While Information Technology (I.T) is a vast industry brimming with opportunities and encompassing multifaceted sectors, one local leader from Cumming, GA makes waves in financial banking and cloud applications at Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU). Kamaljit Sarpal, a senior manager at the company, is in charge of a multimillion-dollar software delivery portfolio that ensures that Navy Federal’s business runs seamlessly.
Experience
His journey with Information Technology launched after college where he studied Computer Science. Nearly 25 years ago, he landed his first technology job with R Systems as a database DBA. After gaining valuable work experience through this role, Sarpal moved on to pursue the consulting side of technology. At R Systems, he then moved to a consultant role to deliver application software to various companies for 8 years.
This led to his 14-year career with Accenture where he moved up the ladder from a software engineer to an associate director. Through this, Kamaljit was able to learn more about the field of software development to I.T. management. This would then set him up for success with the rest of his career. From the consultancy side, he then joined his final client Navy Federal.
Current Role
Now, Sarpal is a part of the leadership team at NFCU working to deliver in the Azure Cloud Platform using banking applications. On a day-to-day basis, he works with his team to provide the business with creative software solutions. This typically deals with core banking fundamentals. Core Banking includes savings, checking, student loans, car loans, IRA savings, and several other banking products.
He sums it up by saying, “We support Navy Federal’s core banking applications by ensuring the system behaves as it should. It is our responsibility to ensure that it's up and running.”
With the rise of Artificial intelligence (A.I), the way his role functions has shifted to use A.I. feature functionalities, especially predictive modeling. This helps them simulate the member experience and behavior to then give the best support to NFCU customers, which in this context are army members and veterans.
He states that his favorite part of the role is “to serve the U.S. Armed Forces and veterans”.
Advice to Aspiring I.T. Professionals
His biggest piece of advice for students interested in pursuing technology is to “understand your interests.” He recommends considering whether “you are aligned to Java, cloud development, or python, then consider diving into technology. If you are interested in a specific industry, then align towards business and be a customer of IT. Understand your interests, then choose your pathway. You can always jump from I.T. to a core business focus in the industry, but switching in the opposite direction is difficult. However, in both, the opportunity to grow and excel is available.”
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