What It's Like to Work at Zello

What new skill or role did you want to learn? Explain why this was important to you.
At InnovateQA Seattle, I wanted to deepen my understanding of how quality engineering roles are evolving — specifically, how to shift from a traditional testing mindset to one that enables broader product and engineering success. This was important to me because the software development engineer in test role is no longer just about writing tests; it's about building frameworks, tools and strategies that empower entire teams to deliver better software faster. Attending sessions like Carlos' keynote on mindset shifts — from “I do testing” to “I help others do testing” and eventually “I improve value delivery” — gave me actionable insights into how I can grow into a more strategic and cross-functional quality leader.

How did your employer help support this time of learning?
Zello was incredibly supportive of my attendance at InnovateQA. Not only did the team encourage me to participate but they also ensured I had the time and flexibility to fully engage in the event. My manager helped prioritize workloads so I could focus on the conference without distraction. The fact that Zello invests in continued learning like this signals the importance the company places on growing talent and staying at the forefront of quality and test automation practices.

What was the outcome of this experience? How did it impact your future growth in your profession?
This experience left me with a renewed perspective on what it means to be an impactful SDET. I gained not only exposure to cutting-edge tools like Amazon Nova Act but also inspiration on how to build for scale, collaborate better with developers and rethink test strategy as a driver of engineering and operational excellence. I came away with ideas that I’ve already begun exploring internally — such as improving test tooling to increase team productivity and reducing friction in CI/CD. Longer-term, it’s helped crystallize my path toward technical leadership by showing how quality-focused roles can influence product velocity and team culture beyond just testing.