India

Kerala Engineer Quits ExxonMobil Job to Become Army Officer

By Fareha Naaz

Athira Suresh, an alumna of NIT Calicut, has drawn attention after joining the Indian Army on 5 September, following the completion of her training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Gaya. She had earlier worked as a Project Controls Engineer at ExxonMobil in Bengaluru before leaving the position to pursue a career in the military.

Suresh, who hails from Kozhikode in Kerala, was commissioned as a lieutenant during the OTA's 29th passing-out parade. She was among 253 officer cadets—218 men and 35 women—who completed the Short Service Commission (Technical) course. On the same day, a parallel parade at OTA Chennai saw 595 officers, including 64 women, commissioned into the Army.

Suresh completed her Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut after qualifying through the IIT-JEE entrance examination. She comes from a family with a strong military background. Her father, Naik Suresh, served in the Corps of Signals before joining the Railway Protection Force. Both her grandfathers—Gangadharan Nayar and the late Velayudhan Nayar—served in the Indian Army. Her mother, Suma, works as a teacher, while her brother Harichand is pursuing an engineering degree.

Suresh completed her schooling at Dayapuram Residential School. During her college years, she joined the National Cadet Corps (NCC), serving with the Naval Unit NCC Kozhikode between 2021 and 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. At NIT Calicut, she was part of the Literacy and Debating Club and served as Vice Captain of the athletics team before becoming Deputy Sports Secretary in her final year.

In a LinkedIn post, NIT Calicut noted that Suresh pursued her B.Tech in Civil Engineering from 2020 to 2024 as part of the institute's KL-20 batch, during which she remained active in the Naval NCC unit and served as Vice Captain of the Athletics Sports Team in 2023–2024. She had also completed internships at Larson and Toubro and HiLite Builders.

Suresh's specific unit and posting have not yet been disclosed. However, as a Civil Engineering graduate commissioned through the technical entry scheme, she is expected to be assigned to a technical arm of the Army.