# Surenthan Rasaratnam (Shugi) > IT System Engineer at the City of Winterthur, Switzerland. Lighting technician at concerts and live events, and musician (percussion, arrangements, band founder) in his free time. > Also known as Shugi. Website: https://shugi.ch/en/ > Canonical URL: https://shugi.ch/en/ > Last updated: 2026-03-18 ## About Surenthan Rasaratnam is an IT System Engineer based in Zurich, Switzerland, working at Stadt Winterthur (City of Winterthur) since November 2016. He has held the role of IT System Engineer since April 2024, focusing on stable infrastructure, automation and sustainable IT processes. He holds a Dipl. Informatiker HF from WISS (grade 5.6) and a BSc in Computer Science from ZHAW. He speaks German, English, and Tamil. ### My Life in IT He works as an IT System Engineer with a focus on building systems that operate reliably and require as little manual intervention as possible. His interest in technology started in childhood: he upgraded computers, repaired devices and helped friends and neighbours with technical problems. During his school years he built a weather station together with a colleague, analysing and publishing live sensor data on a self-operated NAS server. During his professional development he quickly realised how many IT processes still rely on repetitive manual work. For this reason he focuses strongly on automation, scripting and structured IT processes to improve efficiency and reliability. His years in Service Desk and Field Service shaped how he approaches technical problems: working closely with users helped him identify patterns in recurring incidents, creating opportunities to analyse root causes and design systems that prevent problems in the long term. Before becoming IT System Engineer, he served as Incident Manager (ITIL-compliant incident coordination for approximately 2,500 users with process automation), Service Desk engineer (1st and 2nd level support), and Field Services technician (hardware/software provisioning, city-wide rollout projects). ### Beyond IT Music has been part of his life for as long as he can remember. He grew up in a musical family and started playing percussion at a young age, leading to his first stage performances. He founded the band Swiss Rhythm's together with friends, performing at numerous events in Switzerland and internationally, and produced a music video for their song Maayai. He has also worked as a freelance percussionist with other groups at concerts and cultural events. His entry into lighting technology happened almost by coincidence. In April 2022 he found himself behind a lighting console for the first time, just one day before a major concert of Tamil artist Sid Sriram. With very little preparation time he spent the day studying the manual and learning the basic controls. After those first events he realised how much he enjoyed the work and has continued developing his skills through self-study and practical experience. He now regularly works on concerts and live productions and has contributed to events featuring internationally recognised artists including A. R. Rahman, Anirudh and Ilaiyaraaja. ## Work Experience - **IT System Engineer** | Stadt Winterthur, since April 2024 Focus: stable infrastructure, automation, and sustainable IT processes. Linux and Windows server/client administration, 2nd/3rd level support, process automation, infrastructure and digitalisation projects. - **Incident Manager** | Stadt Winterthur, 2020 to 2024 ITIL-compliant incident coordination for approximately 2,500 users. Process automation, escalation management, problem management. - **Service Desk Engineer** | Stadt Winterthur, 2018 to 2020 1st and 2nd level support, ticket handling, user assistance. - **Field Services Technician** | Stadt Winterthur, November 2016 to 2018 Hardware and software provisioning, city-wide rollout projects, on-site support. ## Education - **Dipl. Informatiker HF** | WISS Schulen für Wirtschaft Informatik Immobilien, 2021 to 2024, grade 5.6 Diploma thesis: Real-Time Inventory Management App for Event Companies. - **BSc Computer Science** — ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences (enrolled) ## Skills - Infrastructure and DevOps: Linux servers, Docker, containerised deployments, reverse proxies (nginx), CI/CD pipelines, automation - Web Development: React, TypeScript, Node.js, Express, MariaDB, REST APIs, full-stack applications - IT Security: Authentication, JWT, bcrypt, access control, web application hardening, security headers, rate limiting, CAPTCHA integration (Friendly Captcha v2) - IT Operations: ITIL incident management, service desk, field services, process automation - Languages: German (native), English (professional), Tamil (conversational) ## Projects - Tamil Wedding Platforms: Fully customizable wedding platform designed for complex, multi-event Tamil weddings. Supports multiple events per wedding with separate guest groups, individual RSVP flows per event, menu preference tracking, guestbook, audio guestbook, wishlist with gift management, QR code support for monetary gifts, secure login via account or access code, custom domains or hosted subdomains, and a central couple