EXPERIENCE
Richard Sposato
Senior Software Manager
Engineering Manager
Quality Assurance Manager and Team Lead
A passionate and ambitious Senior Software manager with extensive knowledge in cross-functional leadership, implementing network systems, designing embedded firmware and software components, and creating functional test plans for servers across multiple industries. A collaborative leader with a positive attitude who creates a strategic vision and roadmap to train, develop and mentor employees, boost team morale and execute projects with tight deadlines. A dedicated manager with strong technical, planning, and communication skills within high-pressure and fast-paced environments.
November 2021 – Present
Development Team Lead
Design embedded firmware for PCR equipment and implement REST API endpoints and REST server HTTP network connections for IoT devices and connections between IoT devices and AWS cloud infrastructure. Led team in workshops on improving team practices, designing unit tests, and analyzing tools for use by the team.
January 2021 – September 2021
Engineering Manager
Led a team of six full-time infrastructure engineers and three contractors to create tools to build and monitor Kubernetes-based clusters automatically. Trained team on best practices for software development and implemented Agile scrum ways of working for the team.
May 2018 – March 2020
R&D Software Engineering Manager 2
Oversaw the Data Accuracy Engineering team developing tools, apps, and software libraries. Built and grew a group of 2 to 7 software engineers across the world and provided training to improve their skills in software design, testing techniques, and coding practices. Coordinated and implemented software releases with teams in Europe, Chicago, Boulder, and India.
September 2017 – May 2018
Quality Manager
Built a test strategy from scratch for a startup company Civil Maps, to attain their company goal of creating maps for autonomous cars. Devised plans, tested equipment using knowledge of testing REST APIs, and planned to test their data pipeline and output maps when financially stable to achieve their target successfully.
August 2016 – March 2017
Engineering Team Lead, Contractor
Maintained internal REST API servers for supply chain management and led a team of 12 to develop a REST API server. Created test plans and developed automated tests for the REST API server. Trained employees on software development procedures and ran daily stand-up meetings as part of the Agile development process.
October 2015 – June 2016
Senior Embedded Software Engineer, Contractor
Led a team of five to develop REST API tests and trained employees to write API test cases. Created test plans and developed automated tests for the REST API server. Implemented electrical waveform gathering and fast, efficient, feature-rich logging components for embedded software.
February 2014 – September 2015
Quality Engineering Team Leader
Hired as a Senior Software Engineer and promoted to Team Lead within one month. Led offshore team to develop a Java-based framework for testing server APIs. Received the Good Vibes award for leadership in retraining the Quality Engineering team to execute projects on time and within budget.
August 2011 – July 2012
Senior Software Engineer
Collaborated with Grid-Net's customers, vendors, and partners to provide a knowledgeable grid metering service. Designed subsystems for embedded software applications that run in the smart meter. Worked on several intelligent grid applications and implemented a multicast message service that allowed the server to send messages to tens of thousands of smart meters simultaneously.
October 2007 – March 2011
Senior Software Developer
Ported their software to Linux, redesigned and implemented the licensing module, and introduced a unit testing framework. Helped develop coding standards for Ivory's programming staff and participated in recruiting and interviewing job candidates.
February 2002 - February 2005
Software Architect
Created a system-testing framework to assess software's abilities at a high-level using TCL and Perl scripts. Helped design and implement programming API for server software. Wrote unit and system tests to exercise that API automatically. Tutored coworkers in the use of STL and software design techniques. Also introduced occasional “C++ Coding Contests,” which challenged coworkers to demonstrate and improve their knowledge of C++.
RESULTS
Created a process for testing the company’s data pipeline and produced a plan that gave the company the confidence to say their maps are the most accurate on the market.
Managed a team that executed the Lion Project that allowed Anaplan to move data storage and servers from data centers to cloud infrastructures on demand within six months.
Trained and built a team of displeased employees due to company reorganization and retained 100% through transparent, open communication and holding them accountable.
EXPERTISE
Software Development
Agile Methodologies
Requirement Analysis
Collaborative
Web Services
Engineering
Quality Assurance
Electrical Grids
Embedded Firmware
SAAS
Software Development Life Cycle
Team Leadership
Software Design
Project Design
Databases
Strategic Planning
Scrum Master
Cloud Infrastructure
Management Experience
Active Listener
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Math and Computer Science
MEET RICHARD
Q & A
Why did you choose your profession?
When I was 12 years old, my father bought one of the first home computers, a TRS-80 model 1. I taught myself how to program that. I did not just learn a computer language, and not just how to make the computer do what I want, but also learned I had a knack for programming. Even more important, I learned I enjoyed programming. At 12 years old, I already knew my future involved computers.
Having decided at a young age, I chose high school courses to support my vocation. I devoted so much time to math, science, and computer programming classes, that when I graduated, I received the school’s top awards for all three fields.
