Founder, CEO
2020 - PRESENTLevel Up Fun- Coached individuals and teams on how to become who they aspire to be–one small, rewarding step at a time.
- Developed a method for identifying individual and organizational aspirations that builds on systems thinking, small habits, kaizen, and stoicism.
- Developed a site and newsletter that provides free articles in the areas of human behavior, learning, productivity, and healthy lifestyles.
VP Engineering
2018 - 2020Aura- Created and cultivated a successful technology organization of over 40 engineers, including onshore and offshore resources.
- Achieved high performing teams via scaled agile practices, lean principles, extreme ownership and DevOps capabilities paired with metrics.
- Delivered a 100% serverless platform via microservices and AWS services, a Snowflake-based data lake, a high degree of test automation, and frequent production deployments.
- Initiated and managed both contracts and relationships with AWS, Snowflake, Atlassian, Lucid, Slack, and others.
Chief Architect
2013 - 2018Intersections- Architected and built the new Identity Guard platform from the ground up.
- Recruited the initial team of engineers and grew it to over 20, including several remote working employees.
- Transitioned Identity Guard and the overall company from a traditional data center approach to cloud services in AWS.
- Initiated and led multiple paradigm shifts in technology, including containers, and serverless computing.
- Introduced lean and agile principles throughout the company while fostering a culture of empowered teams and continuous improvement.
- Shifted InfoSec left with a SecOps model more aligned with agile delivery methods.
- Introduced CI, CD, test automation, small batch sizes, and other key DevOps practices.
CTO
2011 - 2016Pet Pawfection- Designed, built, and actively managed the Shopify-based eCommerce site, including integration with shipping, point-of-sale and other key systems.
- Managed the company’s accounting, inventory, and finances via QuickBooks.
- Managed social media accounts, a weekly newsletter, a blog, and SEO for the site.
- Produced all product photos, descriptions and collateral via a makeshift photo studio.
Enterprise Architect
2012 - 2013BondDesk- Migrated BondDesk’s bond marketplace and trading system to a state-of-the-art agile delivery platform.
- Stood up the Atlassian suite and introduced Scrum for project management and incremental delivery.
- Stood up SonarQube and Artifactory for code quality metrics and software artifact management.
- Migrated source code from a custom-built solution to BitBucket Git repositories and the GitFlow branch model.
- Built a large Selenium Grid for automated system-level testing and introduced CI/CD delivery pipelines with automated deployments.
Technology Strategist
2010 - 2011Capital One- Provided technology assessments of strategic programs and presented findings to executive management.
- Led an assessment of Capital One’s new SOA initiative and provided both strategic and tactical recommendations for material improvements.
- Led an assessment of Capital One’s use of Chordiant for fraud, discrepancy, and case management in the wake of Chordiant’s acquisition by Pega Systems.
Enterprise Architect
2010 - 2010Amtrak- Architected and built an innovative prototype system that provided near real-time, universal train status (geospacial, operational, mechanical, meteorological and track conditions).
- Led the early adoption of agile principles and Scrum in a waterfall-centric enterprise.
- Led what was likely the first AWS deployment at Amtrak (S3 and EC2).
- Unified conflicting train status terminology across multiple departments by introducing the practice of domain-driven design.
Director of Operations
2009 - 2010Flipswap- Accountable for IT operations, production systems, QA staff, and a high-profile account with Sprint.
- Championed and led an extensive cloud computing research initiative culminating in a cloud-based IT back-office architecture that featured aggressive cost containment coupled with a better connected, streamlined business and marked SLA improvements.
- Managed the client relationship and production releases for the 2,000+ store nation-wide rollout of Sprint’s handset exchange program built on Flipswap’s technology platform.
- Restored stability in development releases, transparency for all business units and quality through the introduction of agile principles, Scrum and continuous integration.
- Achieved a cost savings of $300,000 annually by outsourcing quality assurance and switching to an open source technology stack. Introduced the company to automated testing, thereby increasing code coverage and quality by an order of magnitude.
Enterprise Architect
2007 - 2009FINRA- Led the successful technology transformation of FINRA’s member regulation platform involving 12+ systems in a new SOA that streamlined and further automated the broker/dealer application process.
- Introduced effective new methods of documenting, evaluating, and reviewing both enterprise and application architectures.
- Quickly turned around lagging efforts via the introduction of agile principles, Scrum and DevOps practices (CI/CD, automated testing, and small batch sizes).
- Transitioned the flagship Member Regulation Desktop system from Documentum to Java and open source technologies resulting in substantially improved speed to market, maintenance, and performance.
Enterprise Architect
2004 - 2006Fannie Mae- Directed a diverse team of executives, architects, and analysts in the creation of a multi-year technology roadmap for finance and portfolio services involving over 50 systems.
- Modernized treasury services systems responsible for trillions of dollars in Fedwire transfers each year.
- Introduced effective new approaches to defining and communicating technology strategy, enterprise architecture, application architecture, and business domain analysis.
CTO
2001 - 2003ObjectVenture- Delivered industry-leading, pattern-based software development tools and services.
- Led product management, engineering, and consulting services, including product research, offshore resource allocation, demonstrations, presentations, public speaking and negotiations with industry giants such as Sun, Rational, HP, and Flashline.
- Secured more than $1 million in venture funding and successfully positioned the company as an innovator and industry leader.
- Negotiated and closed a large product licensing agreement and consulting services valued at $.5 million.
- Founded and managed an online community centered on software patterns and best practices: PatternsCentral.com.
