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ElmondsLead QA Engineer

Elmonds Kreslins

I own test strategy and the automation that enforces it: unit, component, API and end-to-end in Playwright, Cypress and Selenium, wired into CI/CD so a failing check blocks the release. At RedQA I set the quality approach for client products including BBC and Bupa, and led six engineers at SGS. At IBM I owned a squad's Cypress architecture so coverage sat in CI before release.

Worked with

BBCBupaIBMSGSVodafoneSimplyhealthCulture Trip

01 Specialisms

What I do

Test strategy and the automation that enforces it, from unit tests through to the release gate.

  1. 01

    UI automation

    Playwright in TypeScript for new web suites. Cypress where that is already the team standard. Selenium in Java or C# where that is the existing stack. Page objects, fixtures, helpers, and cross-browser regression, structured so other engineers can extend the suite.

    Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, Jest, Storybook, page objects

  2. 02

    API testing

    REST and SOAP. Postman collections to investigate live failures, then Playwright API checks and Pact contract tests for the stable path. Functional and regression against live APIs, including the BBC news API that syndicates stories to global channels.

    REST, SOAP, Postman, Playwright API, Pact

  3. 03

    Mobile

    Manual iOS and Android testing on real devices, including exploratory coverage. Releases through Azure DevOps into TestFlight and Google Play.

    iOS, Android, TestFlight, Google Play, exploratory testing

  4. 04

    Test design

    Risk-based strategy, acceptance criteria and definition of done agreed with product before build. Exploratory testing, smoke and regression, defects through to retest. WCAG 2.2. Quality in planning, not only after the code is written.

    Risk-based strategy, acceptance criteria, WCAG 2.2

  5. 05

    CI/CD gates

    Suites on pull requests and on the path to release. Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps and GitLab, so a failing check blocks the release.

    GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, GitLab, Git

  6. 06

    Leadership

    Led a team of six at SGS. Set quality standards, sprint goals and client handovers, and delegated the work. Scrum Master for planning, stand-ups, reviews and retrospectives.

    Team of 6, quality standards, Scrum Master, client handovers

02 How I work

How coverage is built

Coverage from unit and component tests through API and end-to-end, then a CI gate so a failing check blocks the release. Exploratory testing still runs where a script would miss the risk.

  1. 01

    Unit

    Jest

    Fast feedback on the code itself

  2. 02

    Component

    Storybook

    UI reviewed in isolation

  3. 03

    API

    Postman, Pact

    Contracts and live checks

  4. 04

    End-to-end

    Playwright, Cypress, Selenium

    Real journeys, real browsers

  5. 05

    Mobile

    iOS, Android, TestFlight, Google Play

    Exploratory coverage on real devices

  6. 06

    CI gate

    GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins

    Failing checks block the release

03 Selected work

Selected engagements

Work across news, healthcare, payments and enterprise software, including the BBC, Bupa, SGS and IBM.

BBC

Global news syndication API

Functional, regression, Pact and API testing on the news API that sends stories to channels worldwide. Investigated live failures in Postman, then automated the stable checks and retested after the fix.

Bupa

Patient-facing AI chat

Worked with engineering on a clinical chat product. Shaped acceptance criteria with the team and checked answers against the knowledge base, so incorrect replies were raised as defects before release.

SGS

Led a team of six

Set quality standards and sprint goals, delegated the work, and ran a technical-debt programme that improved delivery velocity.

RedQA

Release-gating test frameworks

Playwright in TypeScript with page objects, fixtures and helpers covering UI journeys, regression and API checks, wired into GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps. Selenium in Java and C# on client stacks that already used them. Jest unit and component tests so coverage was not only end-to-end. Exploratory testing still ran where a script would miss the risk.

Payments

Stripe and checkout flows

Automated payment-system checks including Stripe: ecommerce checkout end-to-end, a successful payment and a declined or failed payment, plus authentication and core product flows.

IBM

Cypress architecture in the product team

Owned the squad's Cypress framework for functional, regression and API layers, a shift-left quality model inside the product team. Production defects fell, and other engineers could extend the suite. Scrum Master for planning, stand-ups, reviews and retrospectives, keeping coverage gaps visible.

04 Career

Experience

Independent consultancy, enterprise product teams, and earlier QA and front-end work, from 2013 to 2026.

  1. Aug 2023 - Sep 2026

    London

    RedQA

    Lead QA Engineer

    Independent consultancy. Owned test strategy, automation and exploratory testing for client products, including in-house QA tooling.

