Travel to Boise, Idaho to meet Lionbridge Games’ Test Lead Jesus Ruelas. Jesus manages a team of testers and ensures testing projects stay on track. As an avid gamer, he is able to incorporate his passion for video games into his daily work. In his free time, Jesus enjoys hiking and camping.
Last updated: January 31, 2022 11:00PM
What is your role at Lionbridge Games?
I am a test lead at our Boise, Idaho office. My primary role is being the communication bridge between our team here in the office and the client. It involves a lot of collaboration—I talk with the client and outline the overall schedule, then bring information back to our team and figure out how we can effectively implement the plan. I also make sure my team has whatever they need to get the job done.
What has your Lionbridge journey looked like?
I’ve had a great experience working at Lionbridge Games, especially at our Boise office. I joined as an entry level tester around a year ago. I worked hard on projects and about six months in I was promoted to test lead and took over the project that I was on. Now, I get to be an official lead on two projects and I’m loving it every day.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I love working with my team on these awesome projects. I have had the privilege now to work with the same people across two projects in the span of nine months, and each project is more and more fun. Being able to work on projects with the same people makes us learn and grow together. I also love being in the know on some really fascinating projects.
What is currently your favorite video game?
Right now, I’d say my favorite game is a smaller indie title—it’s called Escape from Tarkov. It’s a realistic hardcore first-person shooter. My friends and I have been playing it since early alpha for four years now, and we’re still hooked on it.
What do you find exciting about working in the games industry?
I’ve always been a big gamer. Now that I work in the games industry, I get to take something that I enjoy and am passionate about and incorporate it into my day-to-day work. Every day it doesn’t feel like I’m going to work—it just feels like I’m working on something that I enjoy, which is always a big plus.
What’s the most exciting opportunity on the horizon for your team this year?
I’m excited about the opportunity for growth this year. A lot of my team is new to the games industry, and I love watching them grow and bloom as we work on more and more projects.
Where do you live, and what do you enjoy about it?
I live in Boise, Idaho—the Great Potato State, as most people would know it. My favorite thing about living here is the sheer amount of stuff you can do outdoors. I’m a big outdoorsy person—whether you want to go to the hills and go hiking and camping, or if you want to go downtown and ride the Greenbelt, there’s so much stuff to do outside.
What do you recommend to a tourist?
In the warmer months the Greenbelt downtown is awesome. It’s a long stretch of bike and walking path, right in the heart of our downtown area. And in the colder months I would definitely say either Bogus or Brundage ski resort, if you like to ski or snowboard. It’s always a good time.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I definitely enjoy playing games in my free time. The biggest thing I try to do is get outside. I’m a big hiker and camper. In the warmer months, my friends and I go backpacking for days and days at a time. So really anything outdoors is my go-to.
What’s it like playing video games for work?
I dreamed of working in the industry when I was a kid playing video games. And now I get to do that every day. There’s a lot of technical stuff that you learn when you’re starting out, and as soon as you learn it, it’s just another facet of what you like about video games. You enjoy them as a consumer on the front end, but you also get to learn more on the back end about how they were created. I’ve gotten to learn so many things during my time here at Lionbridge Games. Every day, I’m excited to get to work and get started.
