Srikanth Maru is the Director of Data Engineering at Cricut, where he leads the strategic vision, architecture, and execution of the enterprise data platform supporting millions of connected users. His current focus is building AI-ready data infrastructure that bridges production data systems with generative AI — including LLM-assisted development workflows, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for self-service analytics, and natural-language-to-SQL interfaces grounded in real production constraints. Over nearly two decades, Srikanth has architected transformational data platforms across consumer technology, autonomous systems, telecommunications, and large-scale retail — spanning real-time event ingestion, manufacturing intelligence for next-generation LiDAR, ML-driven supply chain forecasting at scale, and enterprise customer data unification. He has a particular interest in the operational realities of running AI/ML systems in production: data contracts, validation patterns, observability, and the unglamorous infrastructure work that determines whether AI initiatives succeed or fail. He writes and speaks regularly on data engineering, GenAI in the enterprise, and the data foundations that enable trustworthy AI.