Michael P. Cosby
michael@cosby.dhs.org
http://www.cosby.dhs.org/~michael/resume.html
(512) 731-7387

Objective
To further my skill as a software tester, focusing on test automation
 
Skills
Programming Languages
C (6 yrs), Perl (4 yrs), C++ (2 yrs), csh scripting (5 yrs), HTML (6 yrs), SQL (2 yrs), Java (1 yr), Python (6 mos), Javascript (2 yrs), 80x86 Assembly (5 yrs), XML (1 yr), Eiffel (1 yr), 6502 Assembly (2 yrs), R4000 MIPS Assembly (3 mos), Visual Basic (2 yrs), Access Basic (1 yr), Hypertalk (1 yr), Pascal (6 mos), LATEX2E (3 mos)
      Systems: Administration
Linux (5 yrs), Solaris (1 yr), HP-UX (1 yr), Ultrix (2 yrs), Windows NT (2 yrs), Windows 2000 (1 yr), Microsoft DOS (5 yrs), Windows 95 (2 yrs)
Networking/Protocols
CGI (5 yrs), SMTP (4 yrs), POP (3 mos), IMAP (3 mos ), FTP (1 yr), HTTP (5 yrs), TCP/IP (3 yrs), SMPP (3 mos), WAP (3 mos), DNS (5 yrs)
Systems: User Level
Mac OS, Digital Unix, netBSD
Tools and Software
Soffront Track (2 yrs), Rational ClearQuest (6 mos), CVS (3 yrs), MKS Unix Tools (1 yr), Bugzilla (3 mos), gcc (6 yrs), gdb (6 yrs), make (6 yrs), sed (6 yrs), awk (2 yrs), ethereal (1yr), tcpdump (3 yrs), telnet (5 yrs), SSH (4 yrs), NFS (3 yrs), NIS (1 yr), Software RAID (1 yr)
Server Software
MySQL (2 yrs), Oracle (2 yrs), Apache (5 yrs), ProFTPD (5 yrs), Bind/DNS (5 yrs), Sendmail (5 yrs), Netscape Suitespot Server (1 yr), Netscape Application Server (3 mos), Microsoft Exchange (3 mos), Samba (5 yrs)
Network Load Balancers
Resonate (3 mos), F5 BigIP (1 yr), Cisco Local Director (3 mos)
 
Positions Held
Times N Systems, Inc., Austin, TX, Apr 2002 - Jun 2002
  -- Times N Systems laid off most of its staff in Jun 2002 and is actively seeking a purchaser for the company
  Senior Test Engineer
  • Designed and implemented a software test interface in Java from an API specification
  • Tested kernel modules (device drivers) in Linux for reliability and adherence to specification
  • Tested management interface for usability and adherence to specification
  • Used ethereal and tcpdump network monitoring tools to diagnose issues, assess security characteristics, and verify features; management functions were conducted using HTTP, and data traffic used raw Ethernet frames
  • Management software was a GUI application written in Java and communicating with the server via HTTP; kernel modules were written in C
724 Solutions, Inc., Austin, TX, Jan 2001 - Jan 2002
  -- 724 Solutions closed its Austin office in Jan 2002
  System Administrator 10/2001 - 1/2002
  • Transitioned to system administration position when software testing group was dissolved as part of a 50% layoff
  • Supported Blackberry e-mail paging devices
  • Installed and configured laptops for new employees
  • Created NT and Exchange accounts for new employees
  • Removed and archived accounts of departing employees
  • Provided technical support for North American region, excluding Toronto
  Senior Test Engineer/Test Lab Administrator Jan 2001 - Oct 2001
  • Tested product conformance to HTTP specification; tested product's Oracle driver for compatibility with various Oracle configurations; performed manual testing and automated regression tests where appropriate
  • Created automated reinstallation and configuration system for i386-based test systems
  • Set up and maintained network services for test group as well as a small development group
  • Installed, configured, and maintained a lab of Solaris, HP-UX, Windows 2000 and Linux systems; maintained shared user directories using NFS and samba as well as single sign-on (unix) using NIS
  • 724's products were written mainly in C++ with some Java; applications written on top of their software were written in Javascript
Tonic Software, Inc., Austin, TX, Nov 2000 - Jan 2001
  Test Engineer 11/2000 - 1/2001
  • Working as part of a team created a modular automated testing framework written in Perl for testing Tonic's products over the network. This framework included automated regression testing and reporting functionality
  • Built "virtual" web server test module in Perl; this module created a web server with an infinite depth that could verify if a link "existed" or not; this created a test environment for the web server test portion of Tonic's software
  • Built "virtual" SMTP server test module in Perl that received and verified correct transfer of e-mail; when used with the testing framework that created alerts in Tonic's software it could verify that the alerts were correctly sent via e-mail
  • Manually tested software to find new issues; this included installing and configuring the software, writing scripts for the software in both a proprietary scripting language and Javascript, testing the software against real-life websites, and creating artificial "alert" situations for the software to handle
Globeset, Inc., Austin, TX, Feb 1999 - Nov 2000
  -- Globeset closed its Austin office in Nov 2000
  Software Tester Nov 1999 - Nov 2000
  Associate Software Tester May 1999 - Nov 1999
  Test Intern Feb 1999 - May 1999
  • Designed, documented, and executed formal test plans describing testing methods with a focus on stress, functionality, security, and usability.
  • Documented testing anomalies as problem reports and worked with developers to create verification tests. Executed tests and tracked reports to closure.
  • Designed and developed performance testing programs and used them to test stress and performance of Globeset products; created performance reports that supplemented or supplanted our customers' performance-related product acceptance testing.
  • Created programs in Perl, Java, C, and Javascript to increase automation in the Globeset testing process; automated product selection at an often-used web-based test merchant, created a web-based SQL query tool, created a customized log analyzer to look for elapsed time between key events.
  • Installed and configured both Globeset and third party products to both Globeset recommended and customer described configuration; tested these configurations to produce both internal Globeset data and reproduce customer-reported issues.
  • Created and documented a tool for stressing general web applications with an emphasis on Globeset's digital wallet, prototyped in Perl and ported to C; identified several stress-related issues early in the digital wallet product cycle
 
Projects
Search Engine
  • Architected, designed, and coded full text search engine in C
  • Engine is optimized for search speed over on-disk space and indexing time
  • Engine ignores as few words as possible
  • Indexer practices intelligent memory management
 
Education
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 1996-1998
Majored in Computer Science