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Juvarne Hinson

@juvarnehinson

Principal SDET and Quality Engineering leader building deterministic test automation and CI/CD validation systems for complex distributed software.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I want to lead SDET and quality engineering work building deterministic automation frameworks and CI/CD quality gates, using simulation-driven validation for mission-critical distributed and embedded systems, with strong collaboration and measurable quality outcomes.

I’m a Principal SDET and Quality Engineering leader with 10+ years of experience designing scalable automation frameworks, CI/CD validation pipelines, and system-level test architectures. I focus on deterministic, maintainable automation systems integrated into CI/CD pipelines, especially for complex distributed and embedded software.

In recent leadership roles, I’ve improved software quality and delivery speed, including reducing regression cycles by 50%, increasing automation coverage by 40%, and decreasing post-release defects by 60%. I architect layered automation frameworks and CI/CD quality gates that enable repeatable, scalable validation across distributed system components.

I build end-to-end validation strategies across firmware, UI, and mission workflows, and I use simulation-driven testing (including PX4 SITL) to catch defects earlier and reduce reliance on manual validation. I also mentor QA engineers in test architecture, automation framework design, and root cause analysis practices.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

QA Engineering Manager

Current

Experience Performance Drone Works

Nov 2025 - Present (6 months)

Led quality engineering strategy and CI/CD automation architecture for UAV flight and ground control platforms, cutting regression testing time by 50%. Increased automation coverage by 40% and reduced post-release defects by 60% by enforcing deterministic pre-release quality gates using simulation-driven validation.

Pytest Playwright Qt Squish GitHub Actions Quality Gates Test Architecture Deterministic Automation

Senior Software QA Engineer

Experience Performance Drone Works

Aug 2023 - Oct 2025 (2 years 2 months)

Developed and maintained Python-based automation frameworks for system-level validation of PX4 flight firmware and QGroundControl applications. Built simulation-driven test coverage using PX4 SITL to catch edge cases earlier and integrated automation into CI/CD pipelines to reduce manual validation effort.

Pytest Python PX4 System Level Testing API Testing CI CD Pipelines Test Strategy

Test Engineer IV

Hyster-Yale Group WPDC

Aug 2019 - Jul 2023 (3 years 11 months)

Built automated test frameworks for embedded industrial control systems, reducing validation cycle time by 40%. Led system-level validation and root cause analysis to improve reliability and release stability for complex embedded software.

Embedded Systems Testing Testing Frameworks Test Strategy Root Cause Analysis Reliability Engineering

Software Engineer

DKW Communications

Jan 2015 - Jul 2019 (4 years 6 months)

Contributed to software development and validation across defense-oriented systems throughout the SDLC, improving system reliability, testability, and maintainability. Collaborated with engineering teams on debugging, validation, and system integration efforts to support successful releases.

Software Development SDLC Debugging System Integration Validation Reliability Engineering Testability Improvements