Manoj received his Dual Degree (B. Tech & M. Tech) in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in 2014 from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. 

After serving as an Operations and Maintenance Engineer at Indian Oil Corporation Limited for 3 years, where he focused on the inspection of protective coatings and cathodic protection systems, he moved to Germany to pursue his doctoral studies. 

He earned his PhD (Dr.-Ing.) in 2022 from Ruhr University Bochum, conducting his research within the Corrosion group at the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials (formerly known as Max Planck Institute for Iron Research). His doctoral work focused on the cathodic delamination of polymer coatings and the characterization of surfaces using advanced spectroscopic and microscopic techniques.

Subsequently, he continued at the Max Planck Institute as a Post-doctoral researcher until early 2026. During this period, his research expanded into hydrogen permeation studies on various metals and alloys, oxide characteristics of complex concentrated alloys for electrolyser applications, and the development of corrosion-resistant coatings for ferritic bipolar plates. 

In March 2026, he joined the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras as an Assistant Professor. 

His areas of expertise include corrosion, surface science, hydrogen interaction with materials, and the development of functional coatings for sustainable energy applications.