Jason Marceau, a Director at Karsun Solutions, will join the 2023 American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) Partners Program. The program prepares senior leaders in government and industry for executive roles. Based on Office Personnel Management (OPM) Executive Core Qualifications, the program pairs a government and industry partner one-on-one as they work through the program together.
About Jason Marceau
Jason Marceau oversees a portfolio of data and analytics programs and is responsible for the maturity and growth of that portfolio. He works with the Data and Analytics capabilities lead on building solutions such as Data Management, DataOps, and Advanced Analytics. These capabilities support Federal agencies as they pursue their data modernization journeys guided by the Federal Data Strategy.
Before joining Karsun, Jason held leadership positions at Meridian Knowledge Solutions, responsible for operations, service delivery, and business development for Federal and Commercial sector clients. He supported agencies such as DHS, GSA, CMS, and FDA and commercial enterprises such as Motorola, Project Management Institute, and CPA.com.
Continuing the Legacy
ACT-IAC hosts these exclusive professional development programs for professionals at all career levels. Jason will be the twelfth member of Karsun leadership to participate in one of the organization’s programs. Past graduates of the Partners Program at Karsun lead programs serving agencies across the federal government. These include solutions supporting acquisitions, aviation, fleet management, and grants management modernization.
Many past Karsun participants in ACT-IAC programs return to leadership and mentorship roles. Previously executives and leaders at Karsun served as industry chairs and vice chairs for their respective programs. Through programs like those offered via ACT-IAC, Karsun ensures ongoing support for the growth and development of its leaders.
About Karsun Solutions
Karsun Solutions modernizes enterprise systems enabling agencies to make the next technological advancement their next opportunity to elevate mission capability. IT solutions from Karsun are tailored to meet agencies’ unique needs and optimize operations. These solutions adapt and stay relevant with current trends while using secure, digital architecture built to last. It is a proven modernization partner whose expertise elevates agency capabilities and ensures every next opportunity is within reach.
Karsun’s internship program returned this year, adding a second cohort for exceptional high school and early college STEM students. These two cohorts took the next steps in preparing for their future careers with this program that embeds interns inside the Karsun Innovation Center. The summer programs invited students to imagine the future of government, complete technical certifications, dive into AI/ML and collaborate with experts.
Nurturing Future Technology Leaders
Here careers grow as Karsun grows. This year that included an expansion to our intern program, enabling that experience to start earlier for high school and college students in their freshman and sophomore years of college. These Student Interns also worked directly with the Karsun Innovation Center and were mentored by previous graduates of the intern program.
A key focus of the program was imaging the future of technology in government. Working in pairs, our Student Interns picked project topics ranging from digital twins to robotic process automation (RPA). The interns researched these technologies throughout their ten-week program submitting a research paper and presentation at the end of the course.
The intern track for advanced college students, recent grads and graduate students also offered opportunities to work with mentors while building their technical skills. These interns were assigned mentors from one of the KIC Practice Areas. These experts from the Development, Lean, DevSecOps, Data and Solution Practices helped these interns assess and select programs from our Karsun Academy professional development courses. As a result, several members of the class ended their internship with AWS certifications and other credentials.
“Karsun encourages and supports its workers in obtaining cloud certification in Amazon Web Services for the advancement of their careers is another thing I admire.” – Mayank Tamakuwala
Building with Karsun Innovators
In addition to their research projects, the Student Interns worked in teams on two challenge projects. In one project, they developed a prototype to solve a hypothetical challenge for federal government agencies. The second challenge was a code-a-thon designed to demonstrate the application of data science concepts. In this challenge, the teams applied a digital twin to determine if different images contained pictures of a collapsed lung.
The more experienced interns, worked on real projects under development in the Innovation Center’s R&D unit. Their data science project focused on building a synthetic data platform to improve the security of PII in data modeling. This project culminated with the synthetic data team presenting their findings at an organization-wide Innovation Townhall.
Some members of the intern program also worked with Karsun’s internal digital workplace team. They assisted with the Karsun Kollaborate project. This initiative examines new ways Karsun team members can connect and collaborate outside of their current delivery teams. Some of these projects were also data focused, using tools like Google Data Studio to improve operational efficiency at Karsun. This was also an opportunity to try low-code/no-code development with to add enhancements to the digital workplace experience.
