Mousa Adolai

Senior Software Developer Engineer in Test (SDET) with 6+ years of experience designing and scaling test automation frameworks, driving CI/CD quality gates, and improving system reliability across microservices-based platforms. Proven track record of reducing regression time, increasing automation coverage, and preventing production defects through root cause analysis and continuous improvement. Experienced in Playwright, Selenium, and TestNG, with a strong focus on building maintainable, scalable test solutions. Recognized for mentoring QEs, leading code reviews, and elevating quality engineering practices across teams.

Test Automation & Frameworks: Playwright, Selenium, TestNG, BDD (Cucumber/Gherkin), API Testing

Programming & Scripting: Java, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, SQL

Debugging & Observability: Splunk, New Relic,  Root Cause Analysis, Production Issue Triage

Tools & Practices: Git (Code Reviews, Pull Requests, Branching Strategies), Postman, REST APIs, Microservices Architecture, Agile/Scrum, PostgreSQL

Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

Lincoln Financial Group — via Cognizant • 2022–Present

• Refactored and optimized an existing BDD test automation framework by replacing Excel-driven test data iteration with native Gherkin Scenario Outline and Examples, restructuring project architecture for clarity, and eliminating redundant/obsolete tests—reducing regression suite execution time by 50% and significantly improving maintainability and onboarding efficiency.
• Partnered with a frontend developer to build a modern UI automation framework using Playwright (TypeScript), replacing legacy Selenium tests and significantly improving test reliability, reducing flakiness, and enabling scalable end-to-end coverage.
• Served as a quality gate within CI/CD pipelines, owning Build Verification Suites (BVS) across multiple microservices to enforce release readiness—blocking promotion unless all critical validation tests passed.
• Led CI pipeline triage by analyzing BVS failures and performing root cause analysis to identify whether failures were caused by test issues or actual application defects, preventing faulty builds from progressing downstream and strengthening overall release stability.
• Investigated and resolved production issues using Splunk and New Relic by analyzing logs, traces, and system behavior to identify root causes, then partnered with engineering teams to implement fixes and expand test coverage to prevent recurrence.
• Mentored and onboarded 4+ QEs while providing ongoing guidance through code reviews, test design feedback, and hands-on collaboration, improving automation quality, consistency, and overall team productivity.

Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

Plus Library • 2020–2022

Associate of Science in Computer Science 

Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) • May 2021