I am a Technology People Leader with 27+ years of Software Engineering, QA, and Application Security leadership. I’ve built and scaled engineering organizations, uplifted delivery capability, and driven secure-by-design practices across Visa and Fraedom. I focus on people-first leadership, psychological safety, and mentoring both technical and non-technical colleagues to improve security maturity and delivery performance. I partner with CISO, Product, Engineering Managers, BAs and POs to align delivery, risk and security goals. I’ve led large-scale talent acquisition and development of future engineering leaders, while building cultures of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Michael David Thompson

I am a Technology People Leader with 27+ years of Software Engineering, QA, and Application Security leadership. I’ve built and scaled engineering organizations, uplifted delivery capability, and driven secure-by-design practices across Visa and Fraedom. I focus on people-first leadership, psychological safety, and mentoring both technical and non-technical colleagues to improve security maturity and delivery performance. I partner with CISO, Product, Engineering Managers, BAs and POs to align delivery, risk and security goals. I’ve led large-scale talent acquisition and development of future engineering leaders, while building cultures of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Available to hire

I am a Technology People Leader with 27+ years of Software Engineering, QA, and Application Security leadership. I’ve built and scaled engineering organizations, uplifted delivery capability, and driven secure-by-design practices across Visa and Fraedom. I focus on people-first leadership, psychological safety, and mentoring both technical and non-technical colleagues to improve security maturity and delivery performance.

I partner with CISO, Product, Engineering Managers, BAs and POs to align delivery, risk and security goals. I’ve led large-scale talent acquisition and development of future engineering leaders, while building cultures of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

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Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
See more

Work Experience

Engineering Manager – Application Security at Visa New Zealand
November 1, 2019 - Present
Established and scaled Visa’s Application Security engineering capability. Built BAU Tiger Team supporting ongoing secure design and development uplift. Mentored developers, testers and managers on secure development principles. Forged strong relationships across security, engineering and delivery leadership.
Penetration Tester at Fraedom
February 1, 2018 - November 1, 2019
Performed penetration testing across enterprise systems. Introduced structured security testing frameworks.
Quality Assurance Practice Specialist at Fraedom
July 1, 2015 - January 1, 2018
Leadership of QA practice across multiple delivery streams. Owned capability uplift, process governance, and QA staffing.
Senior Test Analyst at Fraedom
July 1, 2012 - June 1, 2015
Lead QA delivery for Agile squads and cross-functional teams.
Senior QA / Test Analyst at FusionTransactive
February 1, 2010 - June 1, 2012
Led QA delivery across fintech platforms.
Test Lead at Mighty River Power
November 1, 2009 - December 1, 2009
UAT lead for pre-Christmas delivery.
Test Lead at INGNZ
March 1, 2008 - October 1, 2009
Led testing for new KiwiSaver scheme implementation.
Senior Test Analyst at Provenco
October 1, 2006 - February 1, 2008
Led QA for retail automation solutions.
Test Lead at Vodafone
January 1, 2004 - January 1, 2005
Test Lead role during 2004–2005 period.
Test Analyst at Nokia
May 1, 2001 - February 1, 2004
Test Analyst at Nokia (Farnborough, UK) focusing on QA for mobile/telecom solutions.

Education

at University of Auckland
January 11, 2030 - December 27, 2025

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Software & Internet, Financial Services, Professional Services, Telecommunications, Other

Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
See more

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