Kathleen Boria
Auburn,MA
Summary
Experienced commissioning and test engineering manager with a proven track record of consistently delivering impressive outcomes through effective team leadership. Skilled in assembling and nurturing high-performing teams, successfully implementing quality-centric approaches across diverse organizations. Expertise in streamlining processes and combining manual testing with automation, resulting in exceptional outcomes.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Commissioning and Test Engineering Manager
Ocado Group
01.2024 - Current
- Led and managed the commissioning and testing phases of complex warehouse automation systems, ensuring successful deployment across multiple client sites
- Coordinated with cross-functional teams (engineering, software, operations) to define test plans, timelines, and deliverables for automated systems and software solutions
- Oversaw system integration testing (SIT) and user acceptance testing (UAT) to ensure seamless performance and alignment with customer requirements
- Developed and implemented robust testing procedures, protocols, and performance benchmarks to ensure reliability and efficiency of automated software solutions
- Collaborated with software development teams to identify and resolve software bugs or system malfunctions detected during testing phases
- Trained and mentored team members in commissioning, testing, and troubleshooting best practices, contributing to continuous team skill development
- Created detailed test reports and documentation, outlining testing results, issues, and corrective actions to ensure transparency and customer satisfaction
- Worked closely with project managers and customers to set expectations and provide progress updates, ensuring all stakeholders were aligned throughout project timelines
QA Engineering Manager
6 River Systems
01.2021 - 01.2024
- Built and nurtured high performing software test teams, fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation
- Conducted performance evaluations, provided constructive feedback, and identified opportunities for professional growth
- Led and mentored teams of 9-12 software test engineers, providing technical guidance, reviewing test cases, and ensuring adherence to best practices while promoting an environment of continuous learning and improvement
- Adept at overseeing multiple new feature initiatives across diverse organizational groups, with a proven ability to ensure quality standards, streamline processes, and facilitate cross-functional collaboration to ensure successful project delivery
- Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholders and strong problem-solving skills, passionate about fostering a cooperative work environment for the success of both internal and external customers
- Executed the implementation of a defect tracking tool and generated comprehensive reports that utilize metrics to support release and quality-related determinations
- Established a comprehensive training program aimed at enhancing product knowledge within the QA organization to achieve greater depth and expertise
- Conducted on-site customer visits to gain firsthand insights into product usage in real-world scenarios, and returning with innovative solutions to tackle field challenges, ultimately elevating customer satisfaction levels
Senior Software Engineer in Test
6 River Systems
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Implemented and executed comprehensive test plans to guarantee the thorough verification and validation of system functionality and performance, ensuring a robust and reliable outcome
- Performed performance and load testing to evaluate the system's scalability and responsiveness, proactively identifying and addressing potential performance bottlenecks for optimized efficiency
- Tracked and managed software defects throughout their lifecycle, actively engaging with development teams to prioritize and resolve identified issues efficiently
- Ensured a smooth and streamlined defect resolution process, leading to a high-quality software product
- Coordinated with other engineers to evaluate and improve software and hardware interfaces.
- Analyzed proposed technical solutions based on customer requirements.
- Collaborated with management, internal and development partners regarding software application design status and project progress.
- Tested methodology with writing and execution of test plans, debugging and testing scripts and tools.
Principal Software QA Engineer
Actifio
01.2012 - 01.2020
- As the Lead of the QA Team, spearheaded all Service Packs releases, playing a crucial role in streamlining the release process
- Achieved a remarkable reduction in release time from several months to an impressive 2-3-week cycle
- Collaborated closely with the DevOps team to effectively oversee and optimize the QA test environment
- Identified innovative ways to make the best use of test equipment, resulting in enhanced efficiency and productivity in the testing process
- Actively contributed to the automation team, providing valuable guidance to automation engineers on creating effective test cases
- Through this collaborative effort, we achieved improved test coverage and efficiency in the testing process
System/Software QA Engineer – Integration Test Engineering
Hewlett-Packard
01.2011 - 01.2012
- Planned and executed comprehensive test cases and configurations on various brands of Converged Network Adapters (CNA) and FCOE Adapters (Fibre Channel over Ethernet) across multiple operating system environments
- Ensure the seamless integration and performance of the adapters in diverse environments, ultimately contributing to the overall quality and reliability of the products
- Researched new products under test to better understand the configurations and requirements in order to develop well-structured and effective test plans and test cases
- Utilizing Quality Center as the Test Tracking Tool, designed and generated reports showcasing various test statuses on a project-by-project basis
- These reports provided clear and detailed insights into the testing progress, results, and overall quality of each project
- Collaborated closely with the Customer Support team, actively participating in efforts to reproduce and resolve customer-reported issues promptly and efficiently
Software QA Engineer – Team Lead – HP Storage Essentials
Hewlett-Packard
01.2006 - 01.2011
- Lead of the Customer Oriented Scenario Testing
- Led a customer-oriented team that interacted with customers to gain insights into product usage, generating relevant test cases and configurations
- Provided dedicated customer support to select clients
- Oversaw the External Pre-Release Review Program
- Conducted testing for each release, replicating real-life customer environments to ensure product performance and quality
- Managed qualification efforts of Storage Essentials QA team
- Managed a team of 5-7 engineers across global locations, covering testing on diverse OS platforms and multiple vendor hardware
- Responsibilities included creating test plans, executing test cases, documenting bugs, collaborating with developers to resolve issues, and verifying bugs reported by beta customers
- Thorough documentation review was crucial in ensuring product qualification
- Managed the migration from Excel to an online test tracking system, enabling efficient test progress tracking and reporting for the qualification team
- Planned interoperability testing for new features, aligning hardware/software roadmaps with vendors and internal customers
Education
Bachelor of Science - Management Information Systems
Nichols College
Dudley, MA05.2000
Skills
- Cross-functional team leadership
- Regression testing
- System integration testing
- User acceptance testing
- JIRA, Confluence, XRay
- Zephyr
- Oracle, SQL Database
- Postman, API tools
Timeline
Commissioning and Test Engineering Manager
Ocado Group
01.2024 - Current
QA Engineering Manager
6 River Systems
01.2021 - 01.2024
Senior Software Engineer in Test
6 River Systems
01.2020 - 01.2021
Principal Software QA Engineer
Actifio
01.2012 - 01.2020
System/Software QA Engineer – Integration Test Engineering
Hewlett-Packard
01.2011 - 01.2012
Software QA Engineer – Team Lead – HP Storage Essentials
Hewlett-Packard
01.2006 - 01.2011
Bachelor of Science - Management Information Systems
Nichols College
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