Distributed Systems & Blockchain Architect · Ahmedabad, India
About Neel
7+ years designing custody infrastructure, cross-chain systems, and AI-augmented engineering workflows at the intersection of blockchain and product.
Summary
I work at the overlap of distributed systems, blockchain infrastructure, AI-assisted engineering, and technical leadership. Most of the time that means helping teams make better decisions while delivery is already in motion.
For the past 7+ years, I've been deep in production environments across Web3 infrastructure, custody platforms, cross-chain integrations, and payments. Much of my work involves working with founders and product leaders early on to determine what needs to be built, then shaping it into something that won't fall apart at scale.
More recently, I've been spending significant time exploring AI-augmented engineering — not in a hype-driven way, but in a practical “how do teams ship faster without creating long-term mess” sense. I experiment with multi-model workflows, vector databases, and system design patterns that improve both delivery speed and architectural clarity.
I also care a lot about the environment teams work in. Mentoring engineers, tightening delivery frameworks, defining security expectations, and keeping technical direction aligned with business goals are big parts of what I do day-to-day.
In earlier roles, I led blockchain engineering teams of 50+ people and worked closely with startup founders and enterprise stakeholders as a technical sounding board when decisions really mattered.
Interests
- Distributed platform architecture
- AI-driven product engineering
- Payments, custody, and financial infrastructure
- Scaling engineering organizations
- Founder and CTO advisory
Open to global architecture leadership roles, CTO-track paths, and meaningful long-term collaborations.
Beyond Work
I designed, developed, and host the website for Hindustan Ecolife, a nature and eco product business run by my uncle, who is the company's director. It keeps me close to the full product stack: not just the backend, but the customer experience end to end.
Writing
I write The Architect's Brief— a weekly newsletter covering blockchain architecture, AI × Web3, and engineering leadership. If you build distributed systems or lead technical teams, it's for you.
neelhbanker@gmail.com
Location
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Open To
Global architecture leadership roles and long-term advisory work
Work Experience
May 2024 – Present
2+ years
Tech Alchemy
Principal Blockchain Architect / Engineering Lead
I lead the architecture and delivery of production blockchain platforms across Ethereum L2 ecosystems, custody infrastructure, cross-chain integrations, and payments. After the acquisition, a big part of my role has been navigating complexity, aligning multiple teams, and making sure critical platforms continue to scale without compromising security or user experience.
- →Taken key architecture decisions across several live blockchain platforms running in parallel
- →Delivered large-scale L2 deployments, custody integrations, and multi-chain systems
- →Helped formalize engineering practices around security, compliance, and operational reliability
- →Mentored engineers and been directly involved in senior-level hiring
- →Owned technical delivery across distributed internal teams and external vendors
- →Brought in AI-assisted engineering workflows to help teams move faster while keeping architectural discipline
Jul 2019 – May 2024
4 yrs 11 mos
SoluLab Inc
Blockchain Team Lead → Engineering Lead
I worked closely with startups and mid-market companies as a solution architect and technical advisor, helping them design and ship custom blockchain platforms and distributed systems. A lot of the work involved stepping in early, when ideas were still rough, and helping founders translate ambition into systems that could actually scale.
- →Designed blockchain platforms across DeFi, enterprise, and Web3 infrastructure use cases
- →Built and scaled a blockchain engineering team from 10 → 50+ engineers
- →Acted as CTO-level advisor on product architecture and delivery strategy
- →Introduced engineering standards around security, documentation, and code quality
- →Mentored engineers across different blockchain stacks and frameworks
- →Built long-term client relationships with companies across North America
Education
Academic grounding
Formal training in information technology, backed by research work and a strong bias toward systems thinking.
Master of Technology
Information Technology
Gold Medalist, ranked 4th in the university, with review work on Blockchain & Web3 in Carbon Credits.
Research and skills
Patent searching, research skills, and a habit of grounding technical decisions in underlying trade-offs rather than trend-driven claims.
Speaking
All talks →Capability Map
Systems, stacks, and delivery muscle
The work spans protocol architecture, custody systems, backend delivery, cloud operations, and AI-assisted engineering. This map is meant to show breadth without turning the page into a resume wall.
6 capability lanes
From protocol and custody to cloud and delivery systems.
38 named tools
Grouped into readable domains instead of one long skills wall.
Built for live delivery
Optimized for shipping teams, not just technical breadth on paper.
Blockchain & Distributed Systems
Protocol design, L2 delivery, multi-chain architecture, and contract execution layers.
Scope
10 systems
10 systems
AI & ML
Practical AI tooling for engineering acceleration, retrieval workflows, and multi-model systems.
Scope
5 workflows
5 workflows
Custody & Security
Wallet infrastructure, security boundaries, HSM-backed systems, and account abstraction rails.
Scope
5 custody rails
5 custody rails
Backend & APIs
Service design, API contracts, monorepo systems, and event-driven backend execution.
Scope
7 backend tools
7 backend tools
Infrastructure & Cloud
Deployment surfaces, orchestration, databases, and operating environments for production systems.
Scope
6 infra layers
6 infra layers
Tools & Process
Delivery standards, smart contract tooling, and the systems that keep teams shipping sanely.
Scope
5 delivery tools
5 delivery tools
Recognition
Signals of trust and delivery range
A few selected proof points that show the range of the work: leadership, academic rigor, and delivery across high-stakes systems.
Leadership
2021 · SoluLabBest Team Lead of the Year
Recognized for delivery leadership, team mentoring, and execution quality across blockchain programs.
Selected proof point
Leadership
2022 · SoluLab (consecutive)Best Team Lead of the Year
Repeated recognition for maintaining standards while scaling technical ownership and team execution.
Selected proof point
Academic
Ranked 4th in UniversityMTech Gold Medalist
Academic recognition grounded in systems thinking, research discipline, and technical depth.
Selected proof point
Team Building
10 → 50+ engineers at SoluLabScaled blockchain engineering org
Expanded the delivery organization while keeping architecture, mentoring, and execution aligned.
Selected proof point
Delivery
15+ production systems in parallelLed architecture across live platforms
Oversaw multiple high-stakes platforms across custody, L2, and Web3 infrastructure delivery.
Selected proof point