Engineering Manager

Graham Vriend

Leading full-stack teams to deliver impactful, customer-focused solutions in EdTech and K-12 education

12+
Years Experience
12
Team Members
404
Connections
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About Me

Experienced Engineering Manager with 12+ years in the EdTech and K-12 education sectors, leading full-stack teams to deliver impactful, customer-focused solutions. Proven ability to launch new products, optimize processes, and mentor engineers to foster high-performing, collaborative cultures.

Skilled in aligning roadmaps with organizational goals and driving innovation to enhance early education outcomes. Recently received MBA in IT management to deepen expertise in strategic planning and leadership.

Lynden, Washington, United States

Leadership

Managed two agile teams with 12 direct reports, fostering collaboration and career development

Strategy

Implemented strategies to enhance team productivity and efficiency in remote work settings

Mentorship

Directed senior engineers, junior engineers, and software analysts to ensure project success

Process Improvement

Introduced sustainable development practices, streamlining workflows and improving efficiency

Data-Driven

Used Power BI and Azure DevOps to monitor KPIs, driving data-informed decisions

Global Collaboration

Acted as technical liaison for offshore teams, shaping processes and strategies

Experience

IT Manager II

Nelnet
Mar 2025 - Present
  • Managed two agile teams with 12 direct reports, fostering collaboration and career development
  • Directed senior engineers, junior engineers, and software analysts to ensure project success
  • Implemented strategies to enhance team productivity and efficiency in a remote work setting
Agile Project Management Career Development Leadership

IT Manager

Nelnet
Jan 2023 - Feb 2025
  • Directed two agile teams with 12 direct reports, including senior engineers, junior engineers, and software analysts
  • Mentored team members to enhance career development and foster collaboration across teams
  • Introduced sustainable development practices, streamlining workflows and improving team efficiency
  • Used Power BI and Azure DevOps to monitor KPIs, driving data-informed decisions for operational excellence
  • Led cross-functional knowledge-sharing initiatives, including a technical learning day and an IT conference session on critical thinking and debugging
  • Acted as a technical liaison for an offshore team, shaping processes and strategies for a public API
Leadership Agile Power BI Azure DevOps Mentoring API Development

Technical Lead - FACTS SIS

Nelnet
Jan 2019 - Jan 2023
  • Led an agile department, focusing on developer growth, process improvement, and delivering K-12 solutions
  • Accelerated onboarding with a 3-day bootcamp and development plans, fostering skill growth across teams
  • Planned and delivered bi-weekly releases while collaborating with offshore teams to address technical debt
  • Delivered key projects, including tenant management, Salesforce integration, State Reporting, and an open API
  • Played a pivotal role in hiring and retaining 12 software engineers and 1 business analyst
Personal Development Leadership Salesforce API Development

IT Technical Support Engineer - RenWeb Professional Services

Nelnet
Feb 2016 - Jan 2019
  • Supported schools by resolving escalated issues and improving customer satisfaction
  • Streamlined technical processes with Git-based source control, enhancing efficiency
  • Designed API integrations with ColdFusion, SQL, JavaScript, and Bootstrap to expand product functionality
  • Promoted to Technical Lead for demonstrating leadership and initiative

Web Developer

Dynamic Internet Solutions
Oct 2012 - Feb 2016
  • Built and maintained websites for churches and schools using HTML, CSS, jQuery, ColdFusion, SQL, and JSON
  • Enhanced a ColdFusion CMS with new features and integrated third-party APIs like Google, Amazon, and Zendesk
  • Contributed to a large-scale responsive web design project, ensuring seamless experiences across devices

Web Developer

Ozone Solutions
Jan 2012 - Oct 2012
  • Developed and maintained the Ozone Solutions website using Symfony PHP, HTML, CSS, jQuery, and SQL
  • Managed Google AdWords campaigns to improve visibility and ROI
  • Built expertise in Apache server administration and Linux environments to support development needs

Webmaster Assistant

Dordt University
Aug 2008 - Dec 2011
  • Maintained and improved the university's primary website (dordt.edu) using HTML, CSS, jQuery, MySQL, and Perl
  • Provided hardware support by troubleshooting and resolving client issues, minimizing downtime

Skills & Technologies

Backend Development

C# .NET Core Web API Entity Framework SQL Server Microservices

Frontend Development

Angular JavaScript TypeScript HTML/CSS jQuery Bootstrap

Cloud & DevOps

Azure Azure DevOps Kubernetes Git CI/CD Docker

Data & Analytics

Power BI SQL JSON RESTful APIs Data Migration

Methodologies

Agile/Scrum Automated Testing Code Reviews TDD Continuous Delivery

Leadership & Management

Team Leadership Mentoring Strategic Planning Hiring & Retention Process Optimization

Education

MBA in IT Management

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Advanced expertise in strategic planning and leadership, focusing on technology management and organizational strategy.

Bachelor's Degree

Dordt University
Foundation in computer science and web technologies, with hands-on experience as Webmaster Assistant.

Let's Connect

I'm always interested in hearing about new opportunities, collaborations, or just connecting with fellow professionals.

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