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ElmondsSoftware Engineer in Test

Elmonds Kreslins

Software Engineer in Test. I design and write unit, component, API and end-to-end tests, from the framework through to CI/CD. Playwright and Cypress in TypeScript, Selenium in Java and C#, Postman and Pact for APIs, Jest for unit and component tests, then Jenkins, GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps so a failing build cannot reach production.

Worked with

BBCBupaIBMSGSVodafoneSimplyhealthCulture Trip

01 Specialisms

What I do

UI automation, API testing, and product engineering, from the framework 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, page objects, fixtures

  2. 02

    API testing

    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.

    Postman, Playwright API, Pact, contract tests

  3. 03

    Unit and component

    Jest and Storybook alongside the end-to-end suite, so coverage is not limited to the UI. Component checks in isolation before a journey is assembled into a page.

    Jest, Storybook, component tests

  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. Quality in planning, not only after the code is written.

    Risk-based strategy, acceptance criteria, exploratory testing

  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

    Product code

    React, Next.js, React Native and Node.js. I build the interface, then automate the same journeys, so the suite follows the product rather than observing it from outside.

    React, Next.js, React Native, Node.js, TypeScript

  7. 07

    After release

    Sentry when production still fails after the suite has passed, then root-cause in the product code. WCAG 2.2 accessibility. AI-assisted test design, reviewed before merge.

    Sentry, WCAG 2.2, root-cause, AI-assisted test design

02 How I work

How coverage is built

I began in quality engineering. After a decade finding why software fails, I also build it. Most defects I reported came from the same gaps: no types, no tests, unclear architecture, and a release process that was not trusted.

  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

    CI gate

    GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins

    Failing checks block the release

  6. 06

    Production

    Sentry, WCAG 2.2

    Monitoring and accessibility after 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. Postman collections to investigate live failures, then the stable checks automated. Defects went back to the owning developers and were 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 technical direction, sprint goals and engineering standards, 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 those tools. Jest unit and component tests so coverage was not limited to end-to-end. Manual and exploratory testing still ran where automation would miss the risk.

Payments

Stripe and checkout flows

Tested payment systems including Stripe: checkout, successful, declined and failed payments, plus authentication and core product flows, and the order state after each outcome.

IBM

Test architecture in the product codebase

Owned the squad's test architecture while shipping React and TypeScript features in the same codebase. Designed the Cypress framework for functional, regression and API layers. 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 front-end engineering, from 2013 to 2026.

  1. Aug 2023 - Sep 2026

    London

    RedQA

    Lead Software Engineer and Quality Assurance

    Independent consultancy. Owned test strategy and automation for client products.

    • BBC: functional, regression, Pact and API testing on the news API that syndicates stories to global channels. Postman collections to investigate live failures, then automated the stable checks. Defects went back to the owning developers and were 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 technical direction, sprint goals and engineering standards, delegated the work, and ran a technical-debt programme that improved delivery velocity.
    • Built 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 projects that already used those stacks, for cross-browser regression, using the same page-object structure so the suites could be extended.
    • Added and reviewed Jest unit and component tests so coverage was not limited to end-to-end. Manual and exploratory testing still ran on the same releases where automation would miss the risk.
    • Tested payment systems including Stripe: checkout, a successful payment and a declined or failed payment, plus authentication and core product flows.

    Stack: Playwright, TypeScript, Selenium (Java, C#), Cypress, Jest, Postman, Pact, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, React, Next.js, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Stripe, Sentry

  2. Mar 2022 - Aug 2023

    Hursley

    IBM

    Senior Developer

    Owned the squad's test architecture while shipping React and TypeScript features in the same codebase.

    • Designed and owned the Cypress framework for functional, regression and API layers. Production defects fell, and other engineers could extend the suite. Jest covered unit tests on the same product.
    • Shipped React and TypeScript features with product managers and designers, then wrote the tests around those journeys so coverage matched what had actually been built.
    • Brought 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 in the product code, identified the failure, 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+), React, Jenkins, Git/GitHub

  3. Jul 2021 - Nov 2021

    United Kingdom

    Culture Trip

    Frontend Developer

    Built responsive React and Next.js screens with Styled Components, working to shared engineering standards with senior leads.

    • Used Storybook for component-level checks so UI was reviewed in isolation before it landed in a page.
    • Designed and maintained Cypress suites for those customer journeys, so regressions failed in CI before release rather than in production.

    Stack: Cypress, React, Next.js, JavaScript (ES6+), Styled Components, Storybook, GitHub

  4. Oct 2016 - Jul 2021

    Bracknell

    Software Hub

    Senior Frontend Developer, Independent Consultancy

    Front-end engineering and QA for enterprise, healthcare, agency and e-commerce clients.

    • E-commerce: built checkout UI in React and tested the payment system (successful charge, decline, and the order state after each). Cross-browser and regression coverage on transactional platforms, including the handoff between basket, pay and confirmation.
    • Simplyhealth: built responsive features in Salesforce Lightning Web Components in a regulated healthcare environment. Worked with product owners through sprint ceremonies and explained technical constraints to people outside engineering before a release.
    • Vodafone: built business-facing web interfaces in JavaScript, HTML5 and SCSS, and designed A/B tests so a UI change was measured against conversion before a wider rollout.
    • Primrose and Space: React and SCSS platform development, testing and bug fixes.
    • RFA Advertising: developed and tested pixel-level, cross-device UI for the agency's iPad application (JavaScript, jQuery, CSS3, Veeva) to a fixed deadline.

    Stack: JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Salesforce LWC, HTML5, CSS3, SCSS, Webpack, GitLab, regression and cross-browser testing, A/B testing

  5. Jul 2015 - Jul 2016

    Bracknell

    The Knowledge Academy

    Front End Developer

    Shipped responsive JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS 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

06 Contact

Get in touch

Available for test strategy, automation, and product engineering.