- Served as a member of the Expert Group for JSR198, the standard extension API for IDEs.
William Willis
Project Manager in Manassas, VA, United States
Member since July 22, 2020
William is a project manager and entrepreneur with 30 years of experience building high performing teams and innovative software products by using his expertise in Lean, Agile, and DevOps principles. His engineering and development background makes him uniquely suited for challenging technology efforts with remote teams. He has worked with startups and larger companies like Aura, Capital One, FINRA, and Fannie Mae across banking, fintech, eCommerce, privacy, transportation, and media domains.
William is now available for hire
Project Highlights
- Managed several distributed teams consisting of over 40 people and successfully delivered multiple major versions of the new cloud-based IdentityGuard identity theft and personal privacy protection service to hundreds of thousands of customers.
- Launched the startup out of Y Combinator's Startup School to help individuals and teams become successful at life and business by identifying aspirations and improving every day with small steps.
- Launched and managed a startup dedicated to gifts for pet lovers built on the Shopify eCommerce platform.
Expertise
- Agile Coaching
- DevOps
- Product Delivery
- Product Owner
- Software Architecture
- Startups
- Team Leadership
- Technology Strategy
Education
- George Mason University
- Virginia Tech
Select Certifications
- Y Combinator
Employment
Project History
- Identity Guard Online Personal Privacy ProtectionManaged several distributed teams consisting of over 40 people and successfully delivered multiple major versions of the new cloud-based IdentityGuard identity theft and personal privacy protection service to hundreds of thousands of customers.
Cultivated and led seven cross-functional lean and agile teams of over 40 people that delivered multiple versions of Identity Guard. Architected and managed the underlying serverless, cloud-based platform that grew to almost half a million users at the time of my departure.
Led major transformations within the company related to cloud computing, serverless computing, lean/agile principles, DevOps, SecOps, Extreme Ownership and more.
Technology platform: AWS, Java, JavaScript, Angular, React, and Salesforce to name a few. - Level Up Fun Blog and Coaching ServicesLaunched the startup out of Y Combinator's Startup School to help individuals and teams become successful at life and business by identifying aspirations and improving every day with small steps.
Level Up Fun shares the knowledge I have earned throughout my 30 years in the IT industry developing, delivering, mentoring, and coaching. Free content is introduced on a weekly basis to help individuals and teams become who they aspire to be, one small, rewarding step at a time.
Technology platform: Webflow, Notion, and Obsidian. - Pet Gifts eCommerce SiteLaunched and managed a startup dedicated to gifts for pet lovers built on the Shopify eCommerce platform.
Designed, built, and managed the Shopify eCommerce site, including accounting, inventory, and shipping. Authored a related blog about inspirational and funny pet stories. Set up and managed a small warehouse and associated bin system.
Technologies platform: Shopify, QuickBooks, ShipStation, and Mailchimp. - BondDesk Agile Delivery PlatformStood up a delivery platform based on agile principles and DevOps practices for the BondDesk software team.
Replaced an archaic, proprietary system with one consisting of SaaS tools that were more productive and easier to maintain. Introduced Scrum, various forms of automated testing and continuous integration.
Trained all delivery teams how to use the new platform while they used it to deliver several major versions of the BondDesk trading system. Also trained the entire organization how to incorporate lean and agile principles for faster time to market without sacrificing quality.
Technology platform: Atlassian Jira, Confluence, BitBucket, Git, SonarQube, Artifactory, and Selenium. - Capital One SOA Strategic AssessmentLed the assessment of Capital One's service oriented architecture effort on behalf of executive management.
Interviewed and discussed strategy with multiple technology teams throughout Capital One's Card Division. Reviewed existing team delivery methods, master data management strategies, service bus implementations, services implementations, APIs, and integration methods (to name a few). Reviewed planned service architecture, migration plans, risk assessments and resource allocations. Prepared a detailed assessment that highlighted unidentified risks and made recommendations regarding successful patterns and strategies for enterprise architecture, service design, interfaces, team dynamics, and much more. Presented the assessment and associated findings to executive management.
- FINRA Member Regulation PlatformLed the successful technology transformation of FINRA’s member regulation platform involving 12+ systems in a new SOA that streamlined and further automated the broker/dealer application process.
Turned around lagging efforts with the introduction of agile principles, DevOps practices and Scrum. Transitioned the flagship Member Regulation Desktop system from Documentum to Java and open source technologies, resulting in substantially improved speed to market, maintenance, and performance. Introduced and applied effective new methods of documenting, evaluating, and reviewing both enterprise and application architectures.
Technology platform: Java, Spring, Hibernate, JavaServer Faces, Oracle, Atlassian Jira, and CruiseControl. - Fannie Mae Technology TransformationDirected a diverse team of executives, architects and analysts in the creation of a multi-year technology roadmap for finance and portfolio services involving over 50 systems with estimated savings of over $2 million.
Spun off multiple efforts from the roadmap, including a large service-oriented messaging system with standard integration methods that streamlined system-to-system and interdepartmental processing.
Personally managed the modernization of treasury services cash management systems responsible for trillions of dollars in Fedwire transfers each year.
Introduced effective new approaches to defining and communicating technology strategy, enterprise architecture, application architecture, and business domain analysis.
Education
- Coursework towards a master's degree in Software Engineering1996 - 1998George Mason University - Fairfax, Virginia, USA
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering (Minor in Mathematics)1988 - 1992Virginia Tech - Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
Certifications
- Startup SchoolAUGUST 2020 - PRESENTY Combinator
