What It's Like to Work at Zello

What drew you back to Zello?

What brought me back to Zello, besides the people, is my genuine love for the product. It keeps me on my toes, as each of our customers has unique communication needs with countless customization options, which means I’m always learning, growing and having fun in the process. Our customers are always grateful for the service we provide, making them a true joy to work with. After experiencing various SaaS companies in my career, Zello stands out as the one product I’m genuinely excited to master and learn more about every single day.

Since returning to Zello, what are you most excited to have back in your professional life?

I'm most excited to be growing my career and skill set in such a collaborative, transparent and enjoyable environment again. During my time away, I realized how much I missed the Zello team and the environment they’ve fostered. Every person here, whether they’re an engineer or in a customer-facing role like mine, takes immense pride in their work. If I submit a feature request, it’s actually looked at and considered. It’s extremely rewarding to have the ability to make a real impact on Zello’s success instead of just being another cog in the wheel. 

Working at Zello has helped me grow not just as a professional, but also as a person. We expect greatness from each other, but we also have the tools, data and resources we need to do our jobs effectively.

What advice would you offer to leaders who wish to create the type of workplace that draws former employees back?

My advice to leaders who want to create a workplace that draws former employees back is to treat your team with respect and provide opportunities for growth without micromanagement. I may not know how to run a tech company, but I understand what it means to be a loyal employee. Zello gives me clear direction on what’s expected of me as well as the freedom to accomplish my tasks without constant oversight. 

Leadership holds us accountable and monitors our progress, ensuring we have the support we need when necessary. This focus on results rather than trivial things that don’t impact our bottom line is highly effective for me. Prioritize the productivity of your employees and trust them to do the job you hired them to do.

What new skill or role did you want to learn? Explain why this was important to you.
At InnovateQA Seattle, I wanted to deepen my understanding of how quality engineering roles are evolving — specifically, how to shift from a traditional testing mindset to one that enables broader product and engineering success. This was important to me because the software development engineer in test role is no longer just about writing tests; it's about building frameworks, tools and strategies that empower entire teams to deliver better software faster. Attending sessions like Carlos' keynote on mindset shifts — from “I do testing” to “I help others do testing” and eventually “I improve value delivery” — gave me actionable insights into how I can grow into a more strategic and cross-functional quality leader.

How did your employer help support this time of learning?
Zello was incredibly supportive of my attendance at InnovateQA. Not only did the team encourage me to participate but they also ensured I had the time and flexibility to fully engage in the event. My manager helped prioritize workloads so I could focus on the conference without distraction. The fact that Zello invests in continued learning like this signals the importance the company places on growing talent and staying at the forefront of quality and test automation practices.

What was the outcome of this experience? How did it impact your future growth in your profession?
This experience left me with a renewed perspective on what it means to be an impactful SDET. I gained not only exposure to cutting-edge tools like Amazon Nova Act but also inspiration on how to build for scale, collaborate better with developers and rethink test strategy as a driver of engineering and operational excellence. I came away with ideas that I’ve already begun exploring internally — such as improving test tooling to increase team productivity and reducing friction in CI/CD. Longer-term, it’s helped crystallize my path toward technical leadership by showing how quality-focused roles can influence product velocity and team culture beyond just testing.