I focused on math and computer science in university. By the time I earned my bachelor of science, I had already been writing software for 9 years.
Who are your main influences?
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Daniel Dennett
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Sam Harris
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Steven Pinker
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Carl Sagan
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Peter Singer
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Neil deGrasse Tyson
What is your greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment was giving a small girl a happy childhood. I know that sounds like a flippant answer, but of everything I did in my life, raising my daughter brings me the most pride.
Almost 23 years ago, my then-wife (now ex-wife) and I adopted a baby girl from India. When she was born, my daughter had no toes on her left foot and her right foot was turned 90 degrees inward. The reason is that the amniotic sac ruptured while she was still inside her mother. Parts of the sac wrapped around her ankles, which prevented the feet from growing normally in utero. This is called amniotic band constriction. Doctors said she would need several surgeries on her feet and legs just to correct the problem. Even then, they thought she might never stand or walk.
When she was 17 days old, she lost her parents. We asked the adoption agency in India what happened to her parents, but they could not tell us due to privacy laws. All they said was that a grandmother or an aunt brought them a tiny orphan baby girl. It’s hard to imagine a rougher start to life than being an orphan in your first month of life, needing multiple surgeries, and living in extreme poverty.
We brought her to the United States, adopted her, and named her Melissa. We put her through several surgeries over several years and gave her the best health care we could. Through skilled surgeons and her own determination, not only can she stand on her own two feet, but she can walk, she can run, she can dance, and when she went to high school, she became the captain of her volleyball team.
We gave Melissa as normal a childhood as we could. A life filled with love and kindness. We took her on adventures all over the planet. She grew up surrounded by friends. We taught her critical thinking skills. We also taught her emotional processing skills. For example, when she was upset as a small child, we asked her to identify which emotion she was feeling, what caused that emotion, and how she wanted to handle her emotions.
When Melissa went to high school, she never let her medical problems be a handicap. She chose health classes in high school. By the time she graduated, she had earned 13 awards from her high school; some for academics, some for participating in the health academy, and some for leadership. I felt humbled by my daughter since I only earned 4. Out of 400+ students in her class, she graduated second.
After high school, she went to UCLA. This school is ranked #14 worldwide. In her chosen field, bio-psychology, it is ranked as the #11 school worldwide.
Melissa is only 22 years old, but she has lived one of the most amazing lives of anyone I ever met.
What tools do you use?
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Visual Studio
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GCC C++ compiler
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Jenkins
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Jira
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Confluence
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Email
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Empathy
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your profession?
Don’t just learn software languages and tools, but learn good techniques. Learn the best practices. Think of programming not as a solo activity but as a team process. The best programmers accomplish more by working with others. The best programmers not only set the standard for good practices, but they bring the rest of the team up with them.
INTERESTS & HOBBIES
TESTIMONIALS
Kokob Weldetensae, Senior Software Engineer
Having to know and work with Richard for over a year has been very rewarding. As one of his direct reports, I have got a chance to learn from his high level of professionalism and ethics during our day-to-day collaboration. On top of his very effective management skills, Richard is a well-rounded person whose software expertise were very crucial in laying out architectural solutions and the plans to accomplish them.
My team, with Richard's management, accomplished several mission-critical goals that helped numerous teams across the company to succeed. With his active involvement of code reviews and guidance to adopt best software development practices, he helped our team to deliver a very reliable and robust software solutions. His strong technical skills, planning skills, and detailed communication style eased my day-to-day activities and helped me put my effort in the most relevant tasks.
Richard is a very sensible individual who puts a lot of effort to make sure that his team members are well taken care of. His kind and humorous attitude are one of his best characters that I would always hope to see in all of my present and future colleagues. I would certainly be happy to work with Richard again.
John Philpin, CEO
You know when you walk into your office and somehow there is always someone there that arrived before you? And then when you left, there was always someone still there? For me, that was Richard - at both ends of the clock. But he wasn’t there just to fill in his day; he was there because he was dedicated, driven and had a great work ethic. And on a personal note - was intensely curious, full of information and interesting to engage with. Most importantly, he got the job done. Over and over again. His attention to detail, supported by his own styles and processes were just what we needed and Richard delivered.
Joe Zamolo, Software Engineer
I had the privilege of working as a developer on a scrum team with Rich at Gap. As a tech lead, Rich brought to our team a valuable combination of leadership and technical expertise. He helped our team implement a number of best practices, especially pertaining to testing strategies. He would always take the time to not only tell us what we should do but also to show us why and how in such a way that the whole team improved over time. He treats people with kindness and respect and consistently displays a positive attitude that boosts team morale, even in the face of stressful and challenging situations. Rich's influence on our team drove us to be more disciplined which resulted in better team practices and a higher-quality product. I would work with him again.
