Open to opportunities

Karu Lal

@karulal

Message

Senior Full-Stack / SmartComm developer specializing in Guidewire integrations and document composition.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I seek senior engineering roles focused on SmartComm/Thunderhead and Guidewire integrations, strong technical leadership, cloud-based deployments, and opportunities to improve automation and document-generation workflows.

I am a senior full-stack developer with 16+ years in IT, specializing in SmartComm/Thunderhead and Guidewire integrations, Java/J2EE development, and cloud deployments. I have designed, developed and supported enterprise document composition systems and middleware integrations across insurance and financial domains.

I have led integrations of Smart Communications and Thunderhead with Guidewire PolicyCenter, ClaimCenter and BillingCenter, built REST webservice integrations, automated deployments with CI/CD pipelines, and stood up Cassandra clusters in AWS. I consistently deliver complex templates, data models, batch configurations and administrative solutions while collaborating with architects, analysts, QA and business teams.

I bring strong hands-on skills in Java, Spring, Hibernate, Groovy/Grails, Angular, XML/XSD, SOAP/REST, and testing/automation tools, plus proven experience in SDLC methodologies and cloud/hybrid deployments. I focus on reliable, maintainable solutions that reduce manual effort and improve document generation flows.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

SmartComm Developer

Current

American Integrity Insurance

May 2022 - Present (3 years 8 months)

Integrated SmartCOMM with Guidewire to add draft editor features and interactive communications; developed complex document templates and REST integrations (GenerateDocument/GenerateDraft/BulkSubmit) for Batch, OnDemand and Interactive processing. Collaborated with architects, analysts and QA to deliver templates, data mappings and release promotions across environments.

Smart Communications REST APIs Data Mapping MuleSoft Templates QA Testing

SmartComm Developer

Capital Insurance Group

Nov 2024 - May 2025 (6 months)

Led SmartCOMM and Thunderhead NOW template development and integrations with Guidewire, creating DDV templates, assembly rules, batch/op configs and performing administrative promotions and job monitoring across environments. Produced specification, XSDs, data mappings and supported SIT/UAT testing.

Thunderhead XSD XML Integration Testing

Integration Engineer

Ohio National Financial Services

Aug 2015 - Nov 2024 (9 years 3 months)

Designed and developed ALIP to Thunderhead integration and web applications using Core Java, Spring/Hibernate and Grails; implemented CI/CD pipelines, QA automation and stood up Cassandra clusters on AWS to process large volumes through the Thunderhead engine. Delivered portal and batch solutions that improved automation and reporting.

Java Spring Hibernate Grails Thunderhead CI CD Cassandra AWS RESTful Web Services

Lead Thunderhead Developer

Tata Consultancy Services

Dec 2014 - Aug 2015 (8 months)

Led P&C integration projects connecting Thunderhead/SmartCOMM and Guidewire, developed templates, UI components (Angular/JSF) and REST/JMS integrations, and managed CI/CD and cloud deployments for template processing and form generation.

Thunderhead Java Angular JMS REST APIs Jenkins Cassandra

Full Stack Developer

Tata Consultancy Services

May 2011 - Aug 2014 (3 years 3 months)

Built document management and buyer-facing applications using AngularJS, Node.js and Spring; developed SmartComm/Thunderhead templates and REST microservices, implemented CI with Jenkins and supported production deployments and testing.

AngularJS Node Spring Boot Thunderhead REST Hibernate Jenkins

Java Developer

Tata Consultancy Services

Dec 2009 - May 2011 (1 year 5 months)

Developed VCOS web components and server-side modules using JSP/Servlets and Struts; led offshore tasks, performed testing and Thunderhead template validation, and provided production support and internal training on template design.