Pendharkar was commissioned into the Indian Navy in January 1987. He is an
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) specialist. His operational assignments include commissioning crew of the
Sukanya-class patrol vessel , ASW Officer of the
Nilgiri-class frigate and the
Godavari-class guided-missile frigate . His staff assignments include
Flag Lieutenant to the Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area, and instructor at the
National Defence Academy. He has also served as Joint Director in the Directorate of Staff Requirements and Joint Director in the Directorate of Personnel, both at naval headquarters. As a
Commodore, he served as the Principal Director, Net-Centric Operations and as the Principal Director in the Directorate of Personnel at NHQ.
Flag rank . Pendharkar was promoted to the rank of
Rear Admiral in February 2016 and was appointed Assistant Chief of
Integrated Defence Staff (ACIDS) at the
Defence Intelligence Agency. He then moved to HQ
Western Naval Command as the Chief Staff Officer (Operations). On 25 March 2019, he was appointed
Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area. On 7 June 2021, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed
Director General Naval Operations at Naval HQ. He subsequently served as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) at
New Delhi. On 1 August 2023, he assumed charge as the
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command (FOC-in-C ENC), taking over from Vice Admiral
Biswajit Dasgupta at a ceremonial parade held at the Naval Base
Visakhapatnam. ==Awards and decorations==