Cynthia Tope
Raleigh,NC
Summary
Technical Delivery Leader specializing in cross-team execution of AI platforms and infrastructure projects. Strong governance of the SDLC ensures disciplined delivery and alignment of executive stakeholders, successfully mitigating risk and achieving mission-critical objectives.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Technical Program Manager (Delivery & Product Operations)
JDXpert
Raleigh, NC
01.2024 - 10.2025
- Led execution of complex, multi-team transformation programs spanning AI-enabled platforms, cloud modernization, shared services, and regulated SaaS environments
- Drove delivery across engineering, product, and infrastructure teams, managing dependencies, release readiness, and cross-team alignment for platform modernization initiatives
- Governed SDLC from planning to post-production support, ensuring disciplined execution, enhanced roadmap visibility, and compliance readiness
- Delivered generative AI platform capabilities while partnering with customers and stakeholders to align requirements, manage expectations, and ensure successful outcomes
- Established program operating cadence including milestone reviews, dependency tracking, launch readiness, and execution checkpoints across teams
- Developed delivery dashboards using Jira and Nave analytics to provide actionable insights from engineering metrics for leadership
- Coordinated cloud-native deployments leveraging Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes infrastructure, and distributed microservices supporting scalable AI services
- Partnered with Security, Compliance, and Engineering to operationalize SOC 2 controls, data governance standards, and regulatory safeguards
- Served as Interim Director of Engineering during restructuring, stabilizing execution, clarifying ownership, and restoring delivery predictability
- Orchestrated transition from monolithic architecture to containerized Kubernetes-based microservices, aligning product, engineering, QA, and DevOps for improved collaboration
Software Engineer Manager
UKG Inc.
Weston, FL
09.2020 - 09.2023
- Led cross-functional teams delivering enterprise cloud platforms with extensive API integrations in a regulated, compliance-driven environment, overseeing parallel initiatives across distributed teams
- Oversaw SDLC governance across planning, development, testing, release, and post-production support, ensuring predictable delivery and stability
- Collaborated with Product Management to align roadmap sequencing with capacity and risk exposure, enhancing customer impact awareness
- Facilitated Scrum ceremonies for distributed teams, resolved impediments, and improved sprint velocity
- Supported engineering investigations and release validation by analyzing payroll and HR platform data using SQL queries during defect triage and production issue analysis
Software QA Engineering Lead
UKG Inc.
Weston, FL
02.2016 - 09.2020
- Owned quality and release readiness strategy for enterprise HR and payroll products, partnering with Product and Engineering to protect customer trust and regulatory compliance
- Influenced product scope and release decisions by surfacing risks, customer impacts, and validation insights early in delivery lifecycle, enhancing decision-making process
- Built and led global QA organization within matrixed structure, aligning priorities across Product, Engineering, Operations to ensure cohesive quality strategies
- Introduced quality metrics and readiness checkpoints that enhanced release predictability and minimized production risks, contributing to smoother deployments
QA, Software Engineer
Ultimate Software Inc.
Weston, FL
11.2013 - 02.2016
- Designed and executed automated and manual test strategies supporting enterprise HR and payroll systems
- Performed end-to-end functional, regression, and data validation testing across multi-environment deployments
- Collaborated with engineering to triage defects and validate fixes, ensuring smooth production releases
- Contributed to CI pipeline validation and improved test coverage, enhancing release stability
Education
Bachelor's Degree - Computer Science
Florida International University
FL, USA01-2014
Associate's Degree - Computer Science
Miami Dade College
FL, USA01-2009
Skills
- Program delivery
- SDLC Governance
- Scope Management
- Risk Management
- Dependency Management
- Release Readiness
- Go-Live Readiness
- Agile methodologies
- Hybrid methodologies
- Change Management
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Global leadership
- Remote team leadership
- Stakeholder engagement
Timeline
Senior Technical Program Manager (Delivery & Product Operations)
JDXpert
01.2024 - 10.2025
Software Engineer Manager
UKG Inc.
09.2020 - 09.2023
Software QA Engineering Lead
UKG Inc.
02.2016 - 09.2020
QA, Software Engineer
Ultimate Software Inc.
11.2013 - 02.2016
Bachelor's Degree - Computer Science
Florida International University
Associate's Degree - Computer Science
Miami Dade College