From Mechanical Engineering to the C-Suite: The Remarkable Rise of a Biotech COO
Rajsharavan Senthilvelan, a Connecticut-based COO in the diagnostics industry, shared insights on his unconventional rise from engineering to executive leadership. He spoke about how evidence-driven systems thinking has guided his journey from mechanical engineering to overseeing HR, Finance, IT, R&D, and Operations
In today’s fluid career landscape, where predictability is the exception, Rajsharavan Senthilvelan’s trajectory stands out for its intentional reinvention and cross-disciplinary mastery. Now the Chief Operating Officer of a Connecticut-based diagnostics company, Senthilvelan has built a career on what he calls “engineering discipline blended with operational truth.”
His journey began with a BE in Mechanical Engineering, a foundation he describes as “interfaces, constraints, and measurement.” When early placements at Wipro moved him from design services into development and enterprise infrastructure, he embraced the shift. “That redirection taught me one of my core principles—optimize the flow, not just the component,” he reflects. Working on Talend migrations, SQL performance tuning, and cost rationalization shaped his philosophy of end-to-end accountability.
That analytical rigor followed him to the diagnostics space in 2020, where he joined as a Software Data Engineer. He built workflow automations for lab instruments, integrated systems with the LIS, and introduced machine-assisted interpretation to reduce human error. He also architected a high-availability AWS framework to support clinical-grade reliability.
The COVID-19 pandemic became a proving ground. Collaborating with NIH-affiliated scientists on a federally backed diagnostics initiative, he contributed real-time analytics and exception-handling models. “Clinical systems demand proof—every number must survive scrutiny,” he says. That standard of evidence became central to his operational leadership.
By 2022, he pivoted into project management, completing his PMP in just two months. The promotions that followed were swift: Project Manager, then Interim COO in 2024, and full-time COO in 2025, coinciding with the completion of his MBA. “Each step widened the system. The builder’s mindset stayed: instrument, measure, validate,” he notes.
As COO, Senthilvelan has restructured cross-functional operations with an engineer’s precision. He rewired HR, Finance, IT, and Lab Operations interfaces with clearly defined inputs, outputs, and ownership. He deployed enterprise-grade Time & Attendance and Leave Management systems, standardized competency-linked performance frameworks, and strengthened change-control mechanisms aligned with FDA, CLIA, and ISO requirements. His oversight spans forecasting, budgeting, procurement, hiring, payroll, and vendor management—initiatives that have increased operational throughput by nearly 40%. “Speed without evidence is risk. The standard is speed with evidence,” he says, summarizing his leadership ethos.
His impact extends into innovation. Senthilvelan is co-inventor on a rapid biosensor, a nanosensor that detects PFAS and heavy metals in water, and TSM—a water-based, operator-independent sample-prep method compatible with multiple diagnostic modalities. These reflect what he calls “hardware intuition paired with software certainty.”
As an industry evaluator and judge for Globee Awards and the SIIA CODiE Awards, he has reviewed more than 275 global technologies. The distinction he values most: “knowing the difference between a promising prototype and a system ready for the world.”
