2018-2019
Senior Systems Architect - FinTech SME
Hortonworks (Cloudera)
I joined Hortonworks shortly before its merger with Cloudera, taking part in the historic transition that brought together two open-source data leaders. Continued to architect large-scale streaming and analytics solutions under the new Cloudera organization.
I joined Hortonworks in late 2018, drawn by two things: my passion for open-source software and the exceptional talent pool the company had assembled around the Apache ecosystem. The timing was remarkable—I had barely completed onboarding when Hortonworks and Cloudera announced their historic merger in January 2019, bringing together two pioneers that would become the world’s largest provider of open-source enterprise data platforms.
From Day Two
My tenure at Hortonworks was brief but intense. My combination of deep FinTech expertise and hands-on systems architecture skills made me valuable immediately—I was assigned to billable customer engagements before I even officially started. From day two through my last day at Cloudera, I maintained close to 100% utilization on client projects. There was no ramp-up period; I went straight into solving complex problems for demanding financial institutions.
The Merger as Inflection Point
What made this period special wasn’t just the brief two-month window at Hortonworks, it was the broader team dynamic that emerged from the merger. Both companies had attracted exceptional talent around open-source data technologies, and while corporate mergers can be disruptive, this one felt different. The combined team brought together complementary strengths: Hortonworks’ depth in the Apache ecosystem with Cloudera’s broader vision for enterprise data platforms.
The attitude across both teams was focused, collaborative, and deeply committed to open-source principles. This created an environment where technical excellence and customer obsession were non-negotiable. That team composition became the foundation for what I would accomplish over the next thirteen months at the merged Cloudera organization, where I continued the same relentless client focus that began at Hortonworks.
