Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Managerial And Leadership Skills
Accomplishments
Affiliations
Languages
Work Availability
Timeline
Generic
Bappanad Murali Rao

Bappanad Murali Rao

Bangalore

Summary

QA Manager with expertise in automation testing and onsite collaboration in the US on an H1B Visa. Skilled in developing automation frameworks using Selenium, Cucumber, Playwright, and Cypress to enhance test efficiency and reduce time-to-market. Experienced in leading Agile teams, defining test strategies, managing QA processes, and driving continuous improvement. Strong in stakeholder collaboration, resource allocation, and ensuring project success.

Overview

17
17
years of professional experience

Work History

QA Manager

Kaplan India Pvt Ltd
Bangalore
05.2022 - 03.2025
  • Led end-to-end testing for 30+ releases, cutting production defects by 50%, and ensured 99% system availability through rigorous regression and integration testing.
  • Collaborated cross-functionally to deliver products meeting 98% specs, and reduced post-release defect density by 70%.
  • Designed risk-based testing approaches for high-impact modules, minimizing critical defect leakage by 60%.
  • Defined and implemented scalable test strategies and quality gates across SDLC phases, reducing QA cycle time by 40%, and improving the first-time pass rate by 35%.
  • Designed and enhanced automation frameworks, automating over 1,000 test cases, reducing post-release defects by 65%, and accelerating release cadence by 60%.
  • Streamlined CI/CD pipelines with Jenkins, cutting feedback loops by 50%, and boosting deployment frequency by 45%, resulting in a 35% faster time to market and boosted product quality.
  • Led the adoption of shift-left testing and continuous automation, identifying 40% more defects during the early stages, and reducing post-release issues by 35%, increasing overall release confidence.
  • Configured SonarQube quality gates, and conducted over 100 code reviews per quarter, reducing automation script failures by 40%, and improving maintainability scores by 25%.
  • Developed and integrated accessibility automation using tools like Axe and pa11y, ensuring compliance with WCAG standards, and improving product inclusivity.
  • Mentored 15+ QA engineers across geographies, improving onboarding by 40% and team productivity by 50%.
  • Led over 50 one-on-ones and reviews, driving a 45% KPI improvement, and supporting three internal promotions.
  • Designed growth plans and ran skill gap analyses, enabling focused upskilling in automation and API testing.
  • Monitored KPIs (defect leakage, coverage, automation ROI), improving QA predictability by 30%, and efficiency by 25%.
  • Facilitated 10+ QA workshops, increasing framework reuse by 50% and adoption of best practices across three teams.
  • Partnered with Agile Coaches to refine sprint planning, improving delivery by 20%, and reducing test bottlenecks by 35%.
  • Partnered with PMs, Devs, and DevOps teams to reduce requirement gaps by 30% and QA rework by 25%.
  • Resolved 25+ bug severity conflicts using a severity matrix, cutting triage time by 50%, and lowering release risk by 40%.
  • Mitigated environmental clashes via shared schedules, reducing test delays by 35%, and boosting throughput by 20%.
  • Negotiated timelines in 10+ high-pressure sprints, preventing 3+ delays, and maintaining a 95% on-time release rate.
  • Delivered quality dashboards and defect trends to leadership, improving QA visibility and decision speed.
  • Led onboarding and knowledge-sharing sessions, improving new hire integration and team productivity by 40%.
  • Facilitated defect triage meetings, cutting escalations by 60%, and doubling decision turnaround speed.
  • Organized 15+ engagement and recognition events, raising team collaboration and morale by 90%.

Principal QA Engineer

Oracle India Pvt Ltd
Bangalore
04.2021 - 04.2022
  • Collaborated with Product Management, Development, and Release teams on 15+ product launches, ensuring 100% on-time delivery, and reducing post-release issues by 30%.
  • Managed defect tracking for 10+ releases, resolving 95% of critical issues within 48 hours, and cutting post-release defect rates by 40%.
  • Resolved 100+ defects through close coordination with dev and QA teams, reducing critical bug fix times by 60%, and improving overall product reliability by 35%.
  • Established a robust QA automation framework, improving testing efficiency by 55%, reducing execution time by 60%, and increasing coverage by 60%.
  • Developed and maintained 350+ automation scripts, boosting test coverage by 55%, and reducing manual QA efforts by 60%, leading to faster, higher-quality releases.
  • Mentored 6+ QA engineers, improving team test execution efficiency by 40%, and reducing post-release defects by 35%.
  • Promoted cross-functional collaboration, contributing to faster release cycles, and refined defect triage processes.

QA Automation Lead

Cognizant Technology Solutions
Bangalore
01.2015 - 03.2021
  • Provided QA sign-off for 200+ major releases, managing offshore teams, ensuring 100% delivery accuracy, and reducing production defects by 85%.
  • Reviewed over 200 requirements and technical specifications, reducing ambiguities by 35% and improving project alignment by 30%.
  • Provided actionable feedback in over 20 product design reviews, contributing to a 40% reduction in post-release defects.
  • Built and maintained 2,000+ automated tests using Selenium WebDriver and Cucumber, increasing test coverage by 65%, and halving manual effort.
  • Developed over 500 automation scripts from more than 250 business and functional documents, boosting test coverage by 75%.
  • Contributed to enterprise-wide framework implementation, improving test efficiency by 85%.
  • Assisted in CI/CD pipeline optimization, reducing build and deployment times by 70%, and increasing release frequency by 55%.
  • Directed test case execution and automation delivery, enhancing product robustness by 90%.
  • Tested 100+ REST APIs using Postman, identifying and resolving early-stage issues that improved API reliability by 40%.
  • Created 150+ detailed bug reports, cutting issue resolution time by 50%, and reducing recurring defects by 35%.
  • Trained and mentored over 25 junior QA engineers, improving onboarding speed by 40% and increasing team productivity by 50%.

