Robert Gilsenan
Viersen,North Rhine-Westphalia
Work Preference
Summary
Quality engineering and reliability leader with 17+ years building QA strategy, incident management, and root cause analysis across complex enterprise SaaS platforms. I own QA and 3rd-level escalation for Mapp Digital’s multi-product marketing platform, leading a team of 15 and supporting 500–700+ enterprise clients including PepsiCo, KFC, Lloyds Banking Group, Puma, and Qantas. I built Mapp’s root cause analysis function from scratch, have facilitated 100+ blameless post-mortems, and use data-driven insights to reduce recurring production issues, improve MTTR, and guide €500K+ in annual reliability investments. I specialize in embedding quality into the SDLC (shift-left, CI/CD quality gates), leading teams through organizational change (M&A, rebrands), and leveraging AI-assisted tools to scale QA and diagnostics in lean environments. Core value: I turn critical incidents into long-term architectural improvements and make quality a shared responsibility across engineering, product, and operations.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Director, Engineering
Mapp Digital Germany GmbH
02.2020 - Current
- Leading a team of 15 across QA and 3rd Level Support for Mapp's enterprise marketing platform.
- Responsible for QA strategy, escalation management, and root cause investigation across multiple engineering teams and a complex distributed stack.
- QA Strategy & Vision
- Define and execute QA strategy aligned with business and product roadmaps, embedding quality throughout the SDLC with Engineering, Product, and CI/infrastructure teams
- Champion shift-left testing and CI/CD quality gates, evolving QA from late-stage validation to early lifecycle engagement for faster, more reliable releases
- Establish quality metrics and KPIs, incident trend dashboards, and CAPA tracking to guide €500K+ annual reliability investments
- Scale QA processes as the platform grows (3 to 6 product lines) and adapt quality practices through multiple M&A transitions
- Team Leadership & Knowledge Sharing
- Lead and mentor a team of 15 across QA and 3rd Level Support, building a culture of ownership, continuous learning, and technical excellence
- Facilitate structured post-mortems for every critical incident (100+ to date), deepening product understanding and driving cross-team learning
- Build knowledge-sharing frameworks across QA, Development, Operations, and Support, improving visibility into quality trends and reducing duplicate investigations by 40%
- Reliability & Incident Management
- Lead root cause analysis for all critical production incidents, ensuring corrective and preventive actions are identified, implemented, and verified across the stack
- Direct 3rd-level support operations, coordinating high-severity escalations across engineering, ops, and product stakeholders
- Reduce recurring production issues by 35% over 3 years and improve mean time to resolution by 25% through systematic RCA follow-through and process improvements
- Achieve closure of 90% of corrective actions within target timelines using robust CAPA tracking and data-driven prioritization
- Innovation & AI Adoption
- Champion AI-powered test generation (OpenAI workshops) to increase automation coverage while minimizing maintenance overhead
- Support rollout of an LLM-powered knowledge base integrating documentation, historic tickets, and known-issue repositories for self-service support
- Use AI-assisted development (Claude, Python, Linux) to design and deliver a Dockerized internal diagnostic tool (Engage Feature Dashboard, 2026), replacing legacy CGI-bin tools in days
- Environment: Enterprise SaaS, Jira, Confluence, GitHub, Jenkins, CI/CD, Python, PostgreSQL, REST APIs, Linux, distributed engineering teams, OpenAI/ChatGPT
- Enterprise MarTech SaaS platform serving 500+ global clients including PepsiCo, KFC, Lloyds Banking Group, Puma, Qantas.
Director, Root Cause Analysis
Mapp Digital Germany GmbH
07.2016 - 01.2020
- Founded and led Mapp Digital’s formal Root Cause Analysis function, creating the standards and processes used to investigate production incidents and prevent recurrence across the platform.
- Designed the company-wide RCA methodology from scratch, including post-mortem templates, severity models, corrective action tracking workflows, and quality process standards
- Facilitated 100+ blameless post-mortems across engineering, infrastructure, and operations, ensuring systemic, non-blaming analysis and strong cross-team participation
- Managed the full CAPA lifecycle from root cause identification through solution design, implementation, verification, and closure
- Developed cross-team RCA coordination processes to handle incidents spanning multiple products, services, and technology domains
- Built incident trend and reliability reporting, giving leadership data-driven insight into where quality and reliability investments would have the highest impact
- Reduced service interruptions from recurring failure modes by around 30% through preventive measures and architectural recommendations based on RCA findings
- Environment: Enterprise SaaS, FMEA systems, Jira, Confluence, cross-functional engineering teams
- Enterprise MarTech SaaS platform serving 500+ global clients including PepsiCo, KFC, Lloyds Banking Group, Puma, Qantas.
Director, Root Cause Analysis
Teradata GmbH
Munich
12.2012 - 06.2016
- Led Root Cause Analysis during Teradata's acquisition of eCircle, ensuring continuity of incident investigation and reliability practices across the newly integrated platform.
