Natalie Cervantes

At Cruise, I led cross-functional programs to re-architect Getcruise.com and Cruisemunich.de, enhancing the CI/CD pipeline, increasing build speed by 80%, strengthening security, and streamlining content workflows. I aligned business priorities, managed stakeholders, and mitigated risks to drive execution.

I spearheaded localization efforts, enabling seamless content translation and adaptive site functionality for global markets. I also improved accessibility compliance by 80%, achieving WCAG 2.1 standards and creating a more inclusive user experience. To enhance efficiency and knowledge sharing, I developed technical documentation for localization, content components, and other feature initiatives. I led performance tracking, leveraging data from Google Analytics, Lighthouse, and Datadog to inform KPIs and drive impactful outcomes.

Using Agile methodologies (Scrum and Kanban), I optimized project execution while mentoring engineers through personalized growth plans, leading to two promotions. Additionally, I drove cross-team product implementations, contributing to a 70% increase in test coverage for the delivery merchant app.

At First String Digital, I managed complex website projects, driving stakeholder alignment, ensuring on-time delivery, and fostering collaboration across product, design, and engineering teams. I led the development of the corporate website and a web-based SaaS product, leveraging React and Gatsby.js to build fast, secure, and mobile-optimized applications.

To enhance efficiency, I implemented an Agile DevOps process, improving feature requirements definition, CI/CD workflows, and automated testing, which streamlined development and increased client satisfaction. Additionally, I spearheaded the technical design and execution of reusable web content models, increasing user engagement by 50% and optimizing content authoring workflows.

By applying Agile methodologies, I prioritized project milestones, improved cross-functional collaboration, and ensured seamless execution, driving measurable improvements in team performance and product delivery.

• 70% — Reduction in Customer Support Tickets Post-workflow Redesign
• 2 — Follow-up Contracts Won Through Successful Project Delivery
• 15% — Increase in Organic Traffic Post-launch Through SEO Preservation Strategy
• 5+ — Concurrent Workstreams Managed: Replatforming, DevOps, Analytics, Mobile App, Chatbot
• $1+ Million — Program Budget Managed Across a Multiphase Enterprise Engagement

The legacy Sitecore CMS was outdated, difficult to maintain, and lacked scalable content workflows across thousands of high-value financial pages. The debt-repayment workflow—the company’s primary revenue driver—was confusing and unintuitive, generating 300 support tickets per month. No Agile process—siloed teams, Waterfall delivery, and unclear communication—led to delays and misalignment.

I conducted a gap analysis interviewing stakeholders across marketing, IT, and operations, then built a phased migration strategy with a content matrix, SEO plan, and prioritized roadmap. I caught that critical debt repayment workflow had been omitted and led a cross-functional redesign that simplified the user experience, introduced form validation, and reduced unnecessary steps. I transitioned the team from Waterfall to Agile/Kanban, with WIP limits, cycle-time tracking, and structured deployments. I expanded engagement—driving discovery for mobile apps, chatbots/AI, analytics, and DevOps.

I reduced support tickets by 70%—from 300 monthly to <90—delivered on time within a $1+ million budget, secured 2 follow-on contracts with client trust, and built scalable Agile processes and a digital strategy foundation to power long-term growth.

• 90% — Reduction in Status Report Writing Time vs. Manual Drafting
• 100% — Solo Ownership of Architecture, AI, Front end, Back end, & Deployment
• <4 Months — From Zero AI Experience to Shipping a Production-ready AI Product
• 5x — Faster Report Generation Through Multi-turn AI Classification
• 2 — Export Formats Delivered: Markdown & Server-side PDF
• 100% — End-to-end Type Safety with Shared Zod Schemas Across the Stack

Software managers spend 30-60 minutes per report manually compiling status updates. The workflow is repetitive and time-consuming. Existing tools like Jira and Notion store data but don’t synthesize it, leaving managers to manually interpret, categorize, and rewrite notes into polished, audience-ready reports.

I researched the status reporting workflow across product, program, and engineering management to identify where AI could eliminate manual effort. I designed a 2-tier architecture: a free mode for quick report generation via GPT-4.1 and an Agent Mode featuring a multi-turn classification pipeline built with LangChain and GPT-4o-mini. The agent classifies raw notes into status categories with confidence scoring, asks clarifying questions, and lets users customize tone, format, and point of view, with Markdown and PDF export support. I built the full stack solo with Chat GPT & Claude Code.

I cut reporting time from 30–60 minutes to under 5 (90% savings). I proved that confidence scoring builds trust in AI output—solving the #1 adoption barrier—and great AI products start with workflow insight, not model selection.