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As the engineering community celebrates Engineers Week 2026, which highlights how engineers improve the world around us, ACI stands as a real-world example of progress built over time. From strengthening delivery practices to improving security and reliability, the engineering work inside ACI mirrors the purpose of Engineers Week: recognizing those who build lasting impact and inspiring those who will build what comes next.
Trusted to build: How ACI engineers lead
Santhosh Pederedla joined ACI through the 2019 acquisition of Western Union鈥檚 聽US domestic bill payment business. He manages the engineering teams responsible for ACI 厂辫别别诲辫补测庐, the solution used by thousands of clients to process bill payments. For him, culture reveals itself most clearly when something becomes critical.
Santhosh recalls a moment a few years ago when the team faced an urgent challenge. Leadership didn鈥檛 demand shortcuts鈥攖hey supported thoughtful diagnosis and gave the team the time and autonomy needed to arrive at the right solution.
鈥淟eadership understood the criticality,鈥� Pederedla said. 鈥淏ut they still gave us the time to understand the problem properly.鈥�
Teams coordinated across regions. Engineers volunteered their time.
Pederedla traces much of that dynamic to a lesson he learned when he first moved into management.
鈥淢anagement is not about telling people what to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about communication.鈥�
Leadership meant elevating ideas and making sure voices were heard.
Innovation that shapes the payments industry
As the payments landscape evolves, ACI鈥檚 engineering teams are not just keeping pace鈥攖hey鈥檙e pushing forward. Engineers are encouraged to explore emerging technologies, propose new ideas, and participate in hackathons where imaginative solutions often turn into real implementations. One notable example Santhosh shared involved a team developing a cryptocurrency integration concept that won first place in a recent internal hackathon. The signal is clear: Exploration is welcome鈥�as long as it鈥檚 grounded in responsibility.
Pederedla carves out time for his team to work on ideas that don鈥檛 fit neatly into sprint cycles. Not constantly, but regularly.
鈥淚f someone has an idea,鈥� he said, 鈥渨e find a way to test it.鈥�
That balance between innovation and responsibility is what defines ACI’s engineering culture.
Teamwork as a competitive advantage
Engineering has always been a team sport, and Santhosh emphasizes this repeatedly. From collaborating across global teams to engaging external partners working on major infrastructure projects, ACI鈥檚 culture ensures that no engineer is left to solve a hard problem alone. This collective mindset mirrors the message from Engineers Week: engineering thrives when professionals 鈥渃onnect, collaborate, and elevate the conversation about the growing need for engineers.鈥�
Engineers are at the heart of progress. They power industries, strengthen infrastructure, and advance technology. But more importantly, they shape the future with curiosity, resilience, and creativity.
Santhosh鈥檚 story reflects what trust can unlock鈥攕pace to solve problems the right way and explore new ideas with confidence. This is one of three ACI 2026 Engineers Week spotlights; you can also read about Martina Power and Jeff Hill.
And if you鈥檙e looking for a place that supports how you build and create,
ACI Connetic – v1 (old, Backup) 
