Key Work Experience

• PACCAR Parts / Software Development Manager / 2024 – 2025

  • Directed and mentored a cross-functional, globally distributed team of 12 software developers and 1 QE engineer across six concurrent AWS-based initiatives, leveraging hybrid Agile and Waterfall frameworks.
  • Optimized resource allocation and modernization outcomes by managing a $6.5M departmental budget, driving critical legacy transitions (COBOL/RPG to Python and Java), and implementing robust API-based data exchange frameworks.
  • Championed delivery excellence, software reliability, and long-term cost efficiency by architecting and scaling a new Quality Engineering program from the ground up.
  • Partnered closely with project managers and business stakeholders to rescue stalled initiatives, utilizing advanced scope management, meticulous requirements gathering, and enhanced cross-functional communication.
  • Collaborated with the head of project management to design and deploy metric-based reporting dashboards, significantly increasing visibility into business alignment and budget utilization.
  • Revitalized team morale and synergy with the senior infrastructure development team, resulting in a 25% surge in engineering output and established predictable boundaries between support work and new project delivery.

• QAnalysts / Client Site Mgr & Practice Advisor / 2021 – 2023

  • Recruited to orchestrate QA delivery and manage a high-performing team of 30+ Quality Assurance FTEs across 5 strategic onsite project teams for a Fortune 100 client, directing a $5M annual budget across diverse SDK, API, and hardware/software initiatives.
  • Successfully launched an innovative new product, delivered three major hardware releases for a mature product line, and deployed approximately 15 updated flagship features within a strict 1-year timeline—all while coming in 6% under budget.
  • Scaled operations dynamically by hiring and onboarding 20 project professionals to support expanding work streams, while maintaining an exceptional 85% team retention rate.
  • Cultivated a high-impact engineering culture through targeted leadership coaching and technical QA mentorship, successfully accelerating 2 individual contributors into recognized lead roles.
  • Restructured project frameworks, optimized skill-to-task alignment, and introduced a regular rhythm-of-business cadence that dramatically elevated client satisfaction and secured the primary managed service contract.
  • Engineered a custom project estimation tool and trained team leads on its deployment, improving baseline project estimates by 25% and enabling corporate stakeholders to accurately project early-stage planning phases.
  • Drove a massive 40% budget expansion and captured two additional YoY growth projects by taking ownership of the training development initiative and piloting a comprehensive new-hire onboarding matrix.

• Trish Putnam Freelance Consulting / PM, Business and Technical Consulting / 2017 – Present

  • Delivered high-impact project, program, and operational management solutions for diverse clients, driving cross-functional turnarounds across software QA, network infrastructure, and business process modernizations.
  • Orchestrated full-lifecycle project delivery for high-profile Xbox QA initiatives, leveraging streamlined hybrid Agile/Waterfall methodologies to enhance turnaround efficiency by 15%.
  • Optimized operational efficiency and team scalability by refining recruitment pipelines and deployment workflows, resulting in a 25% surge in hiring efficiency and cutting onboarding time by two full days.
  • Elevated cross-functional project transparency and delivery predictability by restructuring backlogs and architecting custom metric-based dashboards, yielding a 10% improvement in on-time milestones.
  • Applied deep technical acumen and experience-based leadership to champion consensus across organizational boundaries, consistently transforming strategic business objectives into execution reality.

• Director of Quality Assurance / Array Health / 2014 – 2016

  • Served as the core leadership driver for a high-growth insurance brokerage platform tailored for insurance companies, directing end-to-end quality strategies across multiple matrixed engineering squads.
  • Successfully rescued a high-stakes relationship with a critical, unsatisfied enterprise client by completely overhauling customer communications, introducing radical process transparency, and providing consistent, real-time visibility into project status and deployment health.
  • Spearheaded the modernizing of legacy validation frameworks, transitioning siloed testing routines into an integrated automated workflow that dramatically accelerated deployment velocity and boosted cross-functional team morale.
  • Partnered directly with product and development stakeholders to establish unified acceptance criteria.
  • Bridged the gap between business objectives and engineering execution to ensure predictable, zero-surprise releases.