    • BBC: functional, regression, Pact and API testing on the news API that syndicates stories to global channels. Investigated live failures in Postman, then automated the stable checks and retested after the fix.
    • Bupa: worked with engineering on a patient-facing AI chat. Shaped acceptance criteria and checked answers against the clinical knowledge base.
    • SGS: led a team of 6. Set quality standards and sprint goals, delegated the work, and ran a technical-debt programme that improved delivery velocity.
    • Designed Playwright frameworks in TypeScript with page objects, fixtures and helpers covering UI journeys, regression and API checks. Wired them into GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps so a failing check blocked the release.
    • Wrote Selenium UI automation in Java and C# on client stacks that already used them, for cross-browser regression with the same page-object structure.
    • Added and reviewed Jest unit and component tests so coverage was not only end-to-end. Exploratory testing still ran where a script would miss the risk.
    • Automated payment-system checks including Stripe: ecommerce checkout end-to-end, a successful payment and a declined or failed payment, plus authentication and core product flows.
    • Manual and exploratory testing on iOS and Android, with releases through Azure DevOps into TestFlight and Google Play.

    Stack: Playwright, TypeScript, Selenium (Java, C#), Cypress, Jest, Postman, Pact, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Stripe, iOS, Android

  2. Mar 2022 - Aug 2023

    Hursley

    IBM

    Senior Developer

    Owned the squad's test architecture and Scrum Master role, a shift-left quality model inside the product team.

    • Designed and owned the Cypress framework for functional, regression and API layers. Other engineers could extend the suite instead of starting again. Production defects fell. Jest covered unit tests on the same product.
    • Wrote tests for the journeys the squad shipped, so coverage matched what had actually been built.
    • Moved quality into planning. Acceptance criteria and definition of done were agreed with product before build, which cut rework after development started.
    • Debugged failing Cypress runs, found the break, and confirmed the fix before release. Scrum Master for planning, stand-ups, reviews and retrospectives, keeping coverage gaps and release risk visible to the squad.

    Stack: Cypress, Jest, TypeScript, JavaScript (ES6+), Jenkins, Git/GitHub

  3. Jul 2021 - Nov 2021

    United Kingdom

    Culture Trip

    Frontend Developer

    Designed and maintained Cypress suites for customer journeys, so regressions failed in CI before release rather than in production.

    • Paired feature work with Cypress coverage, using Storybook for component-level checks and working to shared engineering standards with senior leads.

    Stack: Cypress, JavaScript (ES6+), Storybook, GitHub

  4. Oct 2016 - Jul 2021

    Bracknell

    Software Hub

    Senior Frontend Developer, Independent Consultancy

    QA across enterprise, healthcare, agency and e-commerce clients, including regression, cross-browser and A/B validation.

    • E-commerce: end-to-end testing of payment systems on checkouts: successful charge, decline, and the order state after each. Ran cross-browser and regression coverage on transactional platforms, including the handoff between basket, pay and confirmation.
    • Simplyhealth: validated Salesforce Lightning Web Components in a regulated healthcare environment. Worked with product owners through sprint ceremonies and explained technical constraints before a release.
    • Vodafone: designed A/B tests so a UI change was measured against conversion before a wider rollout, and ran checks on business-facing web interfaces.
    • Primrose and Space: platform testing and bug fixes.
    • RFA Advertising: tested cross-device UI for the agency's iPad application to a fixed deadline.

    Stack: JavaScript, TypeScript, Salesforce LWC, GitLab, regression and cross-browser testing, A/B testing

  5. Jul 2015 - Jul 2016

    Bracknell

    The Knowledge Academy

    Front End Developer

    Checked high-traffic pages after SEO and performance changes so layout and speed still held, across the main site and subsidiary brands.

    • Checked high-traffic pages after SEO and performance changes so layout and speed still held.

    Stack: JavaScript, jQuery, HTML5, CSS3, LESS, Git/GitHub

  6. Nov 2013 - Jun 2015

    Bracknell

    Self-employed

    IT Consultant

    Functional and performance testing for law-enforcement and enterprise systems.

    • Ran functional and performance testing on ANPR camera systems for law enforcement clients, tracing faults across hardware and software through to a retest.
    • Supported SharePoint migrations and built a knowledge base that cut repeat tickets.

    Stack: Functional testing, performance testing, SharePoint

05 Education

Education and certifications

  • 2010 - 2013

    BSc (Hons) Computer Science and Cybernetics

    University of Reading

  • 2007 - 2010

    BTEC First and National Diploma, IT Practitioners

    Bracknell and Wokingham College

  • 2006 - 2007

    BTEC First Diploma, Business

    Bracknell and Wokingham College

06 Contact

Get in touch

Available for test strategy, automation, and quality leadership.