Ron Smelser, PMP, CSM

Experience

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  Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company

  Jun 1985 - Jul 1991

  Project Engineer

  Managed the design, development, installation, and testing of the mission computer for the experimental F-22 jet fighter.

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  Accenture

  Apr 1992 - Sept 1999

  Manager

  Management and technology consulting. Clients include The Capital Group, HealthNet, JPL, AirTouch Cellular and Bell South.

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  Inforte

  Oct 1999 - May 2000

  Manager

  Management and technology consulting. Clients include Alcatel and Sun Microsystems.

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  LiveOffice Corporation

  Jun 2000 - Jan 2012

  Project & SQA Manager
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  Veritas Technologies LLC (Separated from Symantec, Oct 2015, Symantec acquired LiveOffice, Jan 2012)

  Jun 2000 - May 2016

  Director, Program Management

  • Managed the design, development, testing and deployment of multiple SAAS product lines that generated over $100M in recurring yearly revenue. • Led the transformation of an engineering department from a waterfall development methodology to Agile Scrum which created predictable large quarterly and monthly maintenance releases.• Led and integrated multiple high performance teams that included PMO, Development Operations, Quality Assurance and Information Development. These teams successfully supported 50+ software engineers on two continents/3 time zones and whose accomplishments included; o Built/delivered/supported multiple, highly-available development and testing environments, which significantly increased developer/tester uptime and productivity. o Designed, implemented and maintained Agile Development methodologies and best practices that reduced development risks and improved software reliability, time to market and release management o Reduced bugs backlogs by over 25% and reduced the amount of new bugs introduced into production by over 50%. o Created and maintained help documentation that significantly reduced customer calls to the help desk.• Developed and implemented repeatable Agile processes with executives and engineering leadership which led to a sustainable, repetitive portfolio planning process.• Provided primary technical interface and relationship building with very large enterprise customers which led to the acquisition of additional large customers and 10x increase of recurring yearly revenue.• Led a team that automated engineering and quality metrics that was used by Engineering Leadership that improved accountability and assisted with decision making on resource allocations, project timelines and software quality initiatives.• Managed for 6+ years the relationship with a near-shore software resources vendor that supplemented our engineering teams and led to the permanent hiring of 3 of their high performing engineers. Show less

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  Symantec Corporation

  Jan 2012 - Oct 2015

  Director, Program Management
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  DiscoverOrg

  Mar 2017 - May 2018

  Director, Technical Services

  Director, Technical Services Managed both the Technical Project Management and Quality Assurance teams at a fast paced, hypergrowth internet company. Spearheaded the transition of the Engineering Department from waterfall-like processes to Agile methodologies, increasing project visibility and predictability with executive management. • Created/implemented the processes and tools necessary to enable multiple, high performing Agile Scrum and Kanban teams• Significantly improved software quality by increasing automated test coverage. Show less

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  NWEA

  Nov 2018 - Oct 2023

  I am living the dream of working with incredibly intelligent and dedicated people with one mission in mind, to help ALL kids learn. I am leading cross functional teams, consisting of members from Product Management, Product Engineering, Partner Accounts, Marketing, Partner Support, Professional Learning, Content Development and Psychometric Solutions, to deliver high profile initiatives to our partners including: --> Innovative reporting enhancements including a new report dedicated for parents/guardians of students who are tested on our products --> Successfully conducted a pilot that demonstrates the suitability of delivering our flagship product, MAP Growth, on NWEA's new, ground-breaking Constraint-Based Engine. Show less

  • Sr Manager, Solution Operations

    Aug 2020 - Oct 2023

  • Sr. Project Manager

    Nov 2018 - Jul 2020
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  CVE Technologies Group, Inc.

  May 2024 - now

  Project Manager