# Santo Grillo > Robotics Software QA | USAF Veteran | Duke Alumni Location: Greater Boston, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/santo US veteran and Duke alumni with a passion for software engineering ## Work Experience ### Staff Software Test Engineer @ Guardian Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States ● Led development of scalable test strategies for autonomous drone and robotics software, ensuring coverage across unit, integration, system, and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) levels ● Designed and maintained automated test frameworks for embedded systems (e.g., PX4, ROS2) and cloud-connected services, improving regression coverage and reducing manual test effort ● Built and operated simulation-based validation pipelines using Gazebo, PX4 SITL, and custom mock sensor inputs to verify autonomy, navigation, and failsafe behavior ● Integrated test automation into CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins/GitLab), enabling continuous regression testing for all software components ● Developed custom test tooling in Python and Javascript for validating mission-critical flight control and planning algorithms under real-world and edge-case conditions ● Mentored junior test and software engineers in automated testing practices, verification planning, and design-for-test principles ### Manager Software Quality Assurance @ Realtime Robotics, Inc. Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States • Responsible for proving out quality and functionality for a range of software products enabling the programming, deconfliction and control of industrial robots for automotive and logistics applications • Led team of QA engineers to develop test solutions covering full range of software products • Identified potential risks to product quality and worked with stakeholders to develop mitigation plans • Led development of test frameworks and implemented automated test cases to verify functionality through API and GUI level testing • Managed automated CI test pipelines to ensure rapid detection of software defects and enabling immediate bug fixes to correct any issues. Reduced average bug ticket lifespan from 18 days to sub 48 hours • Established a flexible automated performance testing solution with full visualization and reporting, quickly identifying potential software issues and informing the Product team about the realistic behavior of Rapidplan products under various conditions • Comfortable in an early-stage startup environment, working through ambiguity and enabling teams to perform in this environment. • Proficient in tools or processes required to manage complex projects, particularly Jira • Excellent communication skills to effectively collaborate with the research, product, and customer support teams ### Sr. Test Manager Software QA @ Realtime Robotics, Inc. Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States • Collaborated with product managers, developers, and stakeholders to define testing requirements and acceptance criteria • Developed test frameworks and implemented automated test cases to verify functionality through GUI level testing using Froglogic Squish • Served as Scrum Master for Rapidplan Create development team, leading regular sprint ceremonies, managing current sprint ticket allocation, and overseeing backlog planning using Jira • Maintained detailed documentation of test plans, test cases, and test results using Xray test management • Primary subject matter expert on the RapidPlan Create 2.0 tool. Led training and product demos for both internal users and key external customers • Proficiency of Ubuntu Linux and version control systems such as Gitlab ### Software Development Intern @ Siemens Healthineers Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area • Created software solutions for highly complex medical diagnostic and automation systems • Collaborated with fast paced, quality driven team in an Agile Development Environment • Developed understanding of software design patterns and capability to understand system architecture design • Authored the framework to integrate two different analytics apps for simultaneously linking legacy data to the new system • Built from the ground up Angular framework front-end for analytics app • Analytics uptime report for medical diagnostic and automation systems • Updated unit tests from J-Unit to MS • Fluent in C++, C# and Angular ### Software Test Manager @ United States Air Force Jan 2011 – Jan 2016 | Tinker AFB, Oklahoma • Serve as a key member of software development team as the lead software tester on development projects for DoD and USAF clients. Supervise a five-member testing team in developing and implementing test cases to ensure compliance with QA standards and user specifications. • Created and executed automated software test plans, cases, and scripts to uncover, identify, and document software problems and their causes. • Led testing that prevented over 150 flaws in Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) aircraft mission software, providing a stable mission platform for aircraft worldwide • Conducted formal and informal product design reviews throughout the software development lifecycle to provide input on functional requirements, product designs, and potential issues. Leveraged developer background to communicate effectively with the software design team, becoming a subject matter expert on challenging test cases. • Assisted in the design and development of software improvements for the Boeing E-3 AWACS mission software. • Contributed software engineering expertise in the development of products through software lifecycle, from requirements definition through successful deployment • Excelled in rapid development and management of technological issues for assigned projects, earning recognition for deep system knowledge and problem-solving abilities ### Data Entry Assistant @ University of Maryland Jan 2010 – Jan 2010 Database entry assistant ## Education ### Bachelor of Science - BS in Computer Science Duke University ### Associate’s Degree in Computer Science Technology Community College of the Air Force ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/santo-grillo - GitHub: https://github.com/santogrillo --- Source: https://flows.cv/santo JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/santo/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-31