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Mariya Ushakova

@mariyaushakova

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I lead enterprise quality engineering transformation and governed AI enablement for regulated industries.

Spain

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What I'm looking for

I'm looking to lead enterprise QE transformation and responsible AI adoption, setting quality strategy and governance while building scalable capability, automation, and measurable human-in-the-loop AI evaluation.

At DataArt, I lead enterprise Quality Engineering strategy, transformation, delivery assurance, and AI enablement for regulated financial services and financial education. I advise customers from discovery and technical scoping through solution design, deployment, and governed adoption.

I led an AI-enabled automation modernization program that compressed a three-to-four-year roadmap into six months without additional headcount. I build auditable quality gates, reconciliation and migration-assurance platforms, and human-in-the-loop evaluation approaches for LLM applications and AI agents.

Across DataArt, Ciklum, and NIX Solutions, I’ve built quality operating models, automation strategies, QE capability, and engineering standards for distributed teams. I also teach and write about AI-assisted Quality Engineering, responsible AI adoption, and the judgment needed to trust AI-assisted delivery.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Quality Engineering Manager & AI Enablement Lead

Current

DataArt

Jan 2025 - Present (1 year 8 months)

Lead enterprise Quality Engineering strategy, transformation, delivery assurance, and AI enablement across regulated financial services and financial education. Serve as accountable QE lead for distributed US and European teams and as a customer-facing technical advisor across discovery, technical scoping, presales, solution design, and deployment.
• Lead customer-facing AI-enabled QE engagements,

Quality Assurance Manager & Digital Transformation Lead

DataArt

Dec 2021 - Jan 2025 (3 years 1 month)

Led end-to-end QA strategy, delivery assurance, and quality governance across enterprise and startup engagements in financial services, education, and cybersecurity. Designed operating models aligned with product maturity, regulatory constraints, third-party dependencies, and team scale.
• Defined risk-based quality strategies covering functional and non-functional testing, release readiness, test

Quality Engineering Quality Strategy Digital Transformation Automation Modernization Solutions Architect Strategic Leadership Strategic Planning Stakeholder Management Audit Quality Assurance Analysis Quality Management QA Automation Team Management Testing Automation Agile Software Quality Assurance Requirements Analysis Technical Leadership Technical Pre Sales Consulting

Information Technology Lecturer

Hillel IT School

May 2022 - May 2023 (1 year)

Designed and delivered a cohort-based Software QA and Test Automation programme aligned with ISTQB principles for three cohorts of 25-30 entry-level learners. Built the curriculum, learning materials, hands-on labs, assessed projects and competency evaluation, taking learners from testing foundations to junior-role readiness across requirements and risk analysis, test design, Agile QA, defect mana

Coaching and Mentoring Webinar Development Quality Engineering Quality Management Software Testing Testing Automation

QA Automation Lead

Ciklum

Jan 2017 - Dec 2021 (4 years 11 months)

Owned enterprise test automation strategy and R&D across multiple product teams and delivery streams, primarily for a NASDAQ-listed data-security company building data-protection and threat-detection products.
• Owned automation strategy, target architecture and the modernization roadmap across UI, API, integration, unit and end-to-end testing, aligning automation priorities with Product, Engineer

Quality Engineering QA Automation Quality Strategy Team Management Quality Management Engineering Management Leadership Development Strategic Planning Software Quality Assurance C#.NET Agile Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)Infosec

QA Automation Tech Lead

Ciklum

Sep 2014 - Jan 2017 (2 years 4 months)

Provided technical leadership for automation architecture and framework development across complex software products.
• Designed and evolved reusable automation solutions for UI, API, integration, and regression testing.
• Established test-code review standards, reusable components, execution and reporting practices, and CI/CD integration.
• Supported automation adoption across product teams and m

QA Automation Infosec Team Management C#.NET Agile Quality Strategy Software Quality Assurance Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)Quality Engineering Testing Automation Strategic Planning

IT Trainer

Oracle

Jan 2013 - Dec 2015 (2 years 11 months)

Designed and delivered an ISTQB-aligned Software Quality Assurance and C#/.NET Test Automation program for eight cohorts of 25-30 participants. Owned curriculum design, instructional materials, practical labs, and assessments covering testing principles, requirements and risk analysis, test design techniques, Agile quality practices, defect management, and automation fundamentals. Combined structu

Coaching and Mentoring Training Software Quality Assurance Quality Engineering Quality Management Testing Automation Curriculum Development

Mentor

NIX Solutions Ltd.

Jan 2012 - Sep 2014 (2 years 8 months)

Mentored junior QA and automation engineers through structured onboarding, technical guidance, test and code reviews, troubleshooting, and knowledge sharing. I supported the development of practical testing, automation, and client-communication skills through individual feedback and guidance on day-to-day delivery work.

Coaching and Mentoring Webinar Development Quality Engineering Software Quality Assurance Testing Automation .NET C#

QA Automation Engineer

NIX Solutions Ltd.

Jan 2010 - Sep 2014 (4 years 8 months)

Developed and maintained automated regression tests and reusable C#/.NET automation framework components. My work included test utilities, execution configurations, test data, reporting, test-code reviews, technical troubleshooting, CI integration, and automation reliability.

Quality Assurance QA Automation Team Management C#.NET Agile Software Quality Assurance Quality Engineering Testing Automation Quality Management

Software QA Engineer

NIX Solutions Ltd.

Dec 2009 - May 2010 (5 months)

Delivered functional, exploratory, integration, regression, and release testing across enterprise software applications. I translated requirements and quality risks into test coverage, maintained traceability, managed defect reporting and verification, and supported release-readiness decisions.

Quality Assurance Test Management Software Quality Assurance Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)Quality Engineering Manual Testing Quality Management