Dimitrios Karavias

Worked on an educational Chrome extension. Focused on the product roadmap and delegating hands-on work. Managed a small team of contractors consisting of front-end and back-end developers and designers to build our MVP. Tested across our stack, from the Angular UI to the Java back-end and SQL database. Handled the team's task management and knowledge base.

Created a comprehensive test plan for UI, API, and AI testing. Implemented end-to-end Playwright tests, running on GitHub Actions. The tests are reusable for acceptance, regression, and smoke testing. Set up Automated LLM Output validation using LangSmith. Signed off all tasks and performed manual exploratory testing for a client MVP. Worked with developers and the product team to implement structured error handling (personal initiative, not in the original set of responsibilities).

Created test plans to get regulatory approval for a new cancer detection device. Onboarded and handed them over to the client's permanent QA engineer. Completed test plans using simulators when hardware was not available for testing.

Assessed the team performance from a QA and release management perspective. Reduced the test run duration from hours to minutes. The test data set up was optimized, and excessive, fragile checks were removed, improving performance and maintainability. Provided the roadmap to org-wide BDD rollout. This is expected to speed up releases from weeks to days and reduce duplicated test efforts. Provided additional guidance for each department (QA, development, product, and management). Onboarded Toptal's QA engineers and led refactoring of the client's test suite. The goal was to reuse and gradually improve the current framework instead of starting from scratch.

Aligned in-house and third-party QA teams and led them toward a unified QA strategy. Oversaw EU-based team, and represented team to US senior stakeholders. Performed testing on the web app and coordinated with mobile teams.

Set up Duolingo's Android instrumentation tests using Espresso with Kotlin. Collaborated with the developers and QAs to migrate automated tests from third party to native technology stack. Researched, trialed, and set up a cloud-based mobile device farm. Raised issues while debugging the app which where resolved with the team, reducing app launch time by 50%.

Helped an agency with several household brands on upcoming projects. Tested Chromecast with Google TV prototypes as part of a joint effort between Google and BBC. Tested blu vaping devices, especially their end-to-end firmware OTA update process and their accompanying Android app. Set up automated UI testing on iOS for Vodafone's new R&D lab in Berlin. Tested Vodafone Smart connected devices and mobile app.

Managed multiple projects with a budget range of £20,000–60,000 per month. Acted as the main point of contact within cross-functional teams to ensure the ongoing success of our clients' projects. Started freelancing and working as an independent QA engineer.

Tested connected devices for a car insurance startup that used the device readings to rate customers' driving and offer better premiums to safe drivers. Created custom test rigs to simulate events like rapid acceleration, cornering, etc. Helped clients build and train testing teams on-site and overseas, improved their testing practices, and introduced a quality-first mindset across the board. Created Android and iOS testing suites using native testing frameworks such as Espresso and XCUITest, page objects, and testing robots. Reduced regression testing time from days to hours in multiple projects. Introduced BDD to clients, which reduced the number of bugs per sprint by 25% in three months. Integrated automated testing suites into CI pipelines. Introduced the clients' teams to behavior-driven development and improved their internal communication.

Implemented UI tests using Selenium, Java, and the Page Object Model. Collaborated with the development teams to monitor their unit test coverage using SonarQube, which increased the coverage from 20% to 80% in critical areas. Tested new features manually, including inspecting all levels from the UI through the server to the database. Deployed on Linux-based environments and monitored performance. Interviewed candidates for QA positions, including junior, mid-level, and senior. Trained new joiners on test automation. Joined the release manager schedule, coordinated releases to production, and made the final go or no-go decision when problems arose.

Set up a Cucumber, Selenium, and Java grid framework to automate our regression testing, which reduced test cycles from three days to two hours. Trained other QAs on-premise and offshore on automated testing. Performed manual testing on new features and during releases.