Making Meaningful Contributions to the Technology Industry
ManiBharath Bhadragiri, MS’25, cyber-physical systems, has excelled in various, diverse industry roles before coming to Northeastern University. Through these jobs, he realized his passion and enthusiasm for working in programming and control systems and pursued a master’s degree in a program that blended his interests into one.
ManiBharath Bhadragiri is a current student in the MS in cyber-physical systems program. He earned a bachelor’s of technology in electrical and electronics engineering from GITAM University in Visakhapatnam, India. During his senior year as an undergraduate, he secured his first job as an application development associate at Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd., where he gained foundational proficiency in Python, Java, ASP.NET, SQL, HTML, and CSS through comprehensive training.
In 2019, he joined India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a contract project engineer, specializing in programming and debugging control actuation techniques for missile control systems ensuring precision and reliability in system performance. In 2022, he worked as an SAP EWM functional consultant, further expanding his expertise in enterprise resource management.
Bhadragiri reflects on his journey from 2018 to 2023, during which he held three diverse roles that helped him discover his true interests in programming and control systems. A conversation with a friend, an alumnus of the cyber-physical systems program at Northeastern University, provided valuable insights into the course structure and curriculum. This discussion played a pivotal role in solidifying his decision to pursue this specialized degree. He shares that the versatile nature of the program, along with its pathways to roles such as software developer, networking engineer, and automation engineer, solidified his decision to enroll in Fall 2023.
Bhadragiri is extremely grateful to Adjunct Professor Andrew King for his guidance and expertise, which has been instrumental in deepening Bhadragiri’s understanding of core IoT concepts and motivating him to pursue excellence. He also credits Professor Rolando Herrero, whose mentorship provided valuable insights and helped him develop a broader perspective on the fields significantly influencing his academic direction. Lastly, he expresses sincere appreciation to Associate Co-op Coordinator Debbie Steiner Hayes, whose encouragement and support have been vital to his personal and professional growth, especially during his co-op, inspiring him to embrace new challenges and strive for continuous improvement.
Co-op Experience
Bhadragiri secured a Co-op at WaterFleet LLC as an automation, controls, and programming engineer. He secured this opportunity by leveraging both his prior industry experience and the relevant coursework from the program, which prepared him for the technical and practical demands of the role.
During his time at WaterFleet LLC, he played a pivotal role in the digital transformation of water management systems. By designing and building a solar-powered IoT device in-house, he lowered the ongoing device expense from $900 per month (third-party subscription model) to a custom-engineered solution with a one-time build cost of less than $500 per unit, effectively eliminating recurring charges and enabling low-maintenance operation. The device, which utilizes the Arduino Nano ESP32 for real-time remote monitoring and alerting of water levels in Frac Tanks, was engineered for reliability and scalability in demanding field environments. In addition to this hardware innovation, he developed prediction algorithms, including machine learning models to forecast chlorine levels and anticipate RO membrane depletion in water and wastewater treatment processes. These innovations enabled more proactive maintenance, improved water quality control, and delivered significant operational efficiencies alongside the cost savings provided by the new device
Individual Project
During his time at Northeastern, Bhadragiri completed several individual and group projects, which helped strengthen both his technical expertise and collaborative skills.
Bhadragiri designed and deployed a scalable, cloud-native web application on AWS, leveraging Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) and automated CI/CD pipelines to streamline deployment and management. He built and managed AWS resources such as VPCs, EC2, RDS, S3, IAM, and Route 53, with a strong emphasis on best practices in security, networking, and automation.
The project also included the development of RESTful APIs with secure authentication and robust error handling, along with the implementation of serverless solutions using AWS Lambda and SNS for event-driven automation. Centralized monitoring was established through CloudWatch, and he automated deployments using custom AMIs and health checks to ensure high availability and reliability.
One of the major challenges was achieving secure and seamless integration of multiple AWS services. Bhadragiri addressed this by adhering to AWS best practices for security and automation, rigorously testing each component, and leveraging AWS documentation and community forums for troubleshooting and optimization.
Group Project
As part of a team, Bhadragiri developed “AquaPath,” a full-stack web application designed to optimize maritime routes. Built with React, Express.js, and MongoDB, the application featured real-time cargo tracking and integrated public APIs for weather forecasting and route planning, enhancing both safety and operational efficiency for maritime users. The team also created an environmental awareness dashboard to promote marine conservation.
Like most group projects, AquaPath demanded effective collaboration among team members with diverse skill sets. The team overcame common challenges by establishing clear roles, maintaining open lines of communication, and leveraging version control tools like GitHub to streamline development and integration.
Bhadragiri believes that all his projects have strong real-world applications. The cloud-native web application he built individually is highly applicable to organizations looking to deploy secure, scalable, and resilient solutions ideal for e-commerce, SaaS platforms, and enterprise applications. Similarly, AquaPath holds potential for maritime operators, fishermen, and logistics companies looking to improve route planning, cargo tracking, and environmental responsibility, contributing to safer and more sustainable maritime operations.
These hands-on experiences not only deepened his technical expertise but also highlighted the practical value of integrating modern technologies to address real-world challenges.
Extracurricular Activities
Outside the classroom, Bhadragiri took an active leadership role as Moderator for the IoT Connect Club, organizing technical discussions, facilitating knowledge-sharing sessions, and helping peers explore emerging trends and practical applications on the Internet of Things (IoT). In this capacity, he fostered a collaborative environment where students could engage with real-world IoT challenges, share project ideas, and stay informed about the latest industry developments
Bhadragiri credits the continuous support and guidance of Professor Herrero as pivotal to his team’s success. Professor Herrero’s mentorship provided strategic direction, technical insights, and constructive feedback, enabling the team to navigate challenges effectively and refine their solutions.
Bhadragiri describes his experience at Northeastern as transformative, as it helped him realign his career toward his core passion for IoT and software development. He aspires to be recognized for bridging the gap between hardware and software, delivering solutions that are practical, scalable, and impactful. By staying at the forefront of technology and committing to lifelong learning, he hopes to contribute meaningfully to the evolution of the tech industry.