Back Office by Buyers Edge
Quality Assurance Engineer, 2026. AI-assisted testing,
- Angular
- Java
- MySQL
- AI-Assisted Testing
- Playwright
- Release Management
Remote, Portland, Oregon · Open to roles
QA Engineer & Software Engineer in Test
I'm Alanna Risse. I've spent 15+ years building and shipping websites for brands like West Elm and Timbuk2 — now I focus on breaking them before users do: test automation with Playwright, accessibility audits, and release confidence.
Testing & Quality
- Playwright
- Mocha/Chai
- Automation
- End-to-end testing
- Test planning
- Regression testing
- Cross-browser testing
- Accessibility (WCAG 2.0 AA)
- A/B testing
- Analytics QA
Development
- JavaScript
- TypeScript
- React
- Next.js
- Expo
- Angular
- Vue
- Node.js
- Django
- MySQL
Platforms
- AWS
- Vercel
- Railway
- Netlify
- Pantheon
- WordPress
- Webflow
- GitHub Pages
Professional work
Selected client work
West Elm
Lead front-end developer, 2008–2010. Migrated the storefront from WebSphere to JSP, reached WCAG 2.0 AA, and ran A/B tests and sales launches.
- JSP
- JavaScript
- CSS
- WCAG 2.0 AA
- A/B testing
- Analytics
BusinessBlocks
Education and support platform for small business owners. Django and MySQL on AWS. Acquired by AmTrust.
- Django
- MySQL
- AWS
- JavaScript
Qadium
Custom WordPress site built with Advanced Custom Fields, hosted on Pantheon.
- WordPress
- ACF
- PHP
- Pantheon
PlusPlus
Custom WordPress site built with Advanced Custom Fields, hosted on Pantheon.
- WordPress
- ACF
- PHP
- Pantheon
More clients
Timbuk2
Messenger bags — web development
MedNet for Nature Conservancy
Mediterranean Action Network — data visualization
House of Bagels
WordPress web development
CETI Portland
Web development and marketing
Alignment Therapy PDX
Webflow site, local SEO, lead generation
Anna Fidler
Artist website, maintained since 2013
JJ Wiesler
Website design
Button Consignment
Website and print design
Personal projects
Things I've built lately
Send a Boop
Send cute animal pics to friends.
- Expo
- React
- MySQL
- AI-assisted
Quote Keeper
Save and organize favorite quotes.
- Angular
- MySQL
- AI-assisted
DMV Practice Quiz
Mostly hand-built quiz app.
- Vanilla JS
- GitHub Pages
Wine Finder
Find the right bottle.
- React
- Vercel
- AI-assisted
Verge Online Store
Hand-coded art store with Stripe payments.
- React
- Next.js
- Stripe
Scrumptious!
Recipe app built on a free API.
- Vue
- Vite
- Netlify
PSU Interactive Media
Course site for PSU Graphic Design students.
- Teaching
- Web
Verge PDX
Art curation in Portland — branding, design, development.
- Branding
- Web
Teaching & speaking
Sharing what I know
I teach interaction design at Portland State University. Here's a reel of student work.
Artist Talk
PDX Serverless Meetup
How Learning About My Own Neurodivergence Made Me a Better Teacher
Week of Teaching, PSU Office of Academic Excellence
"Thanks again for mentoring me through the Thinkful pre-work. I recently graduated from General Assembly's software engineering program and thought about how helpful you were at the beginning of my journey."
Writing
From my Substack
Send-A-Boop
I built a fun app using Claude Code that sends cute animal pics to your friends. Here are my thoughts.
Read →Cheesing In America
James L Kraft, anti-coagulants, government cheese, and cheese caves.
Read →Dogs and Heart Strings
Volunteering at the Oregon Humane Society.
Read →Letter to a Stranger
Cleaning up broken glass and making the world a tiny bit better.
Read →