Mahendra Thakur: VIT Engineer, Analytical Consultant at ZS Associates

Mahendra Thakur is an Analytical Consultant at ZS Associates with over five years of experience across business analysis, technology analysis and product ownership. He holds an engineering degree from VIT, Vellore, and now runs an Analytical Consulting course at Jobaaj focused on the healthcare field.

Education and qualifications

Mahendra completed his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication from VIT, Vellore. During college, he was involved in IEEE and TPMS chapters and served as founder and president of a project team whose work on a "next generation smart wheelchair" became central to his eventual placement.

Work experience

Mahendra joined ZS Associates, a management consultancy and technology firm, as a Business Technology Associate Consultant through an on-campus placement drive. The interview process ran across five rounds, with the first four covering written assignments, case studies and technical questions, and the final round built around his smart wheelchair project.

At ZS, he has worked across roles including Business Analyst, Technology Analyst and Product Owner, using tools such as Python, SQL, and data integration platforms like Airflow and Azkaban. Much of his work has been on ZS's Pharma-sector clients. He has been with the firm for over five years, has received two promotions, and is currently approaching a third.

About a year into his time at ZS, he took on team-lead responsibilities that included onboarding and screening new hires, which is where he first started mentoring within the organisation.

Approach to work

Mahendra's course at Jobaaj applies his consulting analytics background specifically to healthcare, an area he has worked in through ZS's Pharma clients. His teaching draws on both the technical toolkit (Python, SQL, data pipelines) and the case-based, problem-solving approach used in consulting interviews and client work.