I am a professional game developer with more than 17 years of experience in team management, production, and QA. My credits include multiple leadership roles on critically acclaimed triple-A games, including the billion-dollar Rock Band franchise. Most recently I worked as Hiring Manager at Fire Hose Games, where I helped recruit diverse, top-tier talent to develop an ambitious, cross-platform game, and I served as Director of Quality Assurance on Fire Hose’s latest release, Techtonica.
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Director Of Quality AssuranceFire Hose Games May 2023 - Nov 2024Cambridge, Ma, UsSelected Credits: Techtonica (PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5) Highlights: As Director of Quality Assurance at Fire Hose Games, I managed both internal and external QA teams to direct all aspects of test planning and execution for Techtonica, Fire Hose’s largest and most ambitious release to date. By tightly integrating QA within the development team, and by communicating directly with players and playtesters to collect bug reports and actionable feedback, we were able to generate maximum value from a small full-time test team and achieve a high quality bar across multiple releases of a multi-platform title featuring over 100 hours of gameplay. -
Hiring ManagerFire Hose Games May 2021 - May 2023Cambridge, Ma, UsHighlights: I became Fire Hose’s dedicated Hiring Manager as the studio doubled in size. I recruited, interviewed, and made hiring recommendations for successful candidates ranging from director-level hires with decades of triple-A development experience to new devs taking on their first professional game development roles. I emphasized diversity and inclusion in hiring, which helped the studio to attract top-level candidates. I also helped oversee Fire Hose’s transition to being a fully remote, geographically distributed studio, while preserving a strong sense of teamwork and studio culture. -
Project ManagerFire Hose Games Apr 2019 - May 2021Cambridge, Ma, UsHighlights: I served as Project Manager for a collaboration between Fire Hose Games and a Fortune 100 client. I facilitated regular communication between Fire Hose and the client team, helped set milestones and monitor progress toward their completion, and kept the Fire Hose portion of the project within scope and budget. -
Qa TesterFire Hose Games Jul 2017 - May 2021Cambridge, Ma, UsSelected Credits: Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered (PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Nintendo Switch), 20XX (PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch), Harper Quinn and the Mystery of the Marshes (PC, iOS, non-commercial release), Harper Quinn and the Legend of Blackburn's Fury (PC, non-commercial release) Highlights: I planned and executed QA testing for the console ports of 20XX and Catlateral Damage. I also oversaw user experience testing for two game projects produced for a Fortune 100 corporate client, including traveling to office sites across the United States to conduct user acceptance testing, collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative feedback, and generating actionable design recommendations to improve the game’s performance against client acceptance criteria. -
Lead Quality Assurance EngineerGsn (Tv & Games) Jan 2016 - Jan 2017Los Angeles, Ca, UsSelected Credits: Two Dots (iOS), Centipede (iOS), Pac-Man (iOS), Tetris Burst (iOS), Scrabble (iOS), TriPeaks Solitaire (iOS), Wheel of Fortune (iOS) Highlights: I served as Lead Quality Assurance Engineer at GSN Games, managing QA teams across multiple countries and time zones to oversee testing on several concurrent mobile game projects. -
Associate ProducerHarmonix Music Systems Nov 2014 - Jan 2016Boston, Ma, UsSelected Credits: Rock Band 4 (Xbox One, PS4) Highlights: As Associate Producer on Rock Band 4, I functioned as scrum master for multiple agile development teams, including managing the 3D character art pipeline and producing development of the game’s marquee improvised guitar solo feature. I oversaw the game’s localization, including coordinating external translation and LQA teams. I also produced the multi-disciplinary team in charge of downloadable content, producing weekly DLC releases and overseeing a first-of-its kind backwards compatibility initiative to work with Microsoft and Sony to enable Rock Band 4 players to seamlessly import thousands of DLC songs from prior Rock Band games. -
Qa LeadHarmonix Music Systems Feb 2009 - Nov 2014Boston, Ma, UsSelected Credits: Fantasia: Music Evolved (Xbox One, Xbox 360), Rock Band Blitz (Xbox 360, PS3), Dance Central (Xbox 360), Rock Band 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii), The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii)Highlights: Working as a Quality Assurance Lead at Harmonix on multiple triple-A game projects, I managed and mentored teams of up to 20 direct reports, and I was responsible for developing and executing testing strategies to meet the quality standards of world-famous IP holders like the Beatles and Disney. I refined Harmonix’s use of bug metrics to track progress toward production deliverables, provide early warning if projects were falling behind schedule, and develop mitigation strategies. -
Qa TesterHarmonix Music Systems Dec 2007 - Feb 2009Boston, Ma, UsSelected Credits: Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii), Rock Band (Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii) Highlights: I was the first QA Tester hired for Harmonix’s internal test planning team, where I led the standardization of test planning and bug reporting processes, and I created documentation and training to promote departmental best practices. I also worked closely with development teams to integrate QA testing directly into the development pipeline, instead of treating it as a siloed discipline.
Robert Butts Skills
Robert Butts Education Details
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Massachusetts Institute Of TechnologyPolitical Science And Government -
Dartmouth CollegePolitical Science And Government
Frequently Asked Questions about Robert Butts
What is Robert Butts's role at the current company?
Robert Butts's current role is Director of QA.
What schools did Robert Butts attend?
Robert Butts attended Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Dartmouth College.
What skills is Robert Butts known for?
Robert Butts has skills like Game Development, Game Design, Video Games, Perforce, Xbox 360, Gameplay, Computer Games, Ps3, Mobile Games.
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