Collaborating and Presenting to Colleagues
They also participated in Show Don’t Tell sessions, a cornerstone of the internship program. In these weekly meetings, attended by Karsun team members throughout the innovation center, interns demoed and presented their accomplishments. This is also an opportunity to receive feedback from other units in the KIC outside of their practice mentors. At the final Show Don’t Tell event, both groups of interns demoed their projects and presented results from their government technology research projects to Karsun leaders.
“I always felt like my opinion was respected at meetings, even in a room full of people that were far more experienced than me. I also had a great time working with the team, everyone was so willing to help each other and it felt like a comfortable, collaborative environment.” – Akhilesh Varanasi
“I enjoyed the biweekly ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ meetings where I learned about other ongoing projects at KIC. I was introduced to new ideas and tools.” – Sanjana M Moodbagil
Our advanced Summer Interns earned professional certifications, imagined new uses for synthetic data and created tools by Karsun Teams. Meanwhile, our Student Interns experimented with the application of AI/ML, development and other technical concepts as they celebrated innovation while bringing visibility to these future leaders and experts. Through the Karsun Innovation Center, Karsun Academy and other resources, we empower our teams to find their next opportunity to grow at any stage in their education or career.
As the Great Resignation gives way to the Great Return, 4.2% of employees returned to a former employer, per Bloomberg. That story lists culture, stability, and colleagues among the reasons team members return. While this is great news for people looking for a career that best suits their needs, it is also great news for employers.
An Opportunity for Employers
A recent Comparably Insider blog post included some of the employers actively seeking these boomerang employees. Among them, Karsun Solutions. Our teams are made up of collaborators, innovators, and experts who deliver what’s possible for government agencies. And since the start of the pandemic, 18 employees have returned to Team Karsun! Already empowered to Do Extraordinary, returning team members are familiar with our collaborative culture, innovative spirit and opportunities for growth.
In particular, they are likely connected with one of our five Practice Areas hosted by our Innovation Center. These employee-centered teams, headed by a practice advocate, plan training and professional development opportunities, sponsor talks by industry experts, connect teams to prototyping and innovation resources and maintain libraries with toolkits supporting best practices. Coming into Karsun aware of these resources creates an added synergy and helps us build greater technology solutions together.
Connecting and Growing Together
Many of these team members stay connected through their managers and leaders who are personally invested in their growth and development. Karsun invests in the professional development and growth of every team member. We embrace a career journey mindset and understand some of our team may leave us to pursue their next opportunity.
Nevertheless, when former employees start a new path, we stay connected. Social media aids in this connection. This pattern is not uncommon, as Fast Company notes a survey of 5,000 US and UK employees found that 75% of respondents were interested in maintaining contact with their previous employer after resigning.
At Karsun, this is often through the same professional development organizations we supported when they were a team member. We are a longtime supporter of industry development programs like those offered through the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC). Many team members also participate in Meetups allowing them to maintain a connection with their colleagues regardless of organization.
Later, when these former teammates seek a career change, they reconnect with current Karsun team members and previous colleagues. Given the opportunity to our teams, we frequently welcome these returning employees. Whether following the Great Resignation or as a result of a different change in career, we find new and exciting possibilities to Do Extraordinary once our boomerang team members return.
Rejoin Our Team or Start Your Next Adventure
Karsun is actively hiring former and new team members to fill remote positions for teams supporting agency missions across the federal government. Recognized for culture and innovation, this is a fantastic opportunity to join an organization with over a decade of continuous growth. Open roles range from Full Stack Developer to Data Architect. Apply today at KarsunCareers.com.
About Karsun Solutions
Every summer Karsun embeds interns in our Innovation Center to work alongside our technology experts, prototyping solutions to support our customers. 2022 Intern Akhilesh Varanasi used synthetic data to address a common privacy concern, personally identifiable information (PII.) Using synthetic data, an artificial set of data is created to perform ML/AI work preventing exposure of sensitive PII. In the interview below, Akhilesh describes his experience in the Karsun Innovation Center and his synthetic data internship project.
First, please tell us about yourself. Where are you going to school? What are you studying? What do you like to do in your free time?
Hi all! My name is Akhilesh Varanasi. I’m currently a rising junior at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I’m a double major in Computer Science and Astronomy. In my free time, I like reading and playing basketball.
Could you share a little bit about the project you worked on as part of this internship? What challenges does it solve? What technologies and tools are you using?
For most of my internship, I worked on the Synthetic Data project. The purpose of this project was to create PII anonymized ‘fake’ data for Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence use cases. I mostly worked with Python, the Synthetic Data Vault libraries, and graphing frameworks like matplotlib. My main tasks were to create accurate Synthetic Data models and to find generic ways to graphically represent all forms of tabular data. I also worked with AWS Lambda and the AWS CLI to run tests.
What is your favorite part about working with the Karsun Innovation Center? Is there a weekly meeting or ritual you enjoy? The opportunity to learn more or get a new certification?
My favorite parts of working at the Karsun Innovation Center were the input I had in the development process and the team I worked with. I always felt like my opinion was respected at meetings, even in a room full of people that were far more experienced than me. I also had a great time working with the team, everyone was so willing to help each other and it felt like a comfortable, collaborative environment.
What is the biggest takeaway from your experience as an intern at Karsun?
My biggest takeaway from my experience at Karsun is that taking initiative is important. To be a valuable part of a team I have to research topics by myself and come up with goals to structure my approach to a problem.
Akhilesh was mentored by Srikanth Devarajan, Director, Karsun Innovation Center Data Practice.
Every summer Karsun embeds interns in our Innovation Center to work alongside our technology experts, prototyping solutions to support our customers. 2022 Intern Akhilesh Varanasi used synthetic data to address a common privacy concern, personally identifiable information (PII.) Using synthetic data, an artificial set of data is created to perform ML/AI work preventing exposure of sensitive PII. In the interview below, Akhilesh describes his experience in the Karsun Innovation Center and his synthetic data internship project.
First, please tell us about yourself. Where are you going to school? What are you studying? What do you like to do in your free time?
Hi all! My name is Akhilesh Varanasi. I’m currently a rising junior at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I’m a double major in Computer Science and Astronomy. In my free time, I like reading and playing basketball.
Could you share a little bit about the project you worked on as part of this internship? What challenges does it solve? What technologies and tools are you using?
For most of my internship, I worked on the Synthetic Data project. The purpose of this project was to create PII anonymized ‘fake’ data for Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence use cases. I mostly worked with Python, the Synthetic Data Vault libraries, and graphing frameworks like matplotlib. My main tasks were to create accurate Synthetic Data models and to find generic ways to graphically represent all forms of tabular data. I also worked with AWS Lambda and the AWS CLI to run tests.
What is your favorite part about working with the Karsun Innovation Center? Is there a weekly meeting or ritual you enjoy? The opportunity to learn more or get a new certification?
My favorite parts of working at the Karsun Innovation Center were the input I had in the development process and the team I worked with. I always felt like my opinion was respected at meetings, even in a room full of people that were far more experienced than me. I also had a great time working with the team, everyone was so willing to help each other and it felt like a comfortable, collaborative environment.
What is the biggest takeaway from your experience as an intern at Karsun?
My biggest takeaway from my experience at Karsun is that taking initiative is important. To be a valuable part of a team I have to research topics by myself and come up with goals to structure my approach to a problem.
Akhilesh was mentored by Srikanth Devarajan, Director, Karsun Innovation Center Data Practice.
Every summer Karsun embeds interns in our Innovation Center to work alongside our technology experts, prototyping solutions to support our customers. 2022 Intern Akhilesh Varanasi used synthetic data to address a common privacy concern, personally identifiable information (PII.) Using synthetic data, an artificial set of data is created to perform ML/AI work preventing exposure of sensitive PII. In the interview below, Akhilesh describes his experience in the Karsun Innovation Center and his synthetic data internship project.
First, please tell us about yourself. Where are you going to school? What are you studying? What do you like to do in your free time?
Hi all! My name is Akhilesh Varanasi. I’m currently a rising junior at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I’m a double major in Computer Science and Astronomy. In my free time, I like reading and playing basketball.
Could you share a little bit about the project you worked on as part of this internship? What challenges does it solve? What technologies and tools are you using?
For most of my internship, I worked on the Synthetic Data project. The purpose of this project was to create PII anonymized ‘fake’ data for Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence use cases. I mostly worked with Python, the Synthetic Data Vault libraries, and graphing frameworks like matplotlib. My main tasks were to create accurate Synthetic Data models and to find generic ways to graphically represent all forms of tabular data. I also worked with AWS Lambda and the AWS CLI to run tests.
What is your favorite part about working with the Karsun Innovation Center? Is there a weekly meeting or ritual you enjoy? The opportunity to learn more or get a new certification?
My favorite parts of working at the Karsun Innovation Center were the input I had in the development process and the team I worked with. I always felt like my opinion was respected at meetings, even in a room full of people that were far more experienced than me. I also had a great time working with the team, everyone was so willing to help each other and it felt like a comfortable, collaborative environment.
What is the biggest takeaway from your experience as an intern at Karsun?
My biggest takeaway from my experience at Karsun is that taking initiative is important. To be a valuable part of a team I have to research topics by myself and come up with goals to structure my approach to a problem.
Akhilesh was mentored by Srikanth Devarajan, Director, Karsun Innovation Center Data Practice.
Karsun Solutions proudly announces Anu Pajjur will join the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council’s (ACT-IAC) 2023 Voyagers Program. This selective professional development program includes mid-career government and IT industry leaders. With over 40 years of government and industry collaboration, ACT-IAC is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization established to improve government through the effective and innovative application of technology. The Voyagers Program is a comprehensive nine-month leadership and professional development program.
Anu’s participation in the Voyagers Program is part of a long legacy of fostering leaders in the IT industry. Karsun’s support of ACT-IAC’s professional development programs spans over a decade. Past graduates include its co-founders, executives and other up-and-coming leaders. Several of these return to their ACT-IAC programs to serve as chairs, vice-chairs and mentors.
Meet Anu Pajjur
Anu is a Portfolio Lead at Karsun Solutions, currently leading a multi-million dollar Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiative. She manages modernization projects from conception through implementation with a focus on building high-performance teams that deliver business solutions in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
She is a seasoned professional with 20 years of experience spanning all areas of end-to-end software development life cycle, including Project Management, Business Analysis, and Software Development. She has industry standard certifications including SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) and Professional Scrum Master (PSM1) and is engaged in groups like ACT-IAC for continuous learning and sharing opportunities.
Software Solutions Delivery at FAA
Anu’s team began work on Karsun’s FAA Software Solution Delivery support services contract in 2017. The contract provides technical support services and assists in implementing and continuing support of enterprise-wide software application and database development. Under this contract, Karsun also performs maintenance and sustainment of existing systems.
About Karsun Solutions
I have been lucky to have great mentors in my career. “You are your own CEO!” quipped one of them during a session and I had not approached my career that way until then! It makes a lot of sense looking at ourselves from the outside, treating us as a Product that needs to have a mission and vision aligned with our values, with a plan and roadmap on how we develop, market, sell and continuously improve ourselves. Questions like “why should anyone be interested in you as a professional Product?”, “what and how do you add value, now or in the future, to anyone or any group?”, “what/how do you showcase strengths and address weaknesses?” etc. must have easy answers.


Develop Skills
You as a Product should be desirable in the marketplace – perhaps in multiple markets. Show openness and flexibility to be repurposed in ways you had not considered. Stay current with the latest innovations and improvements in your areas of interest. A desire to continuously learn and grow is a must.
Build Brand Equity
Be a good team player, with a good work ethic and a burning desire to succeed. These are highly appreciated and often difficult to demonstrate and gauge. Having a few 5* reviews through your network is a must. It is also about looking at yourself from the eyes of someone who can help you get to where you want to be. Be open and deliberate about the people associated with you – and keep growing it. Spend time on sustaining and growing existing relationships and the network you’ve built.
Selling
As with any other Product, your reputation should precede you before meeting new people as you build relationships. Your next level of engagements are more about discussing ideas and personality fits than about your abilities, attitude and skills.
Pricing
Know your value, do your research. If you are pricing yourself above market, have clarity about why you deserve to charge a premium. As you build skills, know their worth in the marketplace.
Housekeeping
Keeping your resources working well together and optimally is critical. Take care of your mental and physical health, you are only as good as your resources. Not all employees are superstars, they just need to work well together as a team. Exercise, have fun and take breaks and stay focused when needed. I would also add that as a human Product, be kind to yourself – we all have way more strengths that value if you bring the right attitude.
This story from Hari Vijay, Senior Director Karsun Innovation Center Lean Practice, first appeared on LinkedIn.
Every summer Karsun embeds interns in our Innovation Center to work alongside our technology experts, prototyping solutions to support our customers. 2022 Intern Akhilesh Varanasi used synthetic data to address a common privacy concern, personally identifiable information (PII.) Using synthetic data, an artificial set of data is created to perform ML/AI work preventing exposure of sensitive PII. In the interview below, Akhilesh describes his experience in the Karsun Innovation Center and his synthetic data internship project.
