing complex Sprint Delivery for teams of 15+.

Highly proficient in Jira/Confluence administration, Stakeholder Management, and Continuous Improvement to ensure the predictable release of high-quality software in fast-paced markets operating as a servant leader and Agile coach to guide high-performing, self-organising teams.

Consultant Scrum Master at Korn Ferry (2025-01 – Present)

• Facilitated quarterly Program Increment (PI) Planning sessions for an Agile Release Train (ART) of 125+ members, successfully aligning 12 cross-functional squads with strategic organizational OKRs.
• Expertly managed complex cross-team dependencies and Risk ROAMing sessions, achieving a 90% Program Predictability Measure for all committed features.
• Facilitated end-to-end delivery for multiple cross-functional teams, applying Scrum and Kanban to execute complex business and regulatory initiatives.
• Architected detailed sprint roadmaps and project plans, ensuring clear alignment between technical deliverables and overarching business objectives.
• Optimized the product backlog in collaboration with POs, translating complex business needs into actionable user stories and functional specifications.
• Produced and maintained project documentation including sprint plans, status reports, and meeting records for stakeholder visibility.
• Removed critical blockers and managed inter-dependencies to ensure seamless execution across testing, validation, and implementation phases.
• Cultivated psychologically safe team environments rooted in open dialogue, constructive challenge, and shared problem-solving across multiple squads.
• Visualized team performance through maintained information radiators and real-time dashboards (Jira/Confluence) to improve delivery transparency for the stakeholders.
• Empowered teams through dedicated coaching on Scrum values, fostering a high-performance culture rooted in inspection and adaptation, advancing team delivery maturity.
• Managed change and stakeholder readiness, ensuring smooth transitions for new solutions through targeted training and adoption strategies.
• Spearheaded a 'Quality First' initiative by introducing a dedicated Technical Debt allocation (20% per Sprint) in collaboration with the Product Owner. Reduced production incidents by 35% over six months by prioritizing refactoring tasks and automating regression suites within the CI/CD pipeline.
• Conducted regular Agile maturity assessments across teams, identifying growth areas and implementing targeted coaching plans including onboarding and training new squad members on Scrum values, team norms, and delivery workflows.
• Supported delivery within AI and data service environments, coordinating data engineering squads and aligning data pipeline initiatives with business OKRs.

Senior Analyst at BNY Mellon (2020-10 – 2024-03)

• Improved team delivery efficiency by 30% by instituting rigorous Agile methodologies and optimizing daily synchronization rituals.
• Architected a Payment Fraud Detection system using a modern stack (Angular/Node.js/Java), transitioning from Figma prototypes to a production-ready, high-availability application.
• Deployed AI-driven self-service controls for account and identity verification, resulting in a 100% mitigation rate for identified fraud vectors.
• Managed complex dependencies by coordinating between global internal squads and external vendors to ensure on-time delivery of mission-critical milestones.
• Automated Quality Assurance: Created and maintained robust test suites, ensuring an 80% baseline pass rate and high-fidelity product releases.
• Advanced Analytics Reporting: Monitored and reported on sprint health and resource utilization using Jira/Confluence dashboards to proactively manage project risks.
• UAT Oversight: Directed QA and validation activities, ensuring clear acceptance criteria and seamless readiness for stakeholder testing.
• Conducted regular Agile maturity assessments across teams, identifying growth areas and implementing targeted coaching plans.
• Active contributor to internal Agile communities of practice, facilitating knowledge-sharing sessions and promoting best practices across Scrum teams.

Frontend Engineer at BNY Mellon (2017-10 – 2020-09)

• Developed an intelligent collateral allocation platform that utilizes algorithmic suggestions to optimize client investment portfolios.
• Delivered a suite of proprietary APIs that garnered multiple industry awards for innovation in automated collateral management and liquidity solutions.
• Navigated complex regulatory landscapes by implementing robust risk management frameworks and structured documentation for mandatory financial submissions.
• Optimized Frontend Architecture: Achieved a 40% reduction in latency by refactoring asset delivery pipelines and implementing modular lazy loading.
• Quality & Engagement Lead: Decreased production defects by 25% through full-spectrum unit test coverage and boosted user interaction by 30% via an evidence-based UI overhaul.

Applications Developer at BNY Mellon (2016-08 – 2017-09)

• Orchestrated the development of a 1M+ user platform for BNY, covering Treasury, Capital Markets, and Data Analytics across 240+ functional pages.
• Led modernization efforts using Angular and Spring Boot, transitioning legacy systems into a modular, high-performance architecture.
• Optimized application latency by 20% through comprehensive code refactoring and modern JavaScript integration.
• Consistently met project milestones for revenue-generating features while collaborating with global stakeholders in a fast-paced Agile environment.

Engineering Intern at BNY Mellon (2016-02 – 2016-04)

• Modernized legacy JSP interfaces to AngularJS, resulting in a more performant and maintainable front-end architecture.
• Built scalable backend services using Java, Spring Boot, and SQL, focusing on practical, production-ready application development.
• Improved codebase reliability by 25% by implementing standardized peer-review processes and refactoring inefficient code.
• Developed responsive web components using modern JavaScript frameworks, HTML, and CSS to improve the overall user experience.

Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science – K.Ramakrishnan College of Technology under Anna University

Master of Technology in Data Science and Engineering – Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani