Staff Software Engineer
Rhode Island
Corey Votta
I turn product intent into a design and a plan the team can run
with. Then I stay in the work — including with the teams around
us — until it ships.
Staff Software Engineer at
SailPoint. Software Engineer → Senior → Staff. Previously SecZetta.
- Backend systems
- Technical design
- Cross-team delivery
- Identity security
- Ruby
- Rails
How work moves
From intent to something the team can build
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01
Product design
Start with the problem, the users, and the constraints. Clarify
what success actually looks like before anyone writes a line of
code.
-
02
Technical design
Translate that intent into architecture, interfaces, risks, and
tradeoffs — a document the team can argue with, then execute
against.
-
03
Team plan
Break the work into milestones with a clear sequence. Reduce
complexity so the path is obvious and the unknowns are named.
-
04
Cross-team delivery
Features rarely live on one team. I partner across groups,
keep decisions visible, and stay accountable until the thing
ships.
Approach
Make the path obvious, then stay on it
Most of the job is getting a messy problem into a shape a team can
execute — and not dropping it when it crosses a team boundary.
See it early
-
Know the system well enough to explain how it works today, and
where it will break.
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Catch the issue while it’s still cheap. Decide before it turns
into a fire or a stall.
-
Own a large slice of the system, then leave it better than I
found it.
Make a path
-
Point core projects at an outcome, not a pile of tickets.
-
Cut complexity so the next feature is cheaper, not just this
one.
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Decide how new work gets done, and who should do it.
Stay with it
-
Guide the debate to a decision. Write it down. Stand behind it.
-
Work with product and adjacent teams until the feature actually
ships.
-
Look six to twelve months out, then deliver against that
direction.
Background
Experience and education
A decade as a professional engineer. Programming as a hobby for
longer than that. Clean code, tests, and systems that stay fast.
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Jan 2023 — Present
Full-time · 3 yrs 9 mos · Johnston, Rhode Island
Identity security is a systems problem: correctness, scale, and
the quiet details that keep access decisions trustworthy.
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Staff Software Engineer
Aug 2025 — Present · 1 yr 2 mos
- Lead technical discussions; turn product design into technical design and delivery plans
- Set direction for core work-streams and coordinate across teams
- Work with product and adjacent engineering groups until the feature ships
-
Senior Software Engineer
Feb 2024 — Aug 2025 · 1 yr 7 mos
- Owned larger backend projects end-to-end — scoped the work, named the risks, and drove them to done
- Raised the bar in design and code reviews; helped other engineers land the right solution
- Cut complexity in services and processes so the next feature was cheaper to ship
- Coordinated across teams when a feature couldn’t live on one squad
-
Software Engineer
Jan 2023 — Feb 2024 · 1 yr 2 mos
- Shipped backend features end-to-end as SecZetta became part of SailPoint
- Wrote and reviewed production code from specs, with tests and the same quality bar
- Partnered with product and adjacent SailPoint teams in a larger org
- Maintained and improved existing services so the product kept moving
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Jul 2016 — Jan 2023
SecZetta
Newport, Rhode Island
-
Software Engineer
- Created and maintained the product API; wrote integrations with third-party applications
- Helped build engineering best practices used across the company
- Clean, maintainable code from specs; participated in code reviews
- Functional, unit, and integration tests with RSpec, Capybara, and FactoryBot
- Shipped features independently and with project managers and creative teams
- Fixed and improved existing code
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Sep 2016 — Jan 2017
Launch Academy
Ruby on Rails development bootcamp
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Sep 2013 — Aug 2016
B.S. Game Development and Simulations
New England Institute of Technology · East Greenwich, Rhode Island
Skills
Technologies
- Ruby on Rails
- React
- jQuery
- MySQL
- MongoDB