Raj Manakkal is the assistant vice president of the Digital Services Development Division at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM), overseeing the development and delivery of digital services and connected technologies for the next generation of Honda and Acura mobility products.
Manakkal joined Honda R&D Americas, LLC (HRA) in 1995, as an engineer in the Technical Research department, supporting autonomous vehicle research and software and hardware development for vehicle infotainment. During this time, he supported the development of the world’s first in-dash satellite-linked navigation system, which debuted in the 1997 Acura RL.
In June 2000, he became the electrical project lead at HRA, where he led development of electrical components and systems for multiple Honda and Acura models.
In March 2007, Manakkal became the technical lead of the Electrical Infotainment Development Department, responsible for embedded software and systems development. In July 2011, he was promoted to department lead.
In July 2013, Manakkal was promoted to senior manager and chief engineer at HRA, taking on additional responsibility for the company’s Connectivity and Telematics department in Los Angeles. In this role, he led the development of next-generation infotainment systems, including the company’s first in-house vehicle software platform. Debuting on the 2018 Honda Odyssey and later applied to other Honda and Acura models, the platform was the company’s first system to support over-the-air updates.
In July 2016, he became division director of the Vehicle Body Electrical & Electronics Development Division, overseeing multiple infotainment departments including Hardware and Design, Body Electronics, Lighting, and Architecture.
In July 2020, he served as division lead for the newly formed Infotainment Systems Division, created as part of a reorganization to focus on development of zone-based electronics software and hardware, which groups functions based on their physical location in the vehicle.
In June 2022, Manakkal transferred to American Honda as the assistant vice president of the newly formed Software as a Service Business Division, overseeing the development of software services for the North American region.
In April 2023, he took on his current role as assistant vice president of the Digital Services Development Division as part of a corporate restructuring that centralized development of digital services within the newly created Digital Services and Marketing Business Unit of AHM.
Manakkal holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Madras, India, and also attended the University of Iowa.
