Royal Caribbean Group

Lead Talent Partner, Early Career Recruiting

Business Groups: Leadership roles for HR, Finance, Legal, Supply Chain, IT, Medical, and Newbuild

Lead Talent Partner, Leadership Recruiting

Technical Sourcer

Wix.com

Recruiter and Talent Operations for the Sales and Account Management/ Customer Success organization. Led weekly meetings with stakeholders to strategically plan around funnel conversion rate, process length, and source of hire data. Experience in mass hiring (200+ AM growth in <6 months) as well as strategic and executive level searches. Managed hiring events for over 30 sales professionals to decrease our process length by 6 days. Worked with international TA team to research and execute on candidate experience projects. Led referral hiring strategy to increase referrals received by 15% over the past year. Created guidance on internal mobility programs. Advisor to WixRainbow ERG.

Recruiter

Surpassed yearly hiring targets for the world’s most profitable cruise by 150% by placing entry level to senior-level hires across 5 unique departments (Marketing, Revenue, Beverage, Housekeeping, and Shore Excursion Sales). Experienced in sourcing and generating a healthy pipeline through career fairs, LI recruiter, agency partnerships. referrals, and specialty job boards. Used talent market insights and industry benchmarking data to influence decisions within the leadership groups and cross-functional team. Managed data integrity process improvement for Talent Acquisition as the project lead. Partnered with the data analytics team to create recruitment metrics, implement a forecasting system, and gain access to 7 new reports to increase female and diversity hires. 
•	President of Young Professionals Employee Resource Group.
•       Onboarded candidates through monthly new hire ship tours.

Global Recruiter

Aflac

Implemented a strategy of consistent campus presence which led to a doubling of the number of candidates applying for the Sales Intern Program. Recruited over 500 agents throughout the southeast region.
Streamlined evaluation of recruiting metrics such as daily call volume, new applicants, new enrollments, and retention by switching from outdated data collection systems to Excel spreadsheets

Recruiting Manager

Lead Talent Acquisition Partner @ Royal Caribbean Group | Empowering candidates to Job Hunt Like A Recruiter

As a Lead Talent Acquisition Partner at Royal Caribbean Group, I am passionate about helping people find the next piece of the puzzle in their career journey. I lead the recruitment for leadership roles in various business groups, such as HR, Finance, Legal, Supply Chain, IT, Medical, and Newbuild. I leverage data analytics, employer branding, and diversity and inclusion strategies to attract and retain top talent in the cruise industry. 

I hold a Master of Science in Management from the University of Florida, where I also completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. I have also obtained a Certificate of HR Data Analytics from Cornell University and participated in business and Spanish exchange programs at Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and Universidad de Salamanca. I am fluent in English and Spanish and have a Bloomberg Certification and a Certified Gator Professional credential. 

Outside of work, I create content on here to help empower candidates to "Job Hunt Like A Recruiter". I host live webinars, coaching sessions, and provide templates for folks to recharge their search. Check out the link in my bio to learn more!

Nicole Fernandez-Valle

Global Payments Inc.

🔹 Developed a scalable test automation framework using Python (Behave), reducing manual regression efforts by 50% and improving test execution speed.

⚡ Designed and implemented API test automation for GraphQL and REST APIs, increasing test coverage from 30% to 85% and identifying critical backend defects before production.

🛠 Integrated automation into GitLab CI/CD pipelines, reducing deployment failures by 35% through early-stage test execution.

🚀 Optimized performance testing with Locust, identifying bottlenecks that improved system response times by 25% under peak loads.

👨‍🏫 Led and mentored a team of 6+ automation & manual testers, helping implement best practices that enhanced overall test efficiency and improved collaboration.

Software Development Engineer in Test

University of Missouri-Kansas City

•	Course: Entrepreneurial Mindset and Opportunity Recognition.
•	Assisted two classes with a total of 80 students and graded 800+ essays over the Spring term. 
•	Provided 200+ students with timely and relevant feedback.

Graduate Assistant

Front Desk Attendant

Cognizant

➤ Developed and maintained UI test automation using Selenium & Java, reducing manual testing efforts by 45% and accelerating release cycles.

➤ Developed API automation scripts using SoapUI & Groovy, streamlining API validation and detecting backend failures early.

➤ Led functional and regression testing for high-impact applications in the insurance domain, improving test coverage and reducing production defects.

➤ Collaborated with developers & business analysts to define test scenarios, ensuring end-to-end coverage and adherence to business requirements.

QA Automation Engineer

➤ Performed manual testing for edge cases that could not be automated, contributing to a 30% improvement in overall test accuracy.

➤ Executed test cases for policy administration systems, validating insurance workflows and ensuring compliance with industry standards.

➤ Worked closely with teams to streamline test execution and optimize test strategies, ensuring efficient defect tracking using HP ALM.➤

QA Test Analyst

🔹 Senior SDET | Test Automation | CI/CD | API & Performance Testing

I am a highly motivated and hands-on Senior Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) with 5+ years of experience in test automation, performance testing, and CI/CD pipelines across multiple industries. Currently at Global Payments, I specialize in Python, Behave, Locust, and GitLab CI/CD, ensuring scalable and efficient test automation.

Key Strengths:
✅ UI, API, and Performance Testing (Selenium, GraphQL API validation, Locust)
✅ Test Automation in Python (Behave)
✅ CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS for scalable automation
✅ Leading test teams & driving automation strategy
✅ Scripting expertise (Bash, Shell) for DevOps-related automation

Previously, I worked at Cognizant, gaining strong experience in manual testing and test automation in the Insurance domain. My work involved Java, Selenium, SOAPUI, and Groovy for UI and API test automation, ensuring robust validation of enterprise applications.

I pursued a Master’s in Computer Science (Software Engineering) in the U.S., further deepening my expertise in software testing and development.

Passionate about building scalable automation frameworks, optimizing CI/CD pipelines, and driving innovation in software quality engineering.

Let’s connect and build the future of test automation together!

taplio

The Battle

Nicole Fernandez-Valle

Anshul Pathak

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