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S User

@suser15

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I lead enterprise test strategy, quality governance, and automation delivery across complex programmes.

United Kingdom

Message

What I'm looking for

I'm looking to lead test strategy, quality governance, and automation delivery on complex programmes, while mentoring test teams and improving software quality through modern QA and AI-powered testing practices.

I've led test management, automation planning, and quality reporting for Boeing Defence programmes, partnering with senior leadership, business users, and delivery stakeholders.

At Sanlam, I established and managed the Delivery Test Function for a transformation programme, leading manual and automation testing across multiple projects through go-live. At SCISYS, I built the test function for a Space Ground Segment and owned automation strategy, Factory Acceptance Testing, and On-site Acceptance Testing.

Across defence, financial services, space, and public sector delivery, I bring 15+ years of hands-on experience in test strategy, defect management, risk governance, migrations, and team leadership.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Test Manager

Current

Consultancy

Jun 2026 - Present (2 months)

Define overall test automation strategy and roadmap. Design, build and maintain automation frameworks, and lead, mentor, and guide test automation engineers.

Test Automation Strategy Automation Framework Team Leadership Mentor

Test Manager / Senior Automation Test Lead

Boeing Defence

Oct 2022 - Feb 2026 (3 years 4 months)

Led test management, planning, and reporting for defence sector programmes. Collaborated with stakeholders, senior leadership, and business users, and supported hands-on defect analysis and validation.

Test Management Test Planning Test Reporting Stakeholder Management

Senior Test Manager

Sanlam

May 2020 - Oct 2022 (2 years 5 months)

Set up and managed the Delivery Test Function, leading testing across multiple projects within a Transformation Programme. Created test strategies, plans, estimations, and governance documentation, and managed both manual and automation testing approaches.

Test Management Test Strategy Test Planning Test Estimation Governance Manual Testing Testing Automation Team Leadership Line Management

Test Manager / Integration Manager

SCISYS

Nov 2017 - May 2020 (2 years 6 months)

Set up and managed the Test Function for Space Ground Segment, leading testing across Mission Control, Mission Planning, and Operations Preparation. Owned automation test strategy and software quality assurance, and managed Factory Acceptance Testing and On-site Acceptance Testing.

Test Management Test Strategy Testing Automation Software Quality Assurance Acceptance Testing

Test Manager

Phoenix Group

Jun 2017 - Nov 2017 (5 months)

Managed two concurrent projects including AXA BaNCS migration, ensuring operational readiness and governance compliance. Led defect management across multiple workstreams.

Test Management Project Management Governance

Test Manager

RB (Reiknistofa Bankanna)

Nov 2016 - Jun 2017 (7 months)

Coordinated testing across 3 major banks, supporting UAT planning, migration testing, and implementation readiness. Managed defect triage and Jira workflows, and reported progress and risks to Programme and Steering Committees.

Test Management UAT Migration Tests Jira Risk Reporting

Test Manager / Defect Manager

RBS International

Apr 2016 - Oct 2016 (6 months)

Created test plans, strategies, estimations, and completion reports. Chaired daily defect triage meetings and managed test risks and progress reporting.

Test Planning Test Strategy Test Estimation Risk Management Reporting

UAT Test Lead

CYBG

Mar 2015 - Apr 2016 (1 year 1 month)

Led UAT testing for COREP regulatory reporting programme, acting as point of contact between SIT and business teams.

UAT Regulatory Reporting Stakeholder Management

Test Lead / Consultant

Sopra Steria

Jan 2011 - Dec 2015 (4 years 11 months)

Delivered testing across financial services and public sector projects, supporting enterprise migrations and application testing.

Test Management Test Consulting Migration Tests Application Testing

Test Analyst

Capgemini

Aug 2008 - Apr 2011 (2 years 8 months)

Delivered functional and system testing across CRM and telecom applications, producing status reports and quality metrics.

Functional Testing System Testing CRM Reporting Quality

Senior Test Manager/Senior Test Automation Lead

Sonam Katakwar

Senior Test Manager with 15+ years of experience delivering complex programmes across Defence, Financial Services, Space, and Public Sector domains. Expert in test strategy, quality governance and automation testing.