About
Nice to meet you - I'm Sierra
I currently live in Dallas, Texas with my husband, Jesse.
I have over 6 years of professional experience, and have done everything from biotech research to building project and data management systems.
I'm open to remote or Dallas-based roles. I love startups, tech, biotech, and women's health, and am passionate about data integrity and documentation.
Education
B.S. Biological Engineering
Utah State University | May 2021
Emphasis in Synthetic Biology | Minor in Entrepreneurship | Undergraduate Research Fellow
Graduated summa cum laude, with Honors
| 3.97 GPA
Engineer in Training (EIT) Certification
Fundamentals of Engineering Exam - Other Disciplines | September 2020
Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA)
SolidWorks CAD Design Associate Exam | October 2018
Project Management Certifications
Lean Yellow Belt | October 2024
Six Sigma White Belt | October 2024
Certification verifications can be seen here.
Work History
Confidence Systems (Startup) | February 2025 - Present
Delivery Team Lead | Remote | October 2025 - Present
- Promoted to lead and coach a team of four Process Engineers; team has maintained a 100% on-time delivery rate.
- Partner with product and delivery leads to prioritize roadmap needs across 10 enterprise accounts, ensuring alignment and clear execution plans.
- Collaborate with Dev team to design custom automation solutions (APIs, AI Agents, RPA, OCR) for enterprise clients, reducing manual work by up to 100%.
- Stepped in to stabilize a Fortune 500 client project, managing executive communication, reestablishing timelines, and aligning strategy to bring the engagement back on track.
- Developed knowledge-sharing materials that improved consistency across project delivery and client communications, decreasing deliverable QA time by up to 30%.
Senior Process Engineer | Remote | June 2025 - September 2025
- Facilitated process redesign sessions with cross-functional teams to produce future-state process requirements.
- Synthesized insights across 11 business units and presented recommendations weekly to executive stakeholders (e.g., Head of Technology Operations, Head of Legal) to influence resourcing and system investment decisions.
- Built operational dashboards and workflow automation proposals (APIs, RPA) to reduce client cycle times by 30–40% and position Confidence for a $400k platform expansion opportunity.
- Spearheaded training improvements, reducing new hire ramp-up time by 50% and increasing team productivity.
Process Engineer | Remote | February 2025 - May 2025
- Created 20+ process maps and observation reports across 4 teams and 3 countries for a Fortune 500 client, earning CEO praise for quality and depth.
- Digitized critical documentation for a regulatory team, eliminating the need for physical paperwork and streamlining audit compliance; success led to a new SOW expanding the project scope.
- Designed dynamic forms to capture execution parameters, improving process traceability and audit readiness.
Professional Development | May 2024 - January 2025
Entrepreneurial & Technical Training | Dallas, TX
- Completed courses in Python and Machine Learning; built and launched a personal website.
- Completed Y Combinator’s Startup School curriculum; connected with a cofounder and began developing a women’s health app venture.
Sound Agriculture (Startup) | June 2021 - April 2024
Process Engineer/Operations Generalist | Remote | July 2022 - April 2024
- Built a Smartsheet-Asana system that scaled research operations 10x—from 4 to 40+ concurrent experiments.
- Led Agile ELN/LIMS rollout, authoring a 200+ page manual and training 30+ staff to meet investor data standards.
- Built dashboards tracking 10 KPIs, enabling clear visibility into 20 months of research trends for staff and leadership.
- Role was eliminated due to a company-wide restructure (not performance-based). Letter of Recommendation from manager
Research Associate | Emeryville, CA | June 2021 - July 2022
- Optimized sample preparation protocols, cutting RNA loss by up to 75% and improving data reliability.
- Led experimental design and execution to modify trait expression in 7+ crop species, supporting key R&D goals.
- Partnered with 3+ external organizations to accelerate product development and advance genetic research.
- Uncovered major operational inefficiencies and proposed a strategic solution, prompting leadership to create the company’s first Process Engineer role.
Quansys Biosciences | February 2019 - May 2021
Research and Development Technician | Logan, UT
- Supported the setup and use of a CLIA Clinical Lab, obtaining an FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), and developing a COVID-19 antibody assay, contributing to the company’s rapid response during the pandemic.
