Ivette Howard

Quality Assurance professional with 17+ years of experience in testing complex business applications across financial services and enterprise systems. Strong expertise in frontend and backend systems, API testing, data validation, and end-to-end workflow validation. Proven ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, support UAT, and improve processes to enhance system quality and user experience in Agile environments. Bilingual in English and Spanish.

Senior System Analyst & Tester at Koniag Government Services (2022-10 – 2026-03)

Supported the Federal Student Aid organization in testing system modernization efforts for the SABER project of the Department of Education, including Congressionally mandated and policy-driven changes, by validating front-end applications (studentaid.gov) and backend of the FAFSA Processing System (FPS) supporting a 25% increase in application volume.

• Led tester for FAFSA Processing System (FPS) and FAFSA Partner Portal (FPP)
• Managed a team of 4 testers, mentoring junior staff while executing E2E test strategies
• Performed front-end testing of Federal Student Aid (FSA) applications from initiation through submission and corrections, increasing account creation by 20% and reducing abandonment and call volume by 20%
• Validated complex loan management calculations, including Federal Tax Information (FTI) modules, through manual and system verification
• Supported Spanish localization, ensuring accurate grammar across all workflows
• Collaborated in backlog grooming and requirements management sessions
• Developed and executed functional test scripts for User Acceptance Testing (UAT) aligned with business requirements
• Tested complex Income-Driven Repayment (IDR-MPA) calculations and API responses for accuracy and compliance
• Conducted peer reviews of test cases for IDR and FAFSA systems

Staff Software Quality Engineer at OnlineMedEd (2022-01 – 2022-09)

• Led QA efforts across all modules of a global medical education platform
• Partnered with Product Owners to define acceptance criteria and estimate testing efforts
• Developed automation scripts using Playwright and performed API testing with Postman
• Identified system enhancements that improved performance and usability

Software Quality Engineer at Purpose Financial, Inc. (2013-09 – 2021-12)

Worked in Agile/Scrum methodology for a consumer financial services company offering a diverse suite of credit products, promoting financial inclusion, and meeting consumers wherever they are. Worked on a project for consolidating its technology into one platform.

• Contributed to all SDLC phases for a major platform consolidation project, increasing business by 30%
• Tested financial products across multiple environments, including backend systems and APIs using ReadyAPI
• Led QA for Project Nucleus, improving operational workflows and increasing revenue by 25%
• Wrote SQL queries to validate data and generate test datasets

Quality Assurance Engineer at CloudsWell (2011-10 – 2013-08)

• Participated in all phases of a $2M SOA cloud-based project, increasing business by 35%
• Developed scripts to test 240+ web services using HP Service Test and SOAPUI
• Led fraud reduction initiatives, decreasing fraudulent activity by 20%
• Served as QA Lead for small to mid-sized projects and third-party integrations

Quality Assurance Engineer at EnvisionWare, Inc. (2008-08 – 2011-06)

• Automated test scripts using AutoIT for print management solutions.
• Designed web pages and UI components using HTML and JavaScript
• Developed comprehensive test plans and test cases for different library products contributing faster processing that increased 20% revenue

Master in Management Information Systems – Central University of Venezuela

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science – Central University of Venezuela