From software engineer to data architect at Bain
From software engineer to data architect at Bain
An expert associate partner reflects on a career building data foundations, and how that led him to Bain
Rajat Jain, an expert associate partner in our New York office, spent two decades building data foundations, moving from software engineering to data architecture across two continents before joining Bain. In this Q&A, he talks about his path to Bain, what it means to build durable data foundations, and why ownership matters more than accountability.
Here's the thing about someone who has sponsored your career for years: when they call you to build something together, you don't do a pro/con list. You show up.
Rajat Jain
Expert Associate Partner
How did your upbringing shape your career journey?
I was born in a small city in the north of India, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone. I often say I was born there, but I was packaged in Delhi. Growing up in Delhi was a totally different world, bigger, louder, full of possibility and competition. About 20 years ago, I migrated to the United States, carrying two worlds with me. I learned to code-switch, not just from a language perspective, but also from context, assumptions, and expectations between India and the United States.
What drew you from software engineering to data?
My path into data engineering and AI was not a straight line. After studying computer engineering, I started as a software engineer building applications, but I kept noticing that the interesting business problems were not really about the code. They were about the underlying data, and how organisations often had no idea what it was telling them. I saw the need for building foundations, governance, and trust in data.
What brought you to Bain?
I joined Bain after a phone call from my mentor, who had watched me build the data and AI foundations for over a decade. He asked me to help him grow the Data Architecture and Engineering Practice at Bain. I was excited to work with him again and agreed. Here's the thing about someone who has sponsored your career for years: when they call you to build something together, you don't do a pro/con list. You show up.
My current role is helping organizations to build durable data muscle. If your data is trustworthy, AI amplifies your competitive advantage. If your data is a mess, AI amplifies that mess, just faster, at scale. This is why data engineering needs human oversight to ensure accuracy and prevent data leakage. Sometimes, when people ask what I do, I joke and say that I am a data plumber.
Rajat and Sarina at the 2024 Diwali Celebrations at Gracie Mansion – Sarina was recognized with a citation by the Office of the Mayor of New York City
A very traditional family picture sitting on the marble bench on the front lawns of the Taj Mahal
How do you think about teaming?
No transformation succeeds without extraordinary teaming, and it’s at the heart of Bain’s business ambition. Our clients often say Bain’s work is not just strategy and solutions. Our teams go deeper, investing in a bottom-up foundation so solutions last. For me, it comes down to one distinction: accountability is doing your part; ownership is doing whatever it takes for the whole team to succeed. When every person makes that shift, the group becomes more intelligent together than separately.
What do you do outside of work?
My last name is also a religion. Jainism believes in live and let live, a principle I try to practice in life and at work. Outside work, I run, seven marathons and counting. I also paint; I was a child artist long before I was a data engineer. I performed stage drama in Delhi earlier in life, and every year at the Jain temple celebrations in Queens, I help coordinate backstage activities, quietly continuing that tradition, while our daughters, Sahana and Riyana, take to the stage to perform.
Raised in New York City with Indian values instilled, the girls speak English, Hindi, and Spanish, and are learning Bharatanatyam. Dancing is central to our family life. My wife, Sarina, pioneered Indian dance fitness globally, creating "Masala Bhangra." now celebrating 25 years. Watching a dream that began in our living room become something the world now dances to is one of the great privileges of my life.
