Open to Opportunities

Hi, I'm Goutham Shivakumar N

Senior QA Leader & Strategist

Driving quality engineering at enterprise scale — from strategy to release. 19+ years of progressive experience across Logistics, FinTech, AML, Insurance, ERP, Healthcare, and Retail. Early adopter of AI-augmented QA practices.

19+ Years Experience
25+ Team Size Led
<10% Critical Defect Rate
30% Faster Resolution
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About Me

Senior QA Leader & Strategist

A seasoned QA professional with over 19 years of progressive experience driving quality engineering across enterprise and product-based environments at global scale — spanning Logistics, FinTech, AML, Insurance, ERP, Healthcare, and Retail.

I architect end-to-end automation frameworks (UI, API, DB, Performance), embed quality as a strategic business function, and lead distributed teams to deliver on time, within budget, and with measurably fewer defects.

Early adopter of AI-augmented QA practices — leveraging LLM-based tools for intelligent test case generation, predictive defect analysis, and automated root-cause triage to accelerate delivery and reduce manual effort.

Trusted by C-suite and cross-functional stakeholders for risk mitigation, release governance, and quality transformation leadership.

🏗

QA Architecture & Strategy

Designing release readiness frameworks, test strategies, and quality governance that keep critical defect rates below 10%.

🤝

Stakeholder & Team Leadership

Led and mentored 30+ engineers across distributed teams with sprint-level QA reporting for full visibility.

⚙️

Automation & DevOps

Hands-on expertise with Selenium, RestAssured, JMeter, and Gauge — building frameworks that slash manual effort.

🌍

Global Delivery

Onsite lead at Schroders, Equifax, and Provident Financial Group across London and Bradford; delivered 7+ milestones.

My Work

Projects

🔄 Ongoing
🤖

AI Testing

Exploring AI-powered testing approaches and integrating artificial intelligence into QA workflows for smarter test generation, execution, and analysis.

AI/MLTest AutomationResearch
📅

Media Scheduler

An Android app for scheduling reminders, alarms with music, YouTube video playback, and local media URI triggers. Includes recurring tasks and a built-in YouPlayer.

AndroidMedia PlaybackAlarmsYouTube
Visit Live
📊

MF Tracker

A mutual fund tracking application for monitoring investment portfolios, tracking NAV changes, and analyzing fund performance over time.

FinTechPortfolio TrackingAnalytics
Visit Live
🔗

RestAssured Framework

An API test automation framework built with RestAssured for comprehensive RESTful API validation, request chaining, and response assertions.

JavaRestAssuredAPI TestingTestNG
View on GitHub
📱

Mobile App Automation

Mobile test automation framework for an Android app using Appium + Gauge with Page Object Model, JSON-driven test data, and HTML reporting.

Java 17AppiumGaugeMavenAndroid
Career Timeline

Professional Experience

Sep 2024 – May 2026

Sr. QA Consultant

AIQU (GAC Group) · Logistics & Warehouse Management · Hyderabad

  • Architected enterprise QA strategy and release readiness frameworks, maintaining critical defect rates below 10% and ensuring 100% on-time delivery across all major product releases.
  • Led full lifecycle test planning and execution for Android Scanner devices supporting large-scale warehouse operations, covering hardware integration, software validation, and field-readiness.
  • Designed sprint-aligned test schedules and conducted documentation reviews to eliminate downstream technical risks, reducing costly rework across Agile delivery cycles.
  • Drove task delegation, accountability, and cross-functional team coordination, consistently meeting delivery commitments in a high-velocity logistics technology environment.
  • Served as primary QA liaison for stakeholder communication on quality metrics, risks, and release decisions.
  • Championed adoption of AI-assisted QA tools for intelligent test case generation and automated defect triage, reducing test design effort and improving coverage breadth across sprint cycles.
  • Continuously evaluated and integrated emerging technologies into the QA workflow, enabling the team to stay ahead of evolving product complexity and platform changes.
AndroidAI-Augmented QAAgileJIRA
Aug 2023 – Aug 2024

Freelance QA Consultant

TASC · Independent Consulting Engagements · Hyderabad (Remote)

  • Provided independent QA consulting and test execution support across client engagements sourced through TASC, applying test strategy, automation, and defect management expertise.
  • Delivered flexible, on-demand quality engineering support tailored to client project timelines and scope.
Test StrategyAutomationDefect ManagementConsulting
Jan 2022 – Jul 2023

