Venkata Grandhi
Orlando,FL
Summary
Results-driven Engineering Manager and Technical Project Management professional with extensive experience in delivering enterprise-scale software programs and quality engineering initiatives. Proven track record in Agile delivery, leading cross-functional teams, managing release governance, and executing complex integration workstreams to enhance operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Engineering Manager / Technical Project Manager / Integration Lead
Thales
Orlando, Florida
11.2019 - Current
- Owned end-to-end Systems Integration delivery for In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) programs supporting JetBlue and United Airlines from planning through production release.
- Managed complete Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) from requirements gathering through design, development, verification, deployment, and maintenance.
- Manage Agile delivery activities including sprint planning, user story estimation, dependency tracking, resource allocation, and execution governance.
- Coordinate onsite and offshore engineering teams to ensure successful project delivery and operational alignment.
- Conduct LRU failure analysis, connectivity analysis, and system usage analysis to identify performance and stability issues.
- Perform Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for customer-reported and production-critical issues.
- Collaborate closely with software development and DevOps teams to debug and resolve application, infrastructure, and integration issues.
- Support enterprise migration programs involving legacy platform transitions and interoperability validation.
- Coordinate vendor activities related to backend services, authentication, certificates, and payment gateway integrations.
- Manage customer-impacting incidents and engineering work orders with rapid triage and issue resolution.
- Lead governance reviews for Kanban boards, quality metrics, release dashboards, and engineering execution risks.
- Develop executive reporting artifacts including Defect Health Reports, Release Quality Dashboards, and Engineering Metrics.
- Support post-merger integration initiatives by aligning engineering, operations, vendor, and technology teams.
- Define and implement change management and release governance processes.
- Resolve complex merging and rebasing issues in collaboration with engineering leads.
- Identify process improvement opportunities to improve operational efficiency and delivery effectiveness.
- Environment: JIRA, Confluence, Kubernetes, Docker, Linux, VMware, CI/CD, Agile, Kanban
QA and DevOps Lead
Intel Mobile Communications
06.2017 - 10.2019
- Led QA and DevOps coordination activities for enterprise software delivery programs.
- Managed end-to-end test planning activities including Customer Acceptance Testing (CAT), test data preparation, execution tracking, and release validation.
- Collaborated with Business Analysts and stakeholders to finalize Functional Requirement Specifications (FRS).
- Developed and maintained Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM) for complete requirement validation.
- Facilitated cross-functional issue resolution meetings and managed risk escalation activities.
- Coordinated onsite and offshore teams to ensure environment readiness and successful release execution.
- Delivered project status reporting, stakeholder communication, release walkthroughs, and executive summaries.
- Conducted knowledge transfer and onboarding sessions for new team members.
- Managed defect lifecycle activities including defect logging, retesting, validation, and closure.
- Worked closely with DevOps teams to support CI/CD pipelines, deployment coordination, and environment stability.
- Implemented QA process improvements and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Environment: HP ALM, Quality Center, JIRA, Selenium, Linux, CI/CD, DevOps, Agile
Test Lead
AT&T
03.2015 - 05.2017
- Led QA activities for AT&T Locker cloud-based storage and synchronization applications.
- Managed defect triage meetings and coordinated issue prioritization across teams.
- Planned and coordinated User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Beta testing activities.
- Collaborated with Agile development teams to support Test-Driven Development (TDD) practices.
- Coordinated offshore QA teams to ensure timely test execution and release readiness.
- Managed functional, regression, integration, and user validation testing activities.
- Monitored testing progress, release quality metrics, and defect reporting activities.
- Worked closely with stakeholders and development teams to validate business requirements.
Senior Test Engineer
Optus One Portal
08.2014 - 02.2015
- Developed Selenium WebDriver automation scripts for enterprise web applications.
- Automated Android mobile application testing using Appium.
- Performed functional, integration, regression, and cross-platform testing activities.
- Coordinated Agile sprint testing activities with onsite and offshore teams.
- Participated in requirement analysis, FRS reviews, and technical discussions.
- Managed defect lifecycle activities using Team Foundation Server (TFS).
Senior Test Engineer
Kinetoo
04.2013 - 07.2014
- Performed telecom product testing for voice, SMS, MMS, and Wi-Fi calling services.
- Conducted telecom network validation and emergency call testing using Agilent 8960.
- Performed network issue analysis, troubleshooting, and log analysis.
- Managed defect reporting and collaborated with development teams for issue resolution.
Test Engineer
Motorola
06.2006 - 03.2013
- Worked on 3G handset testing programs supporting AT&T, Orange, T-Mobile, and Motorola internal projects.
- Performed functional, regression, and handset application testing activities.
- Prepared test specifications, defect reports, and release validation documentation.
- Managed firmware flashing and software installation activities using RSD Lite.
- Participated in regression suite maintenance and defect tracking activities.
Education
Bachelor's Degree - Information Technology / Computer Science
Skills
- Program & Project Management
- Agile / Scrum Delivery
- Engineering Leadership
- Technical Program Management
- Enterprise Integration
- Release Management
- QA & Test Management
- Risk & Issue Management
- Stakeholder Communication
- DevOps & CI/CD Coordination
- Vendor Management
- Defect Lifecycle Management
- Root Cause Analysis
- UAT Coordination
- System Migration
- Change Management
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Executive Reporting
- Project & Delivery Tools
- JIRA, Confluence, HP ALM, Quality Center, TFS, Jama, Microsoft Project
- Automation & Testing
- Selenium WebDriver, Appium, Maven, Firebug, FirePath
- Programming & Scripting
- Java, Python, Shell Scripting, JavaScript
- DevOps & Infrastructure
- Docker, Kubernetes, VMware, CI/CD Pipelines
- Operating Systems
- Linux, Windows, Solaris, CentOS
- Networking & Telecom
- TCP/IP, FTP, SMTP, SNMP, SIP, LTE, GSM, UMTS/WCDMA, ARINC 429
- Mobile Technologies
- Android, iOS, P2K Platforms
Timeline
Engineering Manager / Technical Project Manager / Integration Lead
Thales
11.2019 - Current
QA and DevOps Lead
Intel Mobile Communications
06.2017 - 10.2019
Test Lead
AT&T
03.2015 - 05.2017
Senior Test Engineer
Optus One Portal
08.2014 - 02.2015
Senior Test Engineer
Kinetoo
04.2013 - 07.2014
Test Engineer
Motorola
06.2006 - 03.2013