Nicole Barton Email & Phone Number

Los Gatos, Ca, Us

San Francisco, California, Us

Shaping and executing test infrastructure and engineering operations for a leading provider of online cloud solutions with $2B+ in revenue and 2K+ employees, I transformed an underperforming team, revolutionizing culture, metrics, and systems to ignite a new era of productivity. Key Contributions: ✓ Introduced software development engineer as a test role; built the career framework, role charter, and interview loop and steered centralized SDET calibration for the entire company during each review cycle✓ Served on the Engineering ModSquad, overseeing all engineering interview loops including interview question creation and review to improve the candidate interview experience✓ Reimagined governance models for quality management, strategizing with executives/engineering management to shift the engineering mindset from QA to QE, refining quality methods to enhance automation engineering, accelerate time to market, and stimulate collaboration and synergy✓ Forged partnerships with site reliability to preempt pervasive production issues and optimize quality assurance, driving innovation and growth while supporting 5 primary products with 700M users ✓ Designated as the department’s sole engineer for 6 months, assuming ownership of 40 direct reports✓ Spearheaded budget and personnel management, directing 4 managers and 40 individual contributors and overseeing 20 contractors across all Dropbox product teams ✓ Introduced, streamlined, and executed processes to reduce average code release time by 1.5 hours ✓ Deployed SEV risk analysis, mitigating revenue-impacting issues across legacy products✓ Devised the engineering “definition of done” in concert with principal engineers to drive SDLC predictability, decrease production issues, and increase release cadence ✓ Facilitated offsites in close collaboration with the learning and development team to raise morale

San Francisco, California, Us

San Francisco, California, Us

In this role, I established and rolled out the first-ever centralized SDET department at Dropbox!

San Francisco, California, Us

Embedded in the Business Platform and Customer Growth EPD groups, my teams owned accountability for quality oversight of Dropbox's Revenue Platform, Experimentation Platform, Campaigns Platform technology stacks, and acquisition and payment-related surfaces.

New York, Ny, Us

As a key member of Arianna Huffington's leadership team, I built the Quality Engineering & Product Support division in a dynamic startup environment. I championed operational excellence by devising/implementing strategies to amplify the quality of product offerings and ensure optimal performance/reliability. I also seamlessly integrated ZenDesk into the support framework with streamlined processes, lifting efficiency and customer satisfaction. Key Contributions: ✓ Promoted automation methodologies, embedding quality practices to bolster new applications✓ Led requirements gathering, design development, and technical implementation, orchestrating agile and scrum processes across product development to support multiple frameworks✓ Recruited and retained a 3-member engineering team developing automation scripts and frameworks ✓ Fortified infrastructure to seamlessly handle a 10x traffic surge while safeguarding sensitive data ✓ Deployed release management and product support strategies for top clients

New York, Ny, Us

In this capacity, I spearheaded the development and maintenance of two crucial mobile applications tailored to users with MS and breast cancer. I leveraged agile frameworks and automation testing to swiftly revamp and elevate the user experience for users, tackled technical debt issues, and enhanced QA with emerging mobile engineering teams to address low user satisfaction. Key Contributions: ✓ Earned accolades from Apple, boosting user engagement, team morale, and platform quality✓ Introduced API test improvements, driving refactoring efforts to attain industry standards for documentation and system compatibility✓ Improved the user experience for 10K+ users by revitalizing an underperforming MS app with new frameworks, automation testing, and agile methodology to resolve persistent quality/database issues ✓ Created a breast cancer support app in 4 months using automation testing/user behavior analytics ✓ Standardized test documentation using PractiTest, adopted by multiple engineering teams ✓ Developed transparent release notes and risk mitigation procedures to inform decision-making ✓ Revamped weak Appium automation scripts into cost-effective solutions integrated into each CI build

Bethesda, Md, Us

Directing a top-flight team of 8 QA Automation Engineers and 2 offshore engineering teams, I managed QE for technology stack upgrades and production deployment enhancements across complex environments. I introduced and implemented innovative QA and agile techniques and mitigated risks during deployment of new technology solutions. I also streamlined production support issue resolution, fostering inter-departmental collaboration for efficient communication. Key Contributions: ✓ Developed metrics to assess release success, tracking engineering costs on defect resolution✓ Served as SME to the CTO in software QA, process improvement, and release management✓ Assumed a QE leadership role for 6 months, leading major release testing and recruitment during a department overhaul✓ Centralized QE department in a year, creating QE policies/standards to optimize productivity ✓ Deployed innovative technology solutions impacting 4M+ annual users and driving $80M in revenue ✓ Steered the transition from manual to automated testing, optimizing efficiency and defect mitigation strategies while integrating SOAPUI PRO and Postman into workflows✓ Led a team that accomplished a 90% server upgrade rate within 30 days post-release announcement✓ Promoted early QA involvement in agile development to drive collaboration and risk management✓ Positioned the company as a tech community innovator by facilitating top-tier talent recruitment✓ Founded the technical leadership council, fostering engagement and cost reduction ✓ Acted as Treasurer of Get Involved Now, a nonprofit promoting compassion/community engagement

Cutting my teeth in quality engineering, I validated mortgage and education loan software utilizing waterfall and agile methods to ensure robust, reliable systems. I facilitated cross-functional meetings and training for executive teams and clients. I also engineered and executed system implementation schedules with configuration and project managers to optimize release quality. Key Contributions: ✓ Cultivated client relationship management skills under the COO while engaging key clients ✓ Recruited, trained, and led a team of 5 quality assurance analysts, maintaining 100% retention YOY ✓ Delivered top-tier support to 10 institutional clients, resolving ~5 high-profile weekly issues ✓ Mentored 10 business analysts and project managers, fostering a culture of excellence ✓ Streamlined the production support and release management framework in >30 months ✓ Led meticulous smoke testing for new implementations and coordinated system deployments

Silver Spring, Maryland, Us

While a full-time college student, I implemented new protocols in the investigation of the effects of prescribed drugs on human physiology and psychological performance in three research studies. The primary clinical trial was a multi-year investigation on the impact of caffeinated gum on the military’s ability to complete repetitive simple tasks after more than 24 hours of sleep deprivation.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs

Education record