QA Manager

HCLTech · Domain: ERP (Pegasus) · Hyderabad

  • Maintained full project alignment with budget, schedule, and scope; proactively surfaced risks during design reviews, keeping a critical 8-month engagement on schedule with zero scope deviation.
  • Reduced non-conformance by approximately 10% through structured process improvements, compliance audits, and practical deviation management.
  • Triaged and resolved escalated customer support issues using root-cause-driven analysis, cutting average resolution time by 30%.
  • Directly mentored 30 direct reports through structured coaching, 1:1s, and technical upskilling programs, measurably improving team throughput and performance metrics.
  • Established sprint-level QA reporting cadence, providing stakeholders and leadership with clear, data-backed visibility into quality health and risk exposure.
VFPSQL ServerJIRAManual Testing
Nov 2020 – Dec 2021

QA Automation Manager (Consultant)

Healthygx · Warehouse & Logistics · Hyderabad

  • Designed and built a standardized, repeatable QA process from scratch, replacing ad-hoc testing practices and delivering a significant boost in release throughput within 12 months.
  • Instituted quarterly production bug reviews and root-cause analysis sessions, measurably reducing escaped defects and improving pre-release detection rates.
  • Delivered accurate cost estimates across 2 concurrent projects, enabling leadership to plan and allocate resources without budget overruns.
  • Mentored 12 engineers in automation best practices, enabling successful delivery of a high-visibility product milestone on schedule.
  • Partnered with release management to streamline deployment planning, achieving consistent on-time go-lives.
SeleniumRestAssuredPostmanJMeter
Jul 2018 – Sep 2020

Quality Assurance Manager

Fellow · Domain: Healthcare (IoT) · Hyderabad

  • Owned all quality activities across full product lifecycle, ensuring 100% test coverage.
  • Led automation framework evaluation, POC development, and NFT strategy using JMeter.
IoTAngularAWSSeleniumJMeter
May 2011 – Jan 2018

Senior Test Analyst / Onsite Lead

UST Global · Schroders | Equifax | Provident Financial Group · India & UK

  • Onsite lead for 15-member distributed team; delivered 7 major project milestones across 4 years.
  • Developed test strategy for Schroders eliminating post-release defects in regulated financial services.
  • Implemented Selenium and Gauge (Java) automation, reducing manual testing effort.
SeleniumGaugeJMeterAzure APIMongoDB
Apr 2007 – Apr 2011

Test Engineer

Mphasis (formerly AIG Systems Solutions) · Insurance · Chennai

  • Delivered manual and automated testing across Annuities and Auto Insurance domains.
  • Developed proficiency with QTP for regression automation on insurance policy management systems.
QTPSybaseSQLManual Testing
Technical Arsenal

Skills & Technologies

AI & Emerging Tools

GitHub Copilot LLM Test Generation ChatGPT / Claude AI Defect Triage Testim Mabl

Automation Frameworks

Selenium WebDriver Appium RestAssured Gauge (Java) SoapUI Postman TestNG Cucumber

Performance Testing

Apache JMeter Gatling Load Testing Stress Testing NFT Strategy

API & DB Testing

RESTful APIs SOAP / WSDL Postman RestAssured MS SQL Server Sybase MongoDB Azure APIs

Test Management

JIRA Azure DevOps HP ALM MTM Zephyr XRay Confluence

Asset Management Tools

Charles River SimCorp Dimension Intellimatch B-One

Methodologies

Agile / Scrum Kanban Risk-Based Testing Shift-Left V-Model TDD BDD

Domain Expertise

🚚 Logistics & WMS 💰 Asset Management 🔍 AML & Compliance 🏥 Insurance 🛒 Retail & CRM ⚙️ ERP (Pegasus) 🏥 Healthcare ☁️ Cloud & IoT
Credentials

Certifications & Education

✦

ISTQB Foundation Level

International Software Testing Qualifications Board

✦

IOC — Investment Operation Certification

CFA Society

2002 – 2006

M.Sc. Biotechnology

Bharathidasan University

1999 – 2002

B.Sc. Microbiology, Computer Applications & Chemistry

Kakatiya University

2007 – 2008

Diploma in Computer Applications

Madurai Kamaraj University

Let's Connect

Open to Opportunities

19+ years of QA leadership — ready to bring rigorous quality strategy and proven delivery to your next challenge.

✉
goutham.nandipati@aol.com
📞
+91 79817 54626
in
linkedin.com/in/gouthamshivakumar
⌨
github.com/testingmag

📍 Hyderabad, India

Telugu (Native) · Hindi (Professional) · Tamil (Conversational)