Gayathri Balakrishnan
Senior Lead Engineer – Test Automation
Bengaluru
Summary
Principal-level Quality Engineering leader with 11+ years of experience driving automation strategy, framework design, and quality transformation across frontend platforms, telecom systems. Proven track record of leading large-scale automation migrations, building scalable UI automation frameworks with Playwright & TypeScript, embedding quality gates into CI/CD, and mentoring high-performing teams. Strong at collaborating with product, UX, DevOps, and engineering leadership to deliver reliable, data-driven quality at scale.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
2
2
Certificates
Work History
Senior Lead Engineer, R&D Automation
Rohde & Schwarz
Bengaluru
08.2022 - Current
- Own test strategy and quality for two critical applications, reducing production defects by 30%, and improving automated coverage by 40% through scalable Playwright frameworks.
- Defined and executed a frontend automation strategy, aligning Playwright-based automation with product and platform goals.
- Led the migration of approximately 1,800 test cases from Protractor to Playwright (TypeScript), improving execution stability and maintainability.
- Designed and enhanced custom automation frameworks, supporting multi-configuration and Linux-based execution.
- Reduced flaky tests through root-cause analysis, synchronization strategies, and CI stabilization.
- Integrated automated tests into CI pipelines, enabling early feedback and shift-left quality adoption.
- Owned Linux and OBT-based system testing, leveraging Docker, and virtualized environments.
- Partnered with developers, product owners, and stakeholders to deliver timely, quality insights.
- Mentored engineers on Playwright best practices, framework patterns, and debugging techniques.
Senior Test Automation Engineer
Tata Consultancy Services (Client: Ericsson)
Mumbai, Remote
01.2022 - 06.2022
- Returned to a senior role post-career break, maintaining continuity in automation ownership.
- Quickly ramped up on existing frameworks, tools, and features, with consistent delivery impact.
- Supported regression automation and test execution stability for telecom-grade systems.
- Designed and executed end-to-end automation frameworks for mission-critical applications, achieving a 35% reduction in testing costs and improving release velocity
Senior Automation Engineer
Tata Consultancy Services (Client: Ericsson)
Mumbai, Remote
05.2019 - 07.2021
- Built and extended automation frameworks for telecom applications using Selenium and Nightwatch.js
- Designed automation macros and dashboards for 5G IoT traffic modeling, validating uplink/down link throughput.
- Conducted a feasibility analysis and expanded automation coverage across functional areas.
- Presented automation reports and quality metrics to stakeholders.
- Mentored junior engineers, and promoted automation-friendly coding practices.
Test Automation Engineer / Onsite Coordinator
H&M (via TCS)
Stockholm
05.2018 - 04.2019
- Led onsite-offshore coordination for automation delivery.
- Contributed to centralized automation using Selenium and UFT across multiple modules.
- Executed POCs for test data automation, and improved release test coverage.
- I owned manual and automation testing for critical business flows.
Manual & Automation QA
Tata Consultancy Services
Chennai
06.2014 - 08.2018
- Designed and executed test cases for front-end and back-end systems.
- Automated regression suites using Selenium (Java) and the Page Object Model.
- Performed mobile testing (Perfecto) and cross-browser testing (Sauce Labs).
- Recognized with the On-Spot Award for automation-driven process improvements.
Education
Bachelor of Engineering -
Thiagarajar College of Engineering
Madurai05.2014
Skills
Frontend Automation: Playwright (TypeScript), Selenium (Java), UFT, Nightwatchjs, Electron Js
Testing Types: UI, Exploratory, Visual Regression, Performance, Cross-browser
Automation Strategy: Shift-left testing, quality gates, test pyramid, flakiness reduction
CI/CD & DevOps: Jenkins, Git, Docker, Kubernetes (test execution & environments)
Cloud & Systems: Linux, Containers, Virtualization (Docker, Oracle VM)
Certification
ISTQB Certified Tester - Foundation Level
Timeline
Senior Lead Engineer, R&D Automation
Rohde & Schwarz
08.2022 - Current
Senior Test Automation Engineer
Tata Consultancy Services (Client: Ericsson)
01.2022 - 06.2022
Senior Automation Engineer
Tata Consultancy Services (Client: Ericsson)
05.2019 - 07.2021
Test Automation Engineer / Onsite Coordinator
H&M (via TCS)
05.2018 - 04.2019
Manual & Automation QA
Tata Consultancy Services
06.2014 - 08.2018
Bachelor of Engineering -
Thiagarajar College of Engineering
Highlights For Ic4 Principal Roles
- Proven automation strategy ownership, not just execution
- Experience influencing engineering quality direction
- Strong frontend automation depth with modern JS/TS tooling
- Demonstrated mentorship and leadership impact