First, please tell us about yourself. Where are you going to school? What are you studying? What do you like to do in your free time?
Hi all! My name is Akhilesh Varanasi. I’m currently a rising junior at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I’m a double major in Computer Science and Astronomy. In my free time, I like reading and playing basketball.
Could you share a little bit about the project you worked on as part of this internship? What challenges does it solve? What technologies and tools are you using?
For most of my internship, I worked on the Synthetic Data project. The purpose of this project was to create PII anonymized ‘fake’ data for Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence use cases. I mostly worked with Python, the Synthetic Data Vault libraries, and graphing frameworks like matplotlib. My main tasks were to create accurate Synthetic Data models and to find generic ways to graphically represent all forms of tabular data. I also worked with AWS Lambda and the AWS CLI to run tests.
What is your favorite part about working with the Karsun Innovation Center? Is there a weekly meeting or ritual you enjoy? The opportunity to learn more or get a new certification?
My favorite parts of working at the Karsun Innovation Center were the input I had in the development process and the team I worked with. I always felt like my opinion was respected at meetings, even in a room full of people that were far more experienced than me. I also had a great time working with the team, everyone was so willing to help each other and it felt like a comfortable, collaborative environment.
What is the biggest takeaway from your experience as an intern at Karsun?
My biggest takeaway from my experience at Karsun is that taking initiative is important. To be a valuable part of a team I have to research topics by myself and come up with goals to structure my approach to a problem.
Akhilesh was mentored by Srikanth Devarajan, Director, Karsun Innovation Center Data Practice.
Karsun experts and innovators took the stage at Imagine Nation Executive Leadership Conference (ELC) 2021. The annual conference for the American Council for Technology – Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) is the organization’s marquee event. In addition to graduating Karsun’s 11th ACT-IAC Fellow, Raminder Saluja, Karsun Senior Vice President Ben Marglin joined a panel on Exploring the Next Generation of Acquisition Innovation. Also an event sponsor, Karsun is a longtime supporter of ACT-IAC. Its leadership acts as mentors, experts and participants in its industry programs.
Raminder Saluja Graduates from the Partners Program


In a recognition ceremony held at ImagineNation ELC, Karsun Solutions Senior Director Raminder Saluja graduated from the prestigious Partners Program. Over the last two decades, the Partners Program has been ACT-IAC’s premier professional development program. Participants are selected among rising senior executives. Karsun boasts one of the largest cohorts of Partners alumni in the industry.
At Karsun, Saluja leads the modernization strategy for its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) portfolio. He internally steers technical delivery teams to leverage AWS and Azure infrastructure and DevSecOps frameworks. With over two decades of technology experience, he is also well versed in working with agencies within NATO, the Intelligence Community, and Immigration services. His core belief is that innovation and technology are tools to solve business problems and not constraints around which processes are reorganized. This often resonates with customers seeking modernization and upkeep of their legacy systems.
Ben Marglin Explores Next Generation Acquisition Innovation


Earlier at the conference, Karsun Solutions Senior Vice President of Client Solutions Ben Marglin spoke during the panel discussion on Exploring Next Generation Acquisition Innovation. Adopting the overall theme Adventures in Change, the conference examined the impact of innovation on the federal IT industry. This talk was included as part of the Changing the Way We Work track. The collaborative session examined if accelerating IT modernization and innovative acquisition practices supported agencies’ goals to meet mission critical needs faster, cheaper and more efficiently.
During the panel, Marglin briefly described Karsun’s novel approach to enterprise modernization with its acquisitions customers. Karsun’s Acquisitions Modernization domain is not only one of its most innovative, it is one of its original offerings. Past solutions include analytics platform modernization, cloud migration and legacy application modernization from an on-premise database. Karsun currently performs work acquisition innovation under the GSA COMET BPA.


About Karsun Solutions
Karsun Solutions is a fast-growing, innovative enterprise modernization firm. Recently awarded Best Company Culture by Comparably.com, its teams deliver modern software development, cloud, and data solutions to customers at government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration and General Services Administration. Leveraging GoLean, Karsun teams drive digital transformation and help its government customers Do Extraordinary. Learn more at Karsun-LLC.com.