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Tahir Bashir

@tahirbashir

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QA Engineering leader and Principal SDET driving automation and quality at scale.

United Kingdom

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What I'm looking for

I seek leadership roles where I can scale QA teams, embed automation in CI/CD, drive quality strategy, mentor engineers, and align testing with business and regulatory objectives in enterprise environments.

I am a strategic and results-driven QA Engineering leader and Principal SDET with 12+ years transforming quality practices across Energy, Finance, Government, and Retail sectors. I specialise in scaling QA teams, architecting enterprise-grade automation frameworks, and embedding automation into CI/CD pipelines.

At Shell Energy I led portfolio QA for trading platforms across 13 teams (30+ engineers), delivered 95% regression automation coverage and 100% API validation, and reduced deployment risk by 75% through shift-left practices and CI/CD quality gates. I have led major programmes at Vanquis Bank, BSI, EasyJet, NHS Wales, and others, applying performance testing, security-first testing, and AI/LLM-assisted test generation.

I combine deep technical expertise (C#, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Playwright, Selenium, Postman, JMeter, Azure DevOps) with strategic leadership—mentoring engineers, building centres of excellence, and providing C-level visibility via QA dashboards to align quality with business objectives.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Portfolio QA Manager

Current

Shell Energy Retail UK

Jan 2022 - Present (4 years 7 months)

Led enterprise QA transformation for critical power trading and LNG freight platforms across 13 cross-functional teams (30+ engineers), embedding automation and CI/CD quality gates that reduced deployment risk by 75% and improved regression automation coverage to 95%.

QA Strategy Playwright C++Azure DevOps CI CD Testing Automation

Senior SDET Consultant

BSI

Jun 2019 - Jul 2025 (6 years 1 month)

Modernised eCommerce and publishing platform testing, introducing cross-platform automation and load testing that reduced release incidents and improved platform stability during peak certification periods.

TestCafe Playwright Azure DevOps JMeter Load Testing Security Testing CI CD

Principal Automation Engineer

Vanquis Bank

May 2019 - Feb 2022 (2 years 9 months)

Led QA automation for PSD2 Open Banking transformation, delivering comprehensive API and security validation, ETL testing and CI/CD integration to ensure FCA regulatory compliance across banking services.

Selenium SpecFlow NUnit HttpClient Postman Azure DevOps ETL Regulatory Compliance Security Testing

SDET Consultant

NHS Wales

Apr 2019 - Nov 2019 (7 months)

Led QA for a national digital health platform, delivering API and UI automation, accessibility (WCAG 2.1) testing and integration into DevOps pipelines to ensure readiness for NHS-wide deployments under tight regulatory deadlines.

Postman Selenium NUnit Accessibility Testing Pa11y CI CD Healthcare Compliance

Senior QA Automation Engineer

Preqin

Dec 2018 - May 2019 (5 months)

Led test automation for an investment data platform redesign, implementing CI/CD-integrated regression suites and Pact service validation to ensure data integrity across front-end and backend systems.

Testing Automation Selenium Playwright SpecFlow Azure DevOps Pact CI CD Data Integrity

Senior SDET Consultant

EasyJet

Apr 2018 - Jul 2018 (3 months)

Architected QA automation for a next-gen commercial booking platform, integrating extensive regression and performance testing into CI pipelines to prevent booking and payment failures during peak demand.

C++Selenium Playwright Postman Jenkins JMeter Performance Testing Accessibility Testing

BI & Lead Automation Engineer

Trace One

May 2017 - Apr 2018 (11 months)

Led automation for BI applications, designing ETL and data reconciliation testing frameworks that reduced manual validation and improved delivery efficiency across global retail partnerships.

SpecFlow NUnit SQL ETL Offshore Collaboration Mentorship Testing Automation

Software Test Specialist

ParentPay

Mar 2016 - May 2017 (1 year 2 months)

Led QA for a secure school payments platform, building automated regression suites and API tests to maintain PCI DSS compliance and improve release stability for payment workflows.

Selenium Webdriver NUnit Postman HttpClient PCI DSS Payment Testing Testing Automation

Test Automation Engineer

NobiPay

Apr 2014 - Jan 2016 (1 year 9 months)

Delivered QA for web and mobile payment platforms, focusing on secure money transfer and transaction processing automation to ensure reliable financial operations.

Mobile Testing Web Testing Payment Systems Security Testing Testing Automation

QA Test Engineer

British Engines

Aug 2013 - Jan 2014 (5 months)

Conducted specialised testing of subsea emergency shutdown valves and high-pressure control systems for oil & gas applications, ensuring compliance with engineering safety standards.

Hardware Testing Systems Testing Subsea Systems Quality Assurance