Vishak Kalikot
Wilmington
Summary
Seasoned QA/Test Lead with over 10 years of experience driving test strategy, leading cross-functional QA teams, and delivering high-quality software across enterprise environments. Expert in automation frameworks, functional testing, and quality governance. Adept at defining test approaches, improving QA processes, and ensuring seamless delivery across Agile release cycles. Known for strengthening automation coverage, reducing defect leakage, and partnering with stakeholders to align quality outcomes with business goals.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
3
3
Certifications
Work History
Lead QA/Test Lead
Apexon-Chase
Wilmington
06.2023 - 02.2025
- Led QA teams across monthly release cycles, ensuring complete test coverage, on-time delivery, and adherence to quality gates.
- Defined and executed test strategies for new features, enhancements, and regression cycles.
- Directed automation initiatives and guided the team in building a scalable regression automation suite, improving coverage, and reducing manual effort.
- Analyzed high-volume production logs to reconstruct end-to-end customer journeys, identifying critical friction points that led to an 80% improvement in user retention and task completion rates.
- Oversaw test planning, estimation, resource allocation, and daily QA operations.
- Collaborated with product owners, developers, and business teams across multiple locations to ensure alignment on requirements and acceptance criteria.
- Monitored post-deployment performance, and validated production stability.
- Reported quality metrics, defect trends, and release readiness to senior leadership.
- Worked directly with customers to define quality expectations and ensure product acceptance.
Lead QA/Test Lead
Mphasis-FRB
Bengaluru,California
10.2019 - 06.2023
- Led QA activities across multiple application streams, ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality releases.
- Developed test plans, test scenarios, and automation scripts to support sprint and regression testing.
- Led automation testing efforts for software applications and systems.
- Participated in requirement-gathering sessions with senior management and business stakeholders.
- Oversaw defect triage, prioritization, and resolution through cross-team collaboration.
- Worked with Agile and Scrum methodologies to accomplish project milestones and meet demanding timelines.
- Prepared year-end quality reports, and presented key insights to leadership.
- Coordinated with onshore teams to align priorities, timelines, and release goals.
Functional Tester
Mphasis-Chase
Bengaluru,Texas
04.2013 - 09.2019
- Developed test cases based on functional requirements and specifications.
- Developed automated test scripts using Selenium and Java for web applications.
- Worked on various source frameworks, such as Cucumber and Appium, for automating mobile apps.
- Executed test plans to identify software defects and performance issues.
- Assisted in the creation of automated testing scripts using industry tools.
- Conducted regression testing to verify software updates and fixes.
- Assisted with defect tracking, reporting, and performed appropriate corrective actions and adjustments.
- Collaborated with development teams to investigate the root causes of bugs found during testing activities.
- Attended regular meetings with stakeholders to discuss progress on projects, and any arising issues.
- Advanced proficiency in XPath and CSS Selectors for precise element identification, DOM traversal, and automated data extraction.
- Set up automation frameworks, tools, and methodology to assist future users and streamline automation.
- Executed web services API calls through Postman and SoapUI to validate data integrity between systems.
Education
Master of Science - Computer Applications
SCMS School of Engineering And Technology
Kerala, IndiaSkills
- Test leadership and team management
- Test strategy, planning, and estimation
- Automation framework design (Selenium, Java) - functional, regression, and cross-browser testing - mobile app testing
- CI/CD integration (Git, Bitbucket)
- WireMock and service virtualization
- Defect governance and quality metrics
- SDLC and Agile/Scrum delivery
- Risk identification and mitigation
- Customer and stakeholder collaboration
- Release readiness and quality gate management
- Monitor production logs
- Multiple software tool proficiencies (LLM, Splunk, Lucid, Snow)
Certification
Mphasis Internal Scrum Certified
Accomplishments
Chase- CDFO Top Performer - Q2 to Q4 2024
Timeline
Lead QA/Test Lead
Apexon-Chase
06.2023 - 02.2025
Lead QA/Test Lead
Mphasis-FRB
10.2019 - 06.2023
Functional Tester
Mphasis-Chase
04.2013 - 09.2019
Master of Science - Computer Applications
SCMS School of Engineering And Technology