Forrest Thompson
Cincinnati,OH
Summary
Quality Engineering leader with 15+ years of experience building and scaling automation-first organizations supporting large scale, direct-to-consumer platforms. Currently lead QE for FOX Sports business unit, overseeing automation strategy, live event reliability, and release risk across streaming, betting, fantasy gaming, and editorial systems. Trusted partner to SVP and executive leadership, aligning quality strategy with revenue-critical live events and platform scalability.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Manager, Test Engineering (Head of QE)
FOX Sports
Cincinnati, OH
07.2018 - Current
- Built and scaled Quality Engineering organization supporting FOX Sports direct-to-consumer platforms (web, mobile, connected TV, VR, backend services) including automation frameworks and KPI related standards.
- Built the QA team from a team of 1 to 12 including front and back end engineers
- Partnered directly with SVP, VP, product, and engineering leadership to align quality initiatives with business goals across streaming, betting, fantasy gaming, and editorial ecosystems.
- Mentored junior managers, fostering talent development and promoting a collaborative work environment.
- Owned automation and release confidence strategy for revenue-critical live sporting events including Super Bowl, World Cup, and World Series, ensuring platform reliability under peak concurrency.
- Defined and executed DevOps-aligned QE strategy (CI/CD, distributed test agents, device farms, AWS-based tooling) to accelerate release velocity while reducing production risk.
- Developed f1 calculations and corresponding dashboards to test AI generated tags used for content tagging across sports
- Introduced AI-assisted test generation initiatives to increase automation coverage and reduce manual effort.
- Led cross-functional teams to develop and implement strategic initiatives enhancing viewer engagement.
Quality & Release Specialist II
Total Quality Logistics
Cincinnati, OH
05.2016 - 07.2018
- Designed and implemented testing strategies for Accounting and Finance systems, improving defect detection rates and release quality.
- Led cleanup and optimization of regression test suites, reducing execution time by 30%.
- Created an automation readiness assessment process and collaborated on building a Selenium-based automation framework.
- Partnered with consulting teams to assign and track execution tasks, ensuring on-time delivery for concurrent releases.
- Provided regression and UAT support across multiple business units, including Load Manager platform.
Quality Test Engineer
Interactive Business Systems
02.2016 - 05.2016
- Automated manual test cases using QC and UFT, reducing manual effort by 25%.
- Led regression suite optimization for the Diamond project.
- Coordinated with offshore teams for execution and defect triage.
Quality Test Engineer III
LexisNexis
03.2011 - 02.2016
- Developed test strategies, technical assessments, and capacity management plans for the New Lexis platform.
- Managed onsite and offshore QA teams, ensuring quality across multiple services.
- Reviewed test deliverables and results to ensure compliance with standards.
- Managed an environment stack including servers (both physical and virtual) that supported the infrastructure behind New Lexis. Also guided the planning side of upgrades when they took place.
Education
Master of Science - Information Systems
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH08-2019
MBA - Applied Management
Indiana Wesleyan University
Marion, IN08-2013
Bachelor of Arts - Organizational Communication
Wright State University
Dayton, OH08-2010
Skills
Automation Strategy & Framework Design
CI/CD & DevOps Integration
Cloud-native QA Solutions (AWS, distributed agents, device farms)
High-Concurrency Consumer Platforms
Regulated & Revenue-Sensitive Systems
Cross Platform Testing (Web, Mobile, Connected TV)
Cross-functional collaboration
Data-driven decision making
Talent development
Timeline
Senior Manager, Test Engineering (Head of QE)
FOX Sports
07.2018 - Current
Quality & Release Specialist II
Total Quality Logistics
05.2016 - 07.2018
Quality Test Engineer
Interactive Business Systems
02.2016 - 05.2016
Quality Test Engineer III
LexisNexis
03.2011 - 02.2016
Master of Science - Information Systems
University of Cincinnati
MBA - Applied Management
Indiana Wesleyan University
Bachelor of Arts - Organizational Communication
Wright State University
HONORS & AWARDS
National Scholars Honors Society, Outstanding Junior Award, Ralph J. Pruitt Scholarship Recipient