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After 18 years in the US, senior Meta executive returns to Bengaluru for family
Balaji Gururajan, a senior Meta executive, has returned to India after spending 18 years in the United States.
A senior Meta executive has returned to India after spending 18 years in the United States. Balaji Gururajan said in a LinkedIn post that being closer to family was the driving factor behind his decision to move back. In the post shared two days ago, the senior Meta engineering leader said that his return to Bengaluru would allow him and his family to be closer to his aging parents.
“A month ago, my family and I packed up 18 years in the US and moved to Bangalore — closer to aging parents, growing kids, and a stretch of family life we didn't want to keep watching from a distance,” he said.
What the US gave Balaji Gururajan
Balaji Gururajan, a 2003 NIT graduate, started his career with Wipro in Bengaluru. In 2007, he moved to the US, where he has been based ever since.
In the 18 years that he spent in the US, Gururajan worked for tech giants like Microsoft and LinkedIn before joining Meta in 2022.
(Also read: Founder refuses to give up India passport despite 9 years in Germany: ‘I am Indian’)
Now, the Engineering Leader (Meta Ads Core) has moved back to India. He spoke about the USA’s role in his life and career as he announced his return to India.
“It still doesn't feel entirely real. The Bay gave me my career, my closest friendships, and a way of thinking about technology and leadership I will carry for the rest of my working life,” Gururajan said.
“To everyone who took a chance on me, taught me something I needed to hear, or simply made the hard years easier — Thank You!! I mean that more than a LinkedIn post can really carry.”
What’s next for the techie
In his LinkedIn post, the techie shared a picture of an airport trolley stacked with suitcases as he opened up about the minor issues he has faced since moving back.
Gururajan spoke about the practical and emotional experience of rebuilding life after moving back to India, including getting the children enrolled in school and setting up a new home. He had lived in Bengaluru before moving to the US 18 years ago. Now, returning as an older adult with a spouse and children, he is rediscovering the city.
“Settling in has been its own kind of project — school, home, the everyday logistics of starting over in a city I last knew as a much younger person. It's been humbling and, more often than not, genuinely good,” he said.
Gururajan then concluded his post by revealing that he has used AI tool Claude to build “an app called Bhavitta, for people navigating exactly this kind of cross-border financial life — planning a retirement or a return that spans two countries, two currencies, two tax systems.”
He ended his post by expressing gratitude for everything that life has given him.
(Also read: Former Meta techie to relocate to India after spending 14 years in US, shares ‘gut wrenching’ experience)
