Professional Journey

Every layer of a shipyard

14 years at Shoft Shipyard, now independent — from electrical installations on live vessels to building the digital systems and AI that run them.

14+

Years

Shipyard + independent

Roles

Progressively senior

Live Apps

Built & deployed

Certs

Verified credentials

Career Arc:Ship Electronics›Electrical Eng›Hull Production›Nesting + BI›IT / Digital›Legal Compliance›Marine Software

Voyage Log

DEPARTED 2011 · 5 PORTS · SCROLL TO SAIL

Departure · Shipyard, 2011

Port 01 / 05

Port 01

Jan 2012 – May 2017Gujarat, India

Electrical Engineer – Ship Systems

Shoft Shipyard Private Limited

Key Responsibilities & Achievements

▸Executed electrical load calculations, cable sizing, routing plans, and full installation coordination across multiple shipbuilding and ship-repair projects simultaneously
▸Installed, tested, and commissioned diesel generator sets, main switchboards (MSB), transformer rectifier units (TRU), motors, pumps, distribution boards, and HVAC systems on live vessels
▸Handled complete NAVCOM fit-out — bridge navigation systems, GMDSS communication equipment, chart tables, AIS/radar mounts, and intercom/PA systems in the wheelhouse
▸Led class-witnessed testing and commissioning of all electrical systems, coordinating with classification society surveyors (IRS / BV / DNV) and preparing as-built documentation packages
▸Maintained detailed load schedules, single-line diagrams, and electrical compliance records — all submitted for class approval and project handover

Technologies & Tools

Power Distribution SystemsNAVCOM EquipmentDG & MSB SystemsCable ManagementHVAC ControlsAutoCAD ElectricalIRS / DNV Class Standards

Port 02 / 05

Port 02

Jun 2017 – Sep 2019Gujarat, India

Production Engineer – Hull & Outfitting

Shoft Shipyard Private Limited

Key Responsibilities & Achievements

▸Coordinated structural fabrication, block assembly, and outfitting activities for hull sections across multiple simultaneous vessel projects — managing schedules, material flow, and shop-floor execution
▸Managed steel plate nesting for CNC plasma cutting operations, balancing material yield optimisation with production schedule requirements across varying plate grades and thicknesses
▸Served as primary interface between PPC, design office, classification surveyors, and shop-floor supervisors — translating engineering drawings into executable production instructions
▸Implemented daily and weekly production tracking systems that gave management real-time visibility into output against plan, identifying bottlenecks before they caused schedule slippage
▸Supported structural erection, pre-outfitting, and system integration stages through to block mating — gaining hands-on understanding of the complete hull construction cycle

Technologies & Tools

AutoCADProNest / Nesting SoftwareMS ProjectProduction Planning & ControlSolidWorks Viewer

Port 03 / 05

Port 03

Oct 2019 – Sep 2023Gujarat, India

Assistant Manager – IT & Nesting Technology

Shoft Shipyard Private Limited

Key Responsibilities & Achievements

▸Led nesting technology operations — optimised steel plate material utilisation for CNC plasma cutting through advanced CAD/CAM nesting workflows, directly reducing raw material waste per vessel
▸Built end-to-end BI dashboards tracking production KPIs, consumable cost trends, and steel utilisation rates across multiple concurrent vessel projects
▸Architected and administered on-premise NAS storage with structured backup schedules and a documented disaster recovery plan — zero critical data loss across the tenure
▸Designed and rolled out Zoho platform across departments: multi-role workflows, automated notifications, approval chains, and cross-department data integration
▸Managed the full enterprise IT stack — Windows Server, Linux, Cisco networking, IP surveillance, biometric access control, and end-user support at scale
▸Introduced structured IT governance processes: asset inventory, change management, vendor SLAs, and user access review cycles

Technologies & Tools

Zoho SuiteProNest / Nesting SoftwarePower BIWindows ServerLinuxNAS StorageCisco NetworkingCCTV & Access Control

Port 04 / 05

Port 04

Oct 2023 – Mar 2026Gujarat, India

Manager – IT & Digital Transformation

Shoft Shipyard Private Limited

Key Responsibilities & Achievements

▸Spearheading end-to-end digital transformation of shipyard operations — replacing paper-based and siloed workflows with integrated, data-driven systems across production, compliance, and procurement
▸Designed and deployed 7+ custom web applications for marine engineering, nesting intelligence, and operational analytics, now actively used across departments
▸Architecting and managing the full IT infrastructure stack: WAN/LAN networking, Windows Server environments, NAS storage, virtualisation, and enterprise security policies
▸Administering and extending the Zoho platform (Creator, CRM, Desk, Books) with shipyard-specific automations, role-based access controls, and cross-module reporting
▸Built and maintaining legal compliance systems — audit trail automation, document version control, and regulatory reporting tools aligned with classification society requirements
▸Owning the corporate digital presence: website, cloud platforms, domain infrastructure, and software asset management across the organisation

Technologies & Tools

Next.jsTypeScriptPythonZoho CreatorPower BIWindows ServerLinuxCisco NetworkingAzure ADCloudflare

◉ Current position

Apr 2026 – PresentGujarat, India

Digital Maritime Engineer

Digital Maritime

Underway

Maritime Software · AI Products · Platform Engineering

▸Founded REX Maritime AI — my own maritime artificial-intelligence initiative: a domain-trained AI engine that powers intelligent assistants, ship-document intelligence, and predictive analytics across my entire product suite. Built by an engineer who has lived every layer of the shipyard, for the people still working in it
▸Independently designed, built, and shipped 10+ production maritime and engineering applications — MarineElect, EnginePulse, AISPulse, ShipDash, ShipTrace, TidePilot, GearLab, TealERP, and ShipPipe — each solving a real problem I faced during 14+ years on the yard
▸Deployed NAVI, an AI assistant powered by REX Maritime AI and embedded across sujikumar.com and the app suite — context-aware engineering guidance, tool navigation, and domain Q&A for shipyard professionals
▸Training Suji-AI, a LLaMA-based maritime language model fine-tuned on shipyard operational data, classification society standards, and marine engineering documentation — the model core behind REX Maritime AI
▸Building NLP pipelines that read ship documents automatically — extracting technical parameters from class certificates, survey reports, and vessel specifications into structured, queryable data
▸Extending web apps into native platforms — Android APKs on Google Play (ShipDash) and offline-ready Windows EXE engineering tools for yards with unreliable connectivity
▸Applying IoT fundamentals — MQTT, Raspberry Pi sensor integration, and edge computing — toward REX-connected real-time vessel monitoring