- Drove RCA investigations across the combined technology stack, transitioning eCircle's failure analysis approaches to Teradata's enterprise standards without loss of service quality
- Coordinated post-mortem reviews across newly merged engineering, operations, and infrastructure teams to identify systemic causes and implement preventive actions
- Maintained and evolved the FMEA system for incident classification, trend analysis, and failure mode tracking throughout the integration period
- Partnered with development and operations to drive corrective actions that reduced recurring service interruptions by approximately 25%
- Environment: Enterprise data analytics platform, post-acquisition integration, FMEA, cross-functional technical teams
- Enterprise data analytics platform, post-acquisition integration, FMEA, cross-functional technical teams
Failure Analyst
eCircle AG
Munich
12.2011 - 11.2012
- Analysed production failures using the FMEA system, classifying failure modes, assessing business impact, and improving data quality for trend analysis
- Investigated defects via Java stack trace analysis and source code review, identifying root causes and coordinating fixes with development teams
- Enhanced the FMEA framework with regex-based tagging and refined categories, increasing classification accuracy by around 40%
- Maintained detailed incident records with precise timing and context to support effective post-incident analysis and knowledge transfer
- Environment: Email marketing SaaS, Java, FMEA, Linux, 1,000+ clients
- European leader in cloud-based digital marketing. Founded 1999, acquired by Teradata 2012.
Quality Assurance Manager
eCircle AG
Munich
09.2008 - 11.2011
- Owned end-to-end QA for eCircle’s cloud-based email marketing platform serving 1,000+ clients, covering test strategy, execution, and production monitoring.
- Led full QA lifecycle for new features from requirements review through test design, execution, and release sign-off across 12+ releases per year
- Designed integration test scenarios to validate cross-system compatibility before deployment into the production ecosystem
- Monitored customer-facing production systems, detecting failures early and coordinating rapid response with development and deployment teams
- Combined QA and early failure analysis responsibilities, establishing the prevention–investigation blend that later shaped RCA leadership roles
- Environment: Email marketing SaaS, Java, integration testing, Linux, 1,000+ clients
- European leader in cloud-based digital marketing. Founded 1999, acquired by Teradata 2012.
EARLIER CAREER
- Microsoft, Dublin | Software Test Engineer | 2008
- Tested Windows Media Center (Vista/Windows 7). Automated (80%) and manual (20%) test suites across DVB-S, DVB-T, and PAL broadcast standards.
- Paddy Power PLC, Dublin | EPOS Test Engineer | 2007–2008
- Manual testing of Finsoft betting system on Solaris. Test plans, bug logging, user training, cross-departmental feature liaison.
- Creative Labs, Dublin | Software Test Engineer – Test Lead | 2000–2007
- Nearly seven years. Started as QA tester, grew into test lead for audio and MP3 product lines (Steinberg Cubase, Cakewalk Sonar, Winamp). Managed schedules, coordinated testers, reported to Product/Brand managers.
Education
Diploma - JEB Teachers’ Diploma in Information Technology
Dublin Business School
Certificate - Network and Software Systems
Cavan College
Skills
- QA Leadership & Strategy: QA Strategy & Vision
- Shift-Left Testing
- Continuous Testing
- Test Automation Strategy
- CI/CD Quality Gates
- Quality Metrics & KPIs
- Release Readiness & Confidence
- Reliability & Incident Management: Root Cause Analysis (100 Post-Mortems)
- FMEA / Failure Mode Analysis
- CAPA Lifecycle
- 3rd-Level Escalation
- High-Severity Incident Management
- Trend Analysis & Reporting
- Team Leadership & Collaboration: Leading and Mentoring Teams (15)
- Quality Culture Ownership
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Stakeholder Management
- Leading Through M&A and Organizational Change
- Technical & AI-Driven Innovation: AI-Assisted QA & Test Generation (OpenAI/ChatGPT, Claude)
- Python (AI-assisted)
- SQL/PostgreSQL
- REST APIs
- Linux/Unix
- Java Stack Trace Analysis
- CI/CD (Jenkins, GitHub)
- Jira & Confluence
- Continuous Improvement & Governance: Data-Driven Quality Decisions
- Incident & Reliability Reporting
- Knowledge Management Systems
- Cross-Team Process Design
- SDLC / Agile Ways of Working
Websites
Languages
English (Native)
German (B1)
Personal Information
- Title: Senior Director, Engineering | QA & Reliability Leader | 17+ Years Enterprise SaaS
- Availability: Currently in transition / garden leave. Open to discuss start dates.
- Work Permit: EU Citizen (Irish Passport)
Timeline
Senior Director, Engineering
Mapp Digital Germany GmbH
02.2020 - Current
Director, Root Cause Analysis
Mapp Digital Germany GmbH
07.2016 - 01.2020
Director, Root Cause Analysis
Teradata GmbH
12.2012 - 06.2016
Failure Analyst
eCircle AG
12.2011 - 11.2012
Quality Assurance Manager
eCircle AG
09.2008 - 11.2011
Diploma - JEB Teachers’ Diploma in Information Technology
Dublin Business School
Certificate - Network and Software Systems
Cavan College
Interests
Gym
Cycling
Indoor Climbing
Hiking
Walking
Reading books