As a member of the technical staff for AT&T, I am responsible for system verification of complex computer operations systems that support specific aspects of AT&T's networks. In this role, I work as part of a product team which includes systems engineers, software developers, and technical support engineers. The team is responsible for the development of a system from its inception until it is ready for delivery to the market. My job involves planning, writing, automating, and executing tests in a laboratory environment, and is the final step in the development of a product before being installed at a customer site. This is a challenging assignment, due to AT&T's commitment to the highest levels of quality and customer satisfaction. It is imperative to discover and correct design deficiencies or defects prior to product implementation, since defects found in the customer environment are extremely expensive to correct, let alone the ill effects they may cause.

The challenge in my job lies in creating test methods and procedures to simulate the actual customer environment in a laboratory testing environment, and uncovering the greatest number of defects in the shortest time possible. This is not a trivial task when one considers the variability of customer use. Doing my job well requires a great deal of creativity, attention to detail, logical thinking, analysis of variables, perseverance, and problem-solving skills.