JAY ESPINOSA
Leesburg,VA
Summary
Results-driven Managing Consultant and Test Manager with 22 years of experience in test solutions for federal and private sectors. Specializes in IRS IT with a focus on tax filing season development and production maintenance. Expertise in agile planning, CMMI, process improvement, risk management, and project management for complex system migrations and upgrades. Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams in achieving quality and compliance goals.
Overview
1
1
Certification
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
Test Manager
IRS
Herndon, United States
09.2008 - Current
- Project name: Modernized e-File
- The Modernized e-File (MeF) program was awarded to IBM under the Treasury Information Processing Support Services - 2 (TIPSS-2) prime contract, transitioning to the follow-on Total Information Processing Support Services - 3 (TIPSS-3) contract in October 2005. This initiative enhances the IRS's capabilities by enabling customers to electronically file XML-based tax documents via dedicated lines and the Internet, streamlining the filing process and improving overall efficiency for both the IRS and taxpayers.
- Led a team coordinating system test processes for MeF. (2016 - Present):
- Test Manager for the MeF application since 2016, overseeing a team of 25 professionals.
- Conducted impact assessments and defined the scope of testing for each release to ensure comprehensive validation of system testing, functional testing, integration testing, controlled launch, and go-live testing.
- Established testing procedures, including test planning, test execution, defect reporting, incident resolution, test strategy, and defect process.
- Deployed and managed resources effectively for testing Release, Drops, and Maintenance Drop testing
- Applied test measurements and metrics to assess both the release and test team performance including new test cases, regression test cases, defect metrics, defect intercept rate, and defect validity rate.
- Identified and managed testing risks, ensuring proactive mitigation strategies for January go-live and successful filing season.
- Developed and managed test plans, test reports, test dashboards, and test team procedures.
- Ensured timely and quality delivery of test deliverables and artifacts for the IRS Modernized e-File program each filing season.
- Improved Business Rules testing efficiency and capacity through Pegasus Test Case Runner automation enhancements, resulting in higher test coverage, increased defect findings, and improved quality, with an average regression test coverage of 90% over the last 10 tax filing seasons.
- Achieved System Test defect intercept rate of 95% or higher over the last 10 tax filing seasons.
- Integration Test & Deployment Manager (2016 - Present): In September 2016, the IRS selected IBM to provide Infrastructure Support services for the MeF program.
- Managed MeF infrastructure testing activities across development, test, pre-production, and production environments within the IRS data centers where the MeF application is deployed.
- Ensured deployment, environment management, and test support for stable and scalable application operations.
- Managed 508 Accessibility Testing to ensure compliance with federal accessibility standards.
- Conducted Deployment Site Readiness Testing in ATS and Production environments, preparing for tax filing season cutover, readiness, and go-live.
- External Interfaces Test Lead (2008 - 2015):
- Led functional testing for MeF External Interfaces, including GMF, EFTPS, RRP, ERWS, ETARAS, LTRDB, WIC, ECDS, EOD, CDWA, DDB, and DLN generation.
- Developed and maintained automated test scripts utilizing Pegasus test suite to perform functional testing, synthetic test data generation, test validation, and test results reporting.
- Designed detailed test cases to ensure thorough coverage of all functionalities and maintained traceability to requirements and defects.
- Validated tax return data to ensure accuracy and compliance with change request specifications.
- Reported and tracked defects, facilitating timely resolution to ensure readiness for the filing season.
- Key Accomplishments and Projects: IRS Commissioner's Award for MeF Resiliency and Scanning 1040 Paper Returns, implementation and testing of Legislative Initiatives (Taxpayer First Act, COVID Cares Act, Inflation Reduction Act, Clean Energy Act, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Zero Paper Initiative, Tax Reform, Tax Year changes), migration initiatives (EWM, Jira, GitHub), Agile adoption, System Upgrades (RHEL, Oracle, COTS, n/n-1 framework, security), CMMI certification.
Managing Consultant
International Business Machines Corporation
Herndon, United States
05.2004 - Current
- Test Manager, Test Lead, Test Engineer, Scrum Master, Quality Center for Test Director Administrator, Received 2006 4th Quarter Delivery Service Excellence Award for outstanding contributions to service delivery., Achieved 2012 2nd Quarter IBM Excellence & Eminence Recognition for exemplary performance and client satisfaction., 2017 GBS Service Excellence Award (SEA), Honored with Manager's Choice Award 2018 for exceptional leadership and project outcomes., IBM Growth Award - 2022, Achieved CMMI Development Level 5 certification through rigorous process improvement initiatives., CMMI for Services Level 3, 2022 Q2 IBM Growth Award for outstanding contributions
- Advised clients on business strategy and transformation for International Business Machines Corporation engagements.
- Led workshop sessions to gather requirements and align IBM consulting teams.
- Developed solution recommendations using IBM methodologies and industry best practices.
System Test Engineer, Quality Center for Test Director Administrator
National Institute of Health
Bethesda, United States
06.2005 - 09.2008
- Project name: NIH - eRA
- Administered and maintained HP Quality Center/Test Director for the System Integration Team for Test Management, ensuring test traceability and optimizing testing workflows.
- Developed and executed integration test strategy for end-to-end system deliveries, ensuring thorough validation of system functionality.
