Behind the Builder: Jairaj Shetty, Software Engineer

Behind the Builder: Jairaj Shetty

In this #BehindTheBuilder post, Jairaj Shetty shares what he’s working on, how Twilio’s builder mindset has shaped his career, and the key collaborative moments that have made the biggest impact.

Everyone has a career story. In yours, Jairaj, what’s the plot twist that led you to Twilio? 🎬

By early 2022, as things were starting to feel more ‘normal’ after the pandemic, I had been at Nokia for nearly three years — my first job out of college. I spent that time building UI experiences for 5G signaling products, but I was ready for something new. I wanted more ownership, a bigger impact, and a work culture that matched my ambitions.

I was already familiar with Twilio — I’d used its messaging services for personal projects — so when I saw they were hiring on LinkedIn, I knew I had to go for it. Twilio’s reputation for innovation and its developer-first approach made it an exciting opportunity. Fast forward nearly three years, and I can confidently say it was one of the best career moves I’ve made.

At Twilio, you’re part of a company of builders — what’s your masterpiece in the making? 🚀

As a Senior Software Engineer specializing in Front-end development, my job is all about creating intuitive, high-performance user interfaces that make interacting with our products feel effortless. My main focus is to build web applications that are not only scalable and maintainable, but also accessible and consistent across different devices and platforms.

I work closely with product managers, designers, and backend engineers to turn complex business requirements into efficient, user-friendly UI solutions. That includes optimizing performance, ensuring accessibility compliance, and implementing best practices in front-end technologies and state management frameworks.

But it’s not just about writing code and building interfaces — the impact of my work extends to improving user engagement, reducing friction in workflows, and driving customer satisfaction.

What’s a challenge your team took on where they rose to the occasion and really crushed it? 💪

One moment that really stands out for our team was when we took on the challenge of adding native email support into Flex—our cloud-based digital engagement center—using Twilio SendGrid. 

Back then, setting up email was pretty complex: it involved too many manual steps, multiple approvals, and a lot of back-and-forth coordination across various teams and products. We were tasked with simplifying this into a smooth, one-click user experience. 

To make it happen, we had to bring together talent from across the company, including various internal teams. There were definitely some bumps along the way—technical hurdles, process complexities, and a good amount of ambiguity. We did a whole lot of figuring things out as we went.

But people leaned in, collaborated, and kept pushing forward together. That’s what made it super rewarding: everyone rallied. It's a project I look back on with pride — not just because of the impact it had, but because of how we achieved it together.

How has working remotely changed your daily flow — or the way you stay connected with your Twilio team? ✨

Coming out of the pandemic, I was already used to remote work — but what really stood out to me at Twilio was how intentionally it’s been built into the company culture. It’s not just a nice-to-have perk here. Twilio rolled out thoughtful initiatives like WFH setup allowances, connectivity stipends, and employee resource groups to make sure remote work stays productive, comfortable, and engaging.

The flexibility in work hours has been a big plus — it’s made it easier to find a better balance between work and personal life. And even though remote work is the norm, we still find ways to connect in person. Since I’m based in Bangalore, where Twilio’s India office is located, I have the opportunity to join offsites, festival celebrations, leadership visits, and even weekly team lunches. Those moments help build a sense of community and keep collaboration going beyond virtual meetings and video calls.

What experiences or side quests have helped you grow professionally? 🎒 

One resource I’ve taken advantage of is access to the Udemy platform — there’s such a wide variety of courses, and it’s been a great way to keep building both technical and professional skills while staying up to date with industry trends.

One of the most impactful experiences for me was going through the Leadership Essentials program, which Twilio offers in partnership with McKinsey. It offered great insights into leadership concepts, but just as importantly, it gave me the chance to connect with peers from all sorts of industries and backgrounds. These conversations really broadened my perspective and helped me build real-world leadership skills.

If you had to pick one Twilio Magic value as your personal mantra, which one would it be — and why? 🎯

The Twilio Magic value that resonates most with me is ‘We Are Builders.’ As a software engineer, it really speaks to what I do every day — building creative, effective solutions through technology. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to work on several products from the ground up, helping turn ideas into real, working experiences.

One experience that brought this value to life was during TWEEK WEEK, Twilio’s annual hackathon. Our team set out to build an automated quality management tool that could analyze conversations, rate sentiment, and answer quality feedback questions. At the start, we had a rough list of features, a loose idea of what it should look like — and just five days to pull it all together into a functioning product.

It was an intense but rewarding week of collaboration and quick problem-solving. Even working remotely, we divided the work, took ownership, and kept improving through constant feedback. By week’s end, we had a working prototype.

That experience showed me what We Are Builders is all about — not just writing code, but solving problems, moving fast, and building meaningful things as a team.