Neuroscientist of the Mind, Coach at the Core | Purpose-driven mindset Coach | NLP Practitioner | Researcher & Lecturer | Founder of The Courage Quest | PhD in Cognitive & Behavioural Neuroscience

"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place." – Nora Roberts
This quote isn’t just on my wall—it’s in every brave step I’ve taken. From leaving home to pursue a life built on science, service, and soul work, it’s been my anchor through fear, growth, and becoming.

Who I am:
I’m Dr. Srinidhi Desikan—a Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscientist, Lab Manager, Lecturer, NLP Master practitioner, and Life & Mindset Coach. My path bridges many worlds: the rigour of academia, the depth of the human psyche, and the quiet (yet loud) transformations that happen when someone remembers who they are.

What I do:
- I manage the VU Behavioral Lab, where I’ve built systems and community across faculties to support research in human behavior.
- I guide students through their academic and personal journey of discovery.
- I coach individuals—often those navigating identity, fear, and transition—through a non-profit, pay-it-forward practice that centers on growth over transaction.
- I write, speak, teach, and listen. And I hold space for people, even (and especially) when they don’t know what they need yet.

How I do it:
With both precision and depth. I bring together neuroscience, psychology, NLP, and lived wisdom.
My approach is raw and reflective—I go beneath the surface, gently but directly. We get honest. We get clear. We shift from “Why me?” to “Why not me?”

Why I do it:
Because too many people live beneath their truth. Because I’ve been there. Because I’ve watched science transform systems and life—and seen presence transform people.
And because I believe that courage, when met with the right support, creates lives that feel like home.

✨ Curious to work with me—on research, coaching, or something in-between? Just send a message.

Dr. Srinidhi Desikan

I bring engineers, innovation teams, and leaders from disengaged to thriving - DM me if this is you 🐲 Techie, Liberator, Complexity Buster, Motivator, Engineering Director @ Novoda

I’m a Head of Engineering who combines hands-on leadership with systems-level leadership development. Alongside my full-time roles, I run a small leadership coaching practice focused on engineering leaders, which strengthens my ability to scale trust, clarity, and impact across organizations.

Sarah G.

Unfortunately, my time at Last Mile Solutions has come to an end.
Due to a restructuring of the engineering department, my position was made redundant.

I am therefore immediately available and open to work.

I’m pleased to share that I am leaving with a letter of recommendation, which can be made available upon request. I wish the company well and look forward to staying in touch. I will be following its next steps with interest.

⸻

What I’m looking for next

I’m looking for a long-term leadership role, Sr. Engineering Manager, Head of Engineering, or Director level (in the Netherlands or remote).

I work best in environments where human leadership capabilities are treated as core engineering competencies, not as “soft” extras.

That includes:
💚 Trust, autonomy, and psychological safety as foundations for quality
💚 Clear direction, well-defined boundaries, and shared accountability, because autonomy works best when expectations are explicit
💚 A sustainable delivery pace that supports quality and long-term outcomes
💚 A shared understanding that scaling means improving systems, clarity, and flow, not just adding people
💚 Strong collaboration between engineering, data, and business
💚 Focus on organizational impact, not just local optimization

⸻

What I bring

I’m a leader of leaders, with 20+ years in software engineering and 15+ years in engineering leadership.

I’m known for reducing complexity and unlocking motivation, across technical systems, organizations, and people.

I work with what I often describe as a golden/red thread:
ensuring strategy, values, systems, and day-to-day engineering decisions stay meaningfully connected. When that threads are clear, teams don’t need heavy control, they understand why their work matters, what value it creates, and how to make good decisions within clear boundaries and accountability.

A key part of my expertise is helping technical teams translate their needs, constraints, and ideas into business value, without forcing everything into artificial customer-facing narratives.

I don’t believe in a 50% tech / 50% product split.
I believe in 100% business value, delivered through technology and product, each measured in ways that fit their nature. Too often, engineering work is undervalued not because it lacks impact, but because it is explained in the wrong language. I help teams bridge that gap so essential work is understood, prioritized, and trusted.

Not all important engineering work produces immediate functional features. Work such as lifecycle management, platform health, reliability, and security creates value through efficiency, risk reduction, continuity, and long-term trust. For example, lifecycle management may not add a new feature, but neglecting it introduces security and operational risks that can lead to service disruption, reputational damage, and ultimately customer loss. …

( 💎 rest in comment below including my philosophy and a kind request to forward this message )

Sarah Gruneisen 🐉

Head of Engineering | Scaling Leaders, Teams & Sustainable Impact

No alternative text description for this image

taplio

The Battle

Dr. Srinidhi Desikan

Sarah G.

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreSarah G.'s LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Dr. Srinidhi Desikan

Sarah G.

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sarah G.'s LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreSarah G.'s LinkedIn Performance