Senior QA Engineer

Cognizant Technology Solutions
Bangalore
08.2012 - 01.2015
  • Led QA sign-off for 50+ releases, ensuring quality compliance, and reducing post-release defects by 50%.
  • Participated in 50+ Agile ceremonies, contributing to a 40% improvement in sprint velocity, and refined team collaboration.
  • Logged and tracked over 200 defects using JIRA, resolving 95% of critical issues within SLA, and cutting release delays by 45%.
  • Authored 300+ test scripts using Selenium with Java, enhancing test scope by 60%, and reducing execution time by 70%.
  • Developed and enhanced QA automation frameworks, improving overall efficiency by 60%, and boosting test coverage by 60%.
  • Integrated automation suites into Jenkins pipelines, reducing manual effort and feedback loops by 50%.
  • Analyzed 100+ business and functional documents to design 200+ automation scripts, increasing overall coverage by 75%.
  • Tested 100+ REST APIs using Postman, identifying and resolving early-stage issues that improved API reliability by 40%.
  • Created 150+ detailed bug reports, cutting issue resolution time by 50%, and reducing recurring defects by 35%.
  • Trained and mentored 15+ junior QA engineers, improving onboarding speed by 40%, and increasing team productivity by 50%.

Test Engineer

Transition Consulting Limited
Bangalore
12.2011 - 07.2012
  • Analyzed 25+ business and functional requirements to derive 100+ automation use cases, boosting test coverage by 35%, and cutting manual effort by 30%.
  • Developed and optimized over 100 Selenium WebDriver scripts in Java, improving execution speed by 45% and expanding regression coverage by 35%.
  • Reported and tracked over 100 defects via JIRA, with a 90% on-time resolution rate, reducing recurring issues by 35%, and enhancing product quality.
  • Participated in 30+ Agile ceremonies, accelerating bug turnaround by 30%, and strengthening team collaboration.

Software Engineer

Color Canvas Inc
Bangalore
04.2008 - 12.2011
  • Generated 25+ test plans and 150+ test cases, achieving 100% feature coverage, and reducing test cycle time by 40%.
  • Coordinated QA efforts across 5+ teams, streamlining execution, and cutting release delays by 30%.
  • Automated 100+ tests using Selenium IDE, improving automation efficiency by 50%, and reducing manual effort by 40%.
  • Developed 100+ functional automation scripts, expanding regression coverage by 50%, and reducing execution time by 40%.
  • Executed over 200 SQL queries for backend validation, resolving 40% more data issues, and improving data accuracy by 45%.
  • Built and deployed 10+ web apps with JSP, Servlets, and JavaScript, improving load times by 40%, and increasing user engagement by 50%.

Education

Bachelor of Science - Electronics

BMS College Of Engineering
Bangalore
04.2005

Skills

  • Selenium and Cypress
  • Playwright and Cucumber
  • Behavior-driven development
  • Test-driven development
  • Shift left testing
  • TestNG and JUnit
  • Core Java and TypeScript
  • SQL and JDBC
  • API testing with Postman
  • Accessibility testing with Axe
  • JIRA and Zephyr
  • Jenkins and CI/CD
  • GitHub version control
  • Agile-Scrum methodologies
  • Test planning and execution
  • Functional and regression testing
  • Docker containerization
  • Requirement analysis
  • GitHub version control
  • Agile-Scrum methodologies
  • Test planning and execution
  • Functional and regression testing
  • Docker containerization
  • Requirement analysis

Managerial And Leadership Skills

  • Conflict resolution
  • Active listening
  • Decision making
  • Project management
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Mentoring and coaching
  • Team leadership
  • Performance reviews
  • Resource planning
  • Risk mitigation

Accomplishments

  • 2024 hackathon finalist
  • Recipient of the 2024 Product Success Award at Kaplan, Bangalore
  • Performed live at a musical concert in 2022
  • Recipient of the 2024 Product Success Award at Kaplan, Bangalore

Affiliations

Singing at a musical concert

Languages

Kannada
First Language
English
Proficient (C2)
C2
Hindi
Intermediate (B1)
B1

Work Availability

monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Timeline

QA Manager

Kaplan India Pvt Ltd
05.2022 - 03.2025

Principal QA Engineer

Oracle India Pvt Ltd
04.2021 - 04.2022

QA Automation Lead

Cognizant Technology Solutions
01.2015 - 03.2021

Senior QA Engineer

Cognizant Technology Solutions
08.2012 - 01.2015

Test Engineer

Transition Consulting Limited
12.2011 - 07.2012

Software Engineer

Color Canvas Inc
04.2008 - 12.2011

Bachelor of Science - Electronics

BMS College Of Engineering

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Bappanad Murali Rao