When Priyanka Mahankali ’16 failed a networking course during her first semester at New Jersey Institute of Technology, she could have taken it as evidence that the subject was not for her. Instead, she took it as a challenge.
Priyanka, who earned her master’s degree in computer science from NJIT, retook the course and earned a B+. She then enrolled in Advanced Networking — not because it was required, she said, but because she wanted to master the subject that had challenged her. That decision would help shape her career.
It’s an invitation to dig deeper.
After graduating from NJIT, Priyanka joined Amazon Web Services, where networking became one of her principal technical strengths. She worked on secure hybrid-cloud architectures and helped customers determine how applications and data could move securely between their own systems and the cloud.
Her work eventually brought together cloud computing, networking and aviation. At only 28, Priyanka led AWS’s Connected Aircraft industry segment, working with aerospace organizations on the expanding role of cloud technology and connectivity in aviation.
“The subject I had once struggled with ultimately became the foundation of my technical expertise,” Priyanka said. “That experience taught me a lesson I still carry with me today: failure isn’t always a sign to change direction.”
Today, Priyanka is senior product manager for a connectivity platform at Viasat, a global communications company whose aviation business includes satellite-based connectivity and digital services for aircraft.
In one project, she worked with airlines and industry partners on securely moving aircraft data to the cloud for storage and analysis. Her role was to understand operational workflows and technical constraints, translate customer needs into practical technical architecture and coordinate work across multiple stakeholders.
The resulting approach was designed to support developing applications such as predictive maintenance, fleet analytics and connected-aircraft services. Priyanka said increasingly economical satellite connectivity is creating new possibilities for transmitting and analyzing aircraft data closer to real time.
For her, the work also carried a broader human motivation: using better connectivity and access to aircraft data to improve safety and help prevent aircraft from disappearing without answers.
Finding a Home at NJIT
Priyanka came to NJIT after earning her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Acharya Institute of Technology in India. NJIT’s proximity to New York City initially attracted her, but its campus and close-knit atmosphere made a more lasting impression.
As an international student, she was adjusting to a new country while managing demanding coursework, finances, cooking and the uncertainty of finding employment after graduation. She also became involved in campus leadership as vice president of the Graduate Student Association.
“It was one of the most challenging periods of my life, but also one of the most transformative,” she said.
Those experiences gave her more than technical preparation, Priyanka said. They taught her to adapt, solve problems and continue learning when circumstances did not follow the expected path — qualities she later drew upon when navigating career changes.
Her relationship with NJIT has continued since graduation. Most recently, she returned in 2026 for an alumni career talk, speaking with students about technology, leadership and the transition from university to industry. She emphasized building technical and communication skills, developing relationships before they are needed and treating failure as part of professional growth.
“If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be this: don’t optimize only for your first job,” Priyanka said. “Optimize for the person you’re becoming over the next 10 years.”
Making the Early Career Path Clearer
In spring 2026, Priyanka extended that effort by launching The Early Career Podcast.
The podcast features conversations with professionals from varied backgrounds about subjects that are not always addressed while students prepare for their first jobs: communicating effectively, building relationships, developing as leaders, navigating uncertainty and defining success on their own terms.
Priyanka created the series to make the workplace less opaque for students and young professionals. It reflects a lesson running throughout her own career: technical knowledge may provide a foundation, but curiosity, communication, resilience and trust determine how that knowledge is put into practice.
Looking back, Priyanka described NJIT as “the beginning of everything good.”
Her experience with networking offers the clearest example. What began as a failed course became a reason to work harder, then a professional specialty and, ultimately, a career helping connect aircraft, data and people.