- Led QMS implementation and staff training to meet GLP, GMP, ISO 13485, and ISO 9001 standards, resulting in 2 successful audits.
- Managed development of 12+ multiplex Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs) for 6+ clients, validating up to 13 biomarkers per assay to meet QC and client standards.
Areas of Expertise
Project & Operations Management
- Smartsheet
- Asana
- Jira
- Confluence
- Notion
- Technical Documentation
- Agile, Lean, and Six Sigma
- Stakeholder Communication
- Resource Allocation
- Change Management
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365
- Microsoft Teams
- Project Planning
- KPI Tracking
Data Science & Automation
- Git & Github
- SQL
- Basic R
- APIs
- Machine Learning
- Python Scripting
- Python Notebooks
- Python for Data Analysis
- Advanced Excel and Google Sheets
- Web Development
(About this website)
- Docker
- GraphPad Prism
- JMP
- Basic AWS
- Workflow Automation
Lab & Instrumentation
- Technical Documentation
- SOP Writing
- Lab Management
- Aseptic Technique
- Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN)
- Lab Information Management Systems (LIMS)
- Quality Control (GLP, GMP)
- ISO Compliance
- Solidworkds/CAD
- Assay Development & QC
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs)
- Lab Automation
Undergraduate Research
Senior Design Project | Dr. David Britt and Fresenius Medical Care
January 2020 - May 2021
- Worked as a key member of a team developing a self-disinfecting surface to aid in bacterial load reduction in hemodialysis systems
- Completed an accompanying Honors Capstone project focused on Project Management
- Led weekly team meetings
- Led literature review meetings and organized papers
- Managed project timeline
- Communicated project status to stakeholders at Fresenius Medical Care
- Project results can be seen here.
Synthetic Biology Research Lab | Dr. Charles Miller
September 2015 - May 2016 | August 2018 - October 2019
- Assisted in culturing and studying bacteria for bioplastics production
- Analyzed bacterial phenotypes, including measuring optical density and plotting growth curves
- Maintained stocks of antibiotic agar plates
Biomaterials Undergraduate Lab | Dr. Yu Huang
January 2019 - August 2019
- Led a team of students seeking to solubilize anti-inflammatory compounds through nanoparticle synthesis
- Used sonication and lyophilization to create and stabilize curcumin and indigoidine nanoparticles
Hobbies & Interests
Crafts
I love pretty much any craft, but my great-grandma got me hooked on cardmaking. I also love knitting and cross stitch.
Texas State Fair
September 2023
Sourdough
I adopted part of my uncle's sourdough starter and have been culturing it since mid-2023. Favorite recipes include sourdough loaves, pizza, and english muffins.
Travel
Mount Cook
New Zealand, 2022
Milford Sound
New Zealand, 2022
Hobbiton
New Zealand, 2022
Rotorua
New Zealand, 2022
Glenorchy
New Zealand, 2022
Tower Bridge
England, 2023
Harry Potter Studios
England, 2023
Prince's Head Pub
England, 2023
Richmond
England, 2023
Cliffs of Moher
Ireland, 2024
Giant's Causeway
Ireland, 2024
Cahir
Ireland, 2024
Kenmare
Ireland, 2024
Lough Tay
Ireland, 2024
Strategy Games
Favorites include Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, and Ark Nova.
Miscellaneous Interests
Survivor | Doctor Who | Cooking Competitions | Death Cab for Cutie | Bastille | 80s Music
John Green | Annie Dillard | Stardew Valley | Theatre
Fun Facts
- My husband is a mortician. I love the irony of being a life science professional married to a death science professional.
- In middle school my family and I were on The Dog Whisperer. Cesar Milan is a great guy!
- In high school I worked part-time as an assistant casting director, and even cast a body double for Scarlett Johansson.
- I'm a State Fair enthusiast and love entering Fair craft competitions. Growing up, I won quite a few ribbons at the Orange Country Fair for cross stitch, clay sculpting, and cake decorating. In 2023 and 2024 I won blue ribbons at the State Fair of Texas for greeting card making.