About Me

Lasantha Kularatne

Hello! I'm Lasantha Kularatne, a Principal Software Engineer based in Austin, Texas. With over 22 years of experience, I specialize in building scalable distributed systems, leading AI/ML adoption initiatives, and driving reliability engineering practices.

In my recent project, I lead efforts in AI-powered engineering, having driven 100% AI tool adoption across 115+ engineers globally. I'm passionate about translating complex technical concepts into practical solutions and mentoring the next generation of engineers.

Originally from Sri Lanka, I hold a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Moratuwa. When I'm not coding, you'll find me exploring the world through my camera lens.

Technical Expertise

AI/ML Engineering

  • Fraud Detection - LLM-based POC for identifying fraud in booking transactions
  • AI Root Cause Analysis - GenAI tool reducing MTTK (patent process started)
  • MCP Developer Tools - AI assistants reducing context-switching by 80%
  • Traffic Prediction - Fourier series models achieving 95% accuracy
  • ML Competition - 1st place in Kaggle competition
  • NLP Content Generation - Auto-generated ad snippets (2 patents)

Reliability Engineering

  • Platform Availability - Improved to 99.9% (front-end) and 99.99% (back-end)
  • SLO/SLI Implementation - Standardized across Tier-1 services with Error Budget Policies
  • Telemetry Platform - Built Clicker processing 100s of millions of Kafka events
  • AWS ORR Template - Created first Operational Readiness Review template
  • Rollback GameDays - Reduced change-related incidents by 80%
  • Incident Management - Led RCA reviews and reliability community

Leadership & Innovation

  • 100% AI Adoption - Led program across 115+ engineers globally
  • Toil Reduction - 30-40% through automation and AI workflows
  • Global Training - AI/ML sessions across US, India, and EU
  • 3 Patents - AI-powered RCA tool + 2 granted UGC ad patents
  • Mentorship - Guided 10+ engineers to senior levels
  • VP Recognition - Model for engineering engagement

Experience Highlights

Principal Software Development Engineer

Expedia Group | 2020 - Present

Staff Software Engineer / Team Lead

Vrbo / HomeAway | 2013 - 2020

Software Engineer → Technical Lead

Bazaarvoice | 2009 - 2013

Software Engineer II

Toppan Photomask | 2006 - 2009

Software Developer

University of Texas at Austin | 2006

Software Engineer

CodeGen.IT | 2003 - 2005

View Full Resume View Systems Portfolio

Beyond Code

Photography

Capturing moments through landscape and street photography. Check out my gallery.

Mentorship

Passionate about helping engineers grow their careers and develop technical leadership skills.

Innovation

Always exploring emerging technologies, from AI/ML to new architectural patterns and developer tools.