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About me / Brannen Hall

A builder, groundedin experience.

Automation Engineer III at Western National Insurance.Software developer. Longtime Linux enthusiast.

Brannen Hall

01 / The person behind the work

Where Technology and Product Meet

I’m Brannen Hall, a Minneapolis-based automation engineer and software developer. My career has moved from building applications to improving the systems and practices that make them dependable.

At Western National Insurance, I’ve developed a deep passion for insurance and the work behind it. Outside that work, I’m exploring how AI-assisted development can help turn my love for Linux into useful, open apps and a more connected home.

02 / Work experience

  1. 2024 — Present

    Western National Insurance

    • Automation Engineer III · Mar 2026–present
    • Automation Engineer II · Jan 2024–Mar 2026

    Built the team’s primary JSON-RPC API automation framework in Node.js/JavaScript. Moving coverage from UI to API tests cut execution time by 80%.

  2. 2021 — 2024

    Cognizant Softvision

    • Quality Engineer · Aug 2021–Jan 2024

    Led automation from framework design to rollout. Cut PR review time 60% with customized linters; built browser and API tests, contributed to React code, and mentored engineers.

  3. 2020 — 2021

    Magenic / Cognizant Softvision

    • Associate Quality Engineer · Apr 2020–Aug 2021

    Moved integration tests from VMs to Docker, cut test data cleanup time 60% with SQL resets, and improved .NET Core support on macOS and Linux.

  4. 2019 — 2020

    IndusTrack

    • Junior Software Developer · Jun 2019–Apr 2020

    Built an employee performance system with Angular, ASP.NET, and SQL; integrated QuickBooks Online. Cut report development time 30% and improved Angular performance 50%.

Earlier experience

  • PTC · Enterprise Application Security Intern · 2018–2019
  • IndusTrack · Software & Testing Intern · 2017–2018
  • UMN App Developers Club · Software Developer · 2017–2018
  • University of Minnesota · Dean’s Freshman Research Scholar · 2017

03 / Education & credentials

  • University of Minnesota — Twin Cities
  • BA, Computer Science · 2016–2019
  • Phi Beta Kappa · 3.77 GPA · Dean’s List
  • Associate in Insurance (AINS)
  • Guidewire Certified Associate — InsuranceSuite Analyst (Qusar)
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
  • JavaScript · TypeScript · Node.js · C# / .NET · SQL
  • React · Angular · ASP.NET · Playwright · Selenium · API automation