AARTHI THINAKARAN
Quality Engineering Leader
Kochi,Kerala
Summary
Assistant Manager – Test Automation with 14+ years of experience in driving enterprise-scale software quality transformation, Automation framework modernization, Azure DevOps integration, and AI-assisted testing for enterprise tax technology applications. Delivers reusable automation utilities, custom tooling, and quality governance that improved pipeline stability to 93–95% per month, cut script development effort by 20–30%, and lifted framework performance by 30%+. Mentor automation engineers and align quality standards with delivery goals across architects, developers, product owners, and business stakeholders.
Overview
8
8
Certifications
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Assistant Manager – Test Automation
KPMG Global Services
06.2022 - Current
- Leadership
- Drive automation strategy aligned with business objectives and engineering best practices.
- Lead enterprise quality engineering initiatives supporting tax technology applications.
- Partner with architects, developers, product owners, and business stakeholders to improve software quality and delivery efficiency.
- Mentored automation engineers, enhancing technical capabilities across QA teams.
- Conduct technical interviews and contribute to hiring and mentoring initiatives.
- Promoted engineering excellence through implementation of automation standards and code quality practices, fostering reusable solutions.
- Engineering Transformation
- Led evaluation and adoption of Playwright for next-generation web automation.
- Modernized enterprise automation frameworks to improve scalability, maintainability, and execution efficiency.
- Developed a custom Python-based Azure DevOps synchronization utility replacing SpecSync, reducing licensing costs.
- Built an intelligent test automation recorder compatible with the organization's codeless automation framework.
- Enhanced automation framework architecture through reusable utilities and modular design.
- Introduced AI-assisted testing concepts to improve engineering productivity and accelerate automation development.
- Contributed to CI/CD integration and continuous quality engineering initiatives.
- Business Impact
- Improved automation pipeline stability to 95%+.
- Reduced automation script development effort by 30%.
- Improved automation framework performance by 30%.
- Eliminated commercial licensing costs through custom engineering solutions.
- Increased automation coverage and maintainability using reusable framework components.
- Established quality metrics and governance practices to measure automation effectiveness and release readiness, enabling data-driven decision-making.
Automation Test Lead II
UST Global
12.2020 - 05.2022
- Led automation delivery for enterprise healthcare and insurance applications, enhancing test efficiency and reliability.
- Integrated automation execution into CI/CD pipelines.
- Integrated automation execution into CI/CD pipelines, streamlining deployment processes and reducing manual intervention.
- Led automation delivery for enterprise healthcare and insurance applications.
- Mentored automation engineers and conducted internal technical training.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to refine software delivery processes, ensuring alignment with project goals and timelines.
Automation Test Lead
IQVIA
05.2020 - 12.2020
- Led automation testing for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 healthcare platform.
- Improved release confidence through continuous automation execution.
- Implemented in-sprint automation to streamline regression testing.
- Enhanced release confidence through consistent automation execution.
- Collaborated with global development and QA teams to align testing efforts.
Associate
Cognizant Technology Solutions
02.2012 - 05.2020
- Led automation estimation, planning, and implementation.
- Automated insurance and CRM applications, enhancing testing efficiency.
- Automated insurance and CRM business applications.
- Led estimation, planning, and implementation of automation frameworks, ensuring timely project delivery.
- Developed reusable automation libraries and utilities, streamlining future testing efforts.
- Collaborated with onsite and offshore stakeholders to deliver quality software.
Education
Executive M.Tech - Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Cochin University of Science And Technology (CUSAT)
07-2027
Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics & Communication Engineering
GKMCollege of Engineering & Technology
Chennai, India04-2011
Skills
Quality Engineering Strategy
Quality Governance
Test Management
Release Readiness
Risk-Based Testing
Test strategy
Test planning
Test estimation
Quality metrics reporting
Defect trend analysis
Playwright
Selenium
BDD Automation
API Testing
Framework Architecture
Automation framework design
Cross-browser automation
Data-driven testing
Intelligent test design
Azure DevOps
Engineering Transformation
CI/CD Integration
Automation Standards
Reusable Test Utilities
Quality Metrics
Test data management
Continuous quality engineering
Certification
ISTQB Foundation Level
Timeline
Assistant Manager – Test Automation
KPMG Global Services
06.2022 - Current
Automation Test Lead II
UST Global
12.2020 - 05.2022
Automation Test Lead
IQVIA
05.2020 - 12.2020
Associate
Cognizant Technology Solutions
02.2012 - 05.2020
Executive M.Tech - Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Cochin University of Science And Technology (CUSAT)
Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics & Communication Engineering
GKMCollege of Engineering & Technology