Thor Runeman

Seattle, WA 98118

Professional Summary

Innovative technology leader with over 20 years of experience building and mentoring high-performing, agile engineering teams that deliver scalable, elegant solutions for stakeholders, companies, and teams alike. Proven track record of transforming strategic initiatives into impactful results through collaboration, creativity, and technical excellence.

• Extensive leadership experience across full-stack web development, Salesforce, integration, BI, and ERP systems.

• Expertise in vendor contract negotiation, department budget management, and compliance governance (PCI, PSD2, HIPAA, GDPR, SOX).

• Advisor on Generative AI adoption and implementation strategies.

• Ownership of Agile, DevOps, and QA processes, ensuring delivery excellence and operational efficiency.

• Hands-on background in Java, front-end web technologies, and database development.

• Recognized for excellence with 2x “Outstanding Performance” awards (highest company rating).

Work Experience

VP of Engineering

Forrester Research, Inc.
November 2007 – Present

• Team Leadership & Growth: Scaled the web engineering team from 8 to 50 full-stack developers and managers. Fostered a culture of innovation, ownership, and quality through Agile (SAFe) practices, driving efficiency, consistency, and creativity.

• Strategic Architecture: Established the architecture team and system governance frameworks to ensure robust, scalable, and compliant solutions across the organization.

• Cloud & Modernization Initiatives:

  • Architected and directed a $3M migration to a microservices-based AWS cloud architecture, achieving uptime reliability >99.995% and enhanced system flexibility and performance.

  • Designed disaster recovery architecture across HTTP, application, and data layers for business continuity.

  • Migrated Oracle ODI to Databricks, modernizing data integration, analytics infrastructure, and self-service data capabilities.

• Innovation & Business Solutions: Founded the Innovation Lab to deliver cutting-edge technology solutions to complex business challenges. Led the “Technology Showcase” to highlight quarterly technology advancements to the organization.

• Enterprise Systems Implementation:

  • Oversaw implementation of Salesforce CPQ and B2B Commerce, enhancing enterprise sales processes.

  • Coordinated the integration of an eCommerce platform with PayPal and Adyen, streamlining payment systems.

  • Improved Salesforce UI/UX, boosting user satisfaction survey ratings by 50%.

  • Designed a Master Data Management “hub and spoke” architecture using MuleSoft and Java to meet global privacy regulations, including GDPR compliance.

• Data & Analytics Excellence:

  • Directed the implementation of SQL, NoSQL, and GraphDB (Neo4j) databases, enabling advanced data solutions.

  • Delivered vector search and recommendation systems alongside headless CMS solutions to enhance content delivery and search experiences.

  • Uncovered data-driven insights following the medallion architecture by implementing pipelines leveraging Kafka, Databricks, Python, and creating visualizations in Tableau.

• Recognitions: 

  • Recipient of the “Above and Beyond Client Service” award 

  • Multiple “Outstanding” annual performance evaluations for exceptional contributions.

Key Technologies & Platforms: AWS, Azure, Microservices (Spring Boot, ECS, EKS, OpenShift, Node.js), Auth0, Java, MuleSoft, Salesforce CRM, Databricks, Tableau, ElasticSearch, Neo4j, Kafka, SQS, Redis, Oracle, Postgres, Workday, PeopleSoft, Concur, Endeca Search, langchain, gAI integration.

Portfolio Highlights:

• Forrester.com: Client-facing website driving engagement and business impact.

• Salesforce: Platform supporting over 2000 internal users providing governance and workflows for product provisioning, sales, client support, and marketing workflows.

• Business Intelligence and Integration: ETL data from all enterprise applications in order to standardize, optimize, and expose for both business critical and self-service reporting.

• ERP: Corporate financial, HR, and expense management systems supporting foundational business operations.

Manager and Architect

Accenture
January 2001 – November 2007

• Team Leadership & Development: Recruited, mentored, and managed both onshore and offshore development teams, enhancing project execution, delivery timelines, and cost-efficiency.

• Enterprise Architecture: Designed and implemented scalable, large-scale site rebuilds and feature enhancements for enterprise clients, managing the full project lifecycle from estimation through deployment.

• Regulatory Compliance Solutions: Architected a robust content archive system to securely manage and store regulated medical device data, ensuring compliance with industry standards.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnered with DevOps and technical teams to optimize operational support and system performance for mission-critical applications.

• Key Projects:

  • Led the development and maintenance of BostonScientific.com, including the corporate website and internal sales portal, ensuring seamless integration across systems and enhanced user experience.

Key Technologies & Platforms: Java, WebSphere, TeamSite CMS, Oracle, ATG Dynamo, Endeca Search Engine, JavaScript.

Full Stack Developer

Razorfish
January 1998 – December 2001

• Web Development: Designed and developed multiple client-facing websites using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Java, delivering engaging and user-friendly experiences.

• Knowledge Management: Built and maintained an internal knowledge base website to streamline information sharing and improve organizational efficiency.

• Project Management: Collaborated with cross-functional teams to manage project timelines, ensure deliverable quality, and meet client requirements.

Head Women’s Rowing Coach

American University - Washington, DC
1998 – 1999

• 1. Traning Plan: Develop training plan for women’s program focusing on foundational strength development, endurance, injury prevention, and peak performance.

  2. Coaching: Implement technique philosophy accounting for capabilities of the team.

  3. Logistics: Determine race schedule and coordinate alumni volunteers for travel and lodging details.

  4. Budget: Negotiate equipment purchase and lease options based on team budget, sourced from team dues, fundraising, and alumni donations.

Editorial Coordinator

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
October 1996 – June 1998

• 1. Research Review: Process scientific research submissions and align to appropriate reviewers based on content.

  2. Review lifecycle: Ensure review cycle completes in time for publication deadlines. This includes tracking edits and responses.

  3. Publishing: Prepare drafts for digital and print publication.

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Spanish
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
September 1991 – May 1996

Languages

Spanish - Intermediate

Awards

Above & Beyond Client Service - Forrester Research

Work Authorization

Authorized to work in the US for any employer.

Skills Summary

• Agile product management

• Team and individual goal management

• Technical architecture

• Team building & leadership development

• Process design & optimization

• Budgeting & forecasting

• Contract negotiation

• GDPR and privacy compliance

• SOX auditing

• Cloud & hybrid infrastructure

• Disaster recovery

• High availability

• Incident Management

• API design (REST/SOAP)

• E-commerce (B2B, B2C)

• DevOps

• QA strategies

• Unit Testing

• Functional automation testing

• Kafka

• Git

• ETL concepts

• Content management systems

• Java

• AWS

• XML

• CI/CD

• Jenkins

• AWS pipelines

• Database design

• Scrum

• Docker

• SDLC

• Jira Configuration and Management

• SQL

• MySQL

• JMS

• JavaScript

• Search engines

• IT management

• Multithreading

• SEO

• Microservices

• Graph databases