Sagar Defence Engineering

Product Management Work:

• Spearheaded 0→1 Development of an autonomous Drone Launch & Recovery Engine, translating C-suite vision into engineering deliverables on accelerated timelines.

• Scaled Order Volume 50× (from 6 to 300 units, $2 M ARR) by identifying and resolving key operational bottlenecks—unlocking funding for capacity expansion.

• Built Digital Twins in ROS, slashing dev-cycle bottlenecks by 90% and recouping $360 K+ in cost overruns via Agile-driven risk analysis and early validation.

• Optimized Roadmap Execution, boosting delivery velocity by 65% and cutting project costs by 45% through a hybrid Lean/Stage-Gate process; orchestrated cross-functional teams across engineering, QA, ops, and UX to deliver three autonomous-device POCs.

• Led a 14-Engineer Team to design and launch a Biodiversity Monitoring app—integrating client-informed ML models that achieved 98% classification accuracy in field trials.

Robotics, Computer Vision, and AI Engineering:

• Advanced Computer Vision & Tracking: I designed and implemented computer-vision pipelines that detect ArUco markers on moving platforms to estimate speed, distance, and 6-DOF pose in real time. These algorithms power reliable target tracking—critical for precision inspection, formation flight, and autonomous pursuit scenarios.

• Autonomous Navigation & Simulation: Using DroneKit’s Python APIs in Gazebo (ROS/Linux) and the AirSim API in Unreal Engine, I built end-to-end state-estimation and control loops to test navigation, landing techniques, and collision-avoidance strategies. By validating algorithms in both lightweight simulators and hyper-realistic virtual environments, I accelerated development cycles and ensured robust performance in diverse conditions.

• SLAM Research for Aerial Robotics: I led exploratory research into simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) techniques tailored to drones, prototyping algorithms that fuse vision and inertial data. My work advanced map-building accuracy in GPS-denied environments and laid groundwork for autonomous exploration missions.

• Legged Robotics: Robot-Dog Simulation: Venturing beyond aerial platforms, I architected a full simulation of a quadruped “robot dog,” from kinematics modeling to controller integration. This project demonstrated feasibility for agile, terrain-adaptive locomotion in forests, disaster zones, or indoor settings.

• Patent & Research Analysis: To inform product roadmaps, I surveyed and deconstructed key patents and academic papers across UAV autonomy and robotics. I synthesized complex IP and technical findings into clear presentations for leadership—guiding strategic decisions on feature prioritization and R&D investments.