- Developed detailed test plans to guide the testing process and ensure alignment with project objectives.
- Developed and executed test cases to thoroughly evaluate system interactions and functionalities.
- Documented and reported test results, delivering defect artifacts to expedite resolution and enhance system reliability.
- Coordinated defect resolution efforts with the client and development teams.
- Administered HP Quality Center/Test Director for System Integration Team, ensuring test traceability and streamlining testing workflows.
- Leveraged tools, including Rational ClearCase, Rational ClearQuest, Rational RequisitePro, Toad, XMLSpy, PureEdge Viewer, and Automated Grant Editor Tool.
Application Developer
Catholic Healthcare West
Phoenix, United States
08.2004 - 05.2005
- Oversaw implementation of project CHW - HL7 to enhance integration.
- IBM developed a WebSphere Business Integration and Message Broker solution to replace 50 NEON interfaces at St. Joseph's Medical Center.
- Created transformation specifications to optimize message flow integration.
- Developed transformation specifications to guide message flow integration.
- Developed two functional specification documents detailing routing logic for enhanced clarity and understanding.
- Managed transformation specifications for client review and approval, ensuring precise integration of interfaces.
- Coordinated successful cutover by validating the accuracy of all specifications and obtaining client approval.
- Leveraged tools and environments, including WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker v5.0 (Message Broker Toolkit, MQSI commands, ESQI, XML), WebSphere Business Integration Message Queue v5.3, DB2 v8, Health Level 7, and Concurrent Version System, to support integration efforts.
Test Engineer
Global Computer Enterprises Incorporated
Reston, United States
05.2003 - 04.2004
- Team Lead, Quality Assurance, Help Desk Support
- Developed comprehensive test plans for software releases at Global Computer Enterprises Incorporated, ensuring alignment with quality standards.
- Executed manual and automated test cases across application builds to identify and mitigate defects, enhancing software reliability.
- Documented defects in tracking systems for Global Computer Enterprises Incorporated teams, facilitating timely resolution and improving overall product quality.
Test Engineer
United Stats Coast Guard
Reston, United States
05.2003 - 04.2004
- Project name: USCG Oracle Financials
- Developed and executed test plans and test cases tailored for federal testers, enhancing testing effectiveness.
- Managed configuration for Test and Staging environments, ensuring stability and reliability.
- Created and executed test plans and test cases for federal testers, improving testing effectiveness.
- Coordinated with USCG stakeholders and developers to triage defects, define enhancements, and drive timely resolutions in production.
- Collaborated with USCG stakeholders and developers to triage defects, define enhancements, and achieve timely production resolutions.
- Leveraged technical tools and environments, including SQL, PVCS Version Manager, and UNIX, to support project objectives.
Test Engineer
General Services Administration
Reston, United States
05.2003 - 04.2004
- Oversaw project FPDS-NG System execution
- Conducted regression testing for semi-monthly maintenance releases of the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) Next-Generation application, ensuring production stability and validating federal compliance requirements.
- Delivered Tier 1/2 Support Desk assistance to federal and public users, triaging incidents to improve user support.
- Coordinated timely fixes with development teams for user-reported issues, enhancing system reliability.
- Documented incident resolutions, improving user experience and minimizing repeat issues in production.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business Information Technology
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
USSkills
- Test Manager, Scrum Master, Agile, Disciplined Agile Delivery, Quantitative Management, System Integration Testing, WebSphere Application, Rational Team Concert, IBM Engineering Workflow Management, IBM Engineering Test Management, Jira, GitHub, ServiceNow, Microsoft Project, CMMI Development Level 5, CMMI Services Level 3, Test Metrics, Quantitative Management and Control, Capacity Planning, IBM Mentor Badge, Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner Badge, Government Insights & Solutions (Silver) Badge, Technical Specialist Profession Certification - Level 1 Badge
- Test strategy
- Test planning
- Defect tracking
- 508 Accessibility Testing
Certification
- Watson.ai Data Preparation Technical Sales Intermediate
- AWS Partner: Generative AI Essentials - 2026
- IBM Growth Behaviors- 2025
- Digital Product Engineering Essentials - 2024
- Certified SAFe 6 Practitioner - 2026
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner - 2026
- IBM Automation: Compass - 2020
- IBM Agile Explorer - 2019
- IBM Mentor - 2018
- Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner - 2018
- Technical Specialist Profession Certification - Experienced - 2018
- Government Insights and Solutions (Silver) - 2016
Languages
English - Fluent
Industry Experience
English - Fluent
Key courses and training
English - Fluent
Additional information
English - Fluent
Timeline
Test Manager
IRS
09.2008 - Current
System Test Engineer, Quality Center for Test Director Administrator
National Institute of Health
06.2005 - 09.2008
Application Developer
Catholic Healthcare West
08.2004 - 05.2005
Managing Consultant
International Business Machines Corporation
05.2004 - Current
Test Engineer
Global Computer Enterprises Incorporated
05.2003 - 04.2004
Test Engineer
United Stats Coast Guard
05.2003 - 04.2004
Test Engineer
General Services Administration
05.2003 - 04.2004
Bachelor of Science - Business Information Technology
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University