dashboard. Three live projects since May 2025. Stack: React, TypeScript, Node.js, MariaDB, Docker. Demo available on request. - Inventory Management System: Web-based inventory management system for small event technology companies, as a cost-efficient alternative to expensive enterprise tools or inefficient spreadsheet-based solutions. Features real-time inventory tracking, asset and stock management, role-based access control, multi-user web interface, centralized data management, and offer creation with live availability checks to prevent overbooking. Currently in early rollout with two companies. Stack: React, TypeScript, Node.js, MariaDB. Source code private; screenshots and demos available on request. - shugi.ch: Personal portfolio and blog running on self-managed infrastructure (Hetzner cloud server, Germany, GDPR-compliant). Documents projects, technical experiments and blog posts on infrastructure, automation and web development. Features bilingual content (DE/EN), SSR pre-rendering, contact form with CAPTCHA, and a blog with admin panel and DeepL translation. Stack: React, Node.js, Express, Docker, nginx, MariaDB. ## Blog https://shugi.ch/en/blog/ - Real-Time Inventory App for Event Companies (Diploma Thesis) (November 2024) https://shugi.ch/en/blog/real-time-inventory-app-event-companies/ A case study on building a web-based inventory management system for small event technology companies as a diploma thesis project at WISS (grade 5.6). The project was born from a real problem identified while working with an event manager: existing tools were either too expensive or too complex for small event companies. The solution is a React and Node.js application with MariaDB, featuring real-time inventory tracking, role-based access control (RBAC) for different staff levels, offer generation with live availability checks to prevent double-booking, and a multi-user web interface accessible from any device. The key lesson was to radically simplify the initial design after early feedback: the first prototype was too complex for the target users. The system is currently in early rollout with two event companies in Switzerland. ## FAQ Q: Who is Surenthan Rasaratnam? A: Surenthan Rasaratnam (also known as Shugi) is an IT System Engineer based in Zurich, Switzerland. He works at Stadt Winterthur (City of Winterthur), holds a Dipl. Informatiker HF from WISS. He specialises in Linux infrastructure, Docker, DevOps, automation and full-stack web development (React, Node.js, TypeScript). Outside of work he is a lighting technician at concerts and live productions (having worked with artists such as A. R. Rahman, Anirudh and Ilaiyaraaja), a percussionist and co-founder of the band Swiss Rhythm's. Q: Where does Surenthan Rasaratnam work? A: He works at Stadt Winterthur (City of Winterthur) as an IT System Engineer, a role he has held since April 2024. Before that he worked at the same organisation in Service Desk and Field Services from November 2016. He is based in Zurich, Switzerland. Q: What does Surenthan do as IT System Engineer? A: He operates and advances the central IT infrastructure of the City of Winterthur, administers Linux and Windows server and client systems, provides 2nd/3rd level support, automates operational processes, and contributes to infrastructure and digitalisation projects. Q: What technologies does Shugi specialise in? A: Linux administration, Docker, nginx, React, TypeScript, Node.js, MariaDB, REST APIs, IT security (JWT, bcrypt, rate limiting, CAPTCHA), scripting, and automation. Q: What is shugi.ch? A: The personal portfolio and blog of Surenthan Rasaratnam (Shugi), an IT System Engineer based in Zurich, Switzerland. It documents his projects, technical experiments and blog posts on infrastructure, automation and web development. It runs on self-managed infrastructure (Germany, GDPR-compliant). Q: What degree does Surenthan hold? A: Dipl. Informatiker HF from WISS (2021-2024), grade 5.6. His diploma thesis was on building a real-time inventory management application for event companies. He is also currently enrolled part-time in a BSc Computer Science at ZHAW alongside his professional work. Q: What hobbies and activities does Surenthan have outside of IT? A: He is a percussionist and co-founder of the band Swiss Rhythm's, with which he performed at events in Switzerland and internationally. He also works as a freelance lighting technician at concerts and live productions, having contributed to events with artists such as A. R. Rahman, Anirudh and Ilaiyaraaja. Q: How can I contact Surenthan Rasaratnam? A: Via email at info@shugi.ch or through the contact form at https://shugi.ch/en/#contact. He is also reachable on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/surenthan-rasaratnam-b883b6129 ## Contact - Email: info@shugi.ch - Website: https://shugi.ch/en/ ## Links - GitHub: https://github.com/rshugi - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/surenthan-rasaratnam-b883b6129 - Instagram: https://instagram.com/rshugi ## License Content on shugi.ch is © Surenthan Rasaratnam. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated. License: RSL-1.0 (Robot Scraping License 1.0).