Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Websites
Certification
Timeline
Generic

Ajay Pokharkar

Newark

Summary

QA and Automation Lead with 15+ years of experience driving functional and automation testing in agile, fast-paced environments. Expert in leading distributed teams across the full QA lifecycle, implementing test automation frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and process optimization. Proven track record in enhancing test efficiency, reducing defects, and ensuring business-critical application stability, with strong leadership, problem-solving, and collaboration skills

Overview

16
16
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Lead Quality Assurance Engineer

Audible Inc
03.2022 - Current
  • QA Lead for cross-platform Audible features impacting 25M+ users, managing test strategy, defect triage, and code promotions to improve release stability and reduce production issues.
  • Increased automation coverage from 60% to 85% and developed an ML-powered test utility, cutting execution time from 80 hours to 7 hours on java selenium POM framework.
  • Initiated and led daily automated non-production jobs to proactively validate application health, streamlining QA processes and enhancing test efficiency.
  • Directed cross-functional teams to implement QA strategies for new product releases, ensuring organized testing, clear communication, and on-time delivery.

QA Test Manager

UBS (Contract)
05.2020 - 03.2022
  • Led QA and automation for 11 GCRG applications, standardizing frameworks and mentoring 10+ offshore engineers, reducing automation failures by 25%.
  • Implemented CI/CD pipeline with GitHub, TeamCity, and UBS Deploy, cutting build, test, and deployment cycles by 40%.
  • Migrated automation framework to GitLab with Docker and Kubernetes, improving scalability and reducing environment setup time by 50%.

Sr Automation Consultant

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital (Contract)
10.2019 - 03.2020
  • Developed end-to-end automation framework for in-house and third-party applications using Cucumber as a TestComplete specialist reducing QA execution cycle by 50%.
  • Acted as the single point of contact for automation POCs and process standardization across 5+ applications, reducing implementation inconsistencies by 30%.
  • Trained 7 healthcare analysts on automation scripts, driving faster adoption and maintaining operational continuity.

SDET Lead

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (Contract / TCS)
09.2009 - 09.2019
  • Pioneered QA automation frameworks and standardized processes across multiple tools, improving efficiency and test reliability.
  • Led a team of 20+, fostering cross-functional skills and alignment with project goals.
  • Implemented Ready For Business automation checks for 150+ applications, ensuring core banking stability and delivering $2M+ YTD ROI.
  • Executed functional and regression testing of mobile banking apps on iOS/Android using Perfecto Cloud, and developed automated test data management solutions to enhance coverage and accuracy.

Education

Bachelor of Engineering - Information Technology

Walchand College of Engineering
Sangli, MH
01.2009

Skills

  • Testing & Automation Tools: Selenium, Playwright, QTP/UFT, TestComplete, Protractor, Perfecto Mobile Cloud, Postman, Jenkins, GitHub, GitLab, Docker, Maven, JIRA, Quality Center/ALM, CA Agile Requirement Designer
  • Frameworks: BDD (Cucumber), TestNG, JUnit, REST Assured, Hybrid, Keyword-Driven, Data-Driven
  • Programming & Scripting Languages: Java, JavaScript, VBScript, SQL, Shell Scripting
  • Databases: SQL Server, DB2, Oracle, MS Access
  • Operating Systems: Windows, macOS, Linux, Unix, Android, iOS
  • Project & Collaboration Tools: MS Project, QlikView, SharePoint, Confluence

Websites

Certification

  • ISTQB Software Testing- Foundation Level
  • NSE-NCFM Mutual Funds: A Beginner’s Module Certification
  • NSE-NCFM Financial Markets: A Beginner’s Module Certification

Timeline

Lead Quality Assurance Engineer

Audible Inc
03.2022 - Current

QA Test Manager

UBS (Contract)
05.2020 - 03.2022

Sr Automation Consultant

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital (Contract)
10.2019 - 03.2020

SDET Lead

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (Contract / TCS)
09.2009 - 09.2019

Bachelor of Engineering - Information Technology

Walchand College of Engineering

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