Xbox
My first formal step into the games industry began in 2017, when I joined Microsoft’s Xbox division as part of the QA organization supporting the launch of the Xbox One X - known internally under the codename “Project Scorpio”. It was an ambitious hardware program aimed at delivering true 4K gaming and elevating the performance of the entire Xbox ecosystem. For our team, this meant validating thousands of titles across multiple generations, ensuring that both new releases and legacy games met the quality bar for the “Xbox One X Enhanced” experience.
I entered the project as a QA Associate, but the pace, scale, and complexity of the work quickly created opportunities for leadership. Within a short time, I was promoted into a QA Team Lead role, responsible for guiding a small team through daily test operations, delegating work, reviewing results for partner teams, and maintaining the health of our test lab environment. I supported both internal engineering groups and external publishing partners to ensure that flagship titles - such as ‘Forza Motorsport 7’, ‘Assassin’s Creed: Origins‘, and ‘Middle-earth: Shadow of War‘ - delivered the visual and performance improvements promised for the console’s launch.
This project became a foundational moment in my career. It was my first exposure to the rhythms and expectations of interdisciplinary engineering teams, and it taught me how to communicate clearly across roles, surface risks early, and align contributors around shared goals. I learned how to operate inside a fast‑moving, high‑visibility program where quality, timing, and cross‑team coordination were non‑negotiable. I participated in daily stand‑ups, supported sprint‑based workflows, trained new hires, and contributed to confidential engineering initiatives that required discretion, adaptability, and trust.
Looking back, my time on the Xbox One X program was the catalyst for my growth into production and technical program management. It sharpened my instincts for cross‑functional alignment, strengthened my ability to lead teams through ambiguity, and gave me firsthand experience shipping a complex, multi‑disciplinary product at scale. Those early lessons continue to shape how I lead teams today - whether that be in settings like AAA gameplay development, XR platform ecosystems, or partner‑driven hardware integrations.
I ultimately ended up leaving the Xbox One X program in late November 2017, as my contract with Microsoft at the time was winding down and I had formulated plans to move to Texas with my wife in order to pursue professional opportunities available to her in that area at the time.
Portfolio Links:
*Used with permission from Microsoft.
*Used with permission from Microsoft.
*Used with permission from Microsoft.
*Used with permission from Microsoft.