# whoami
Kirill Pavlov — QA Lead @ CROC
# summary
Fullstack QA Engineer with 7+ years on large enterprise projects. I build test automation frameworks from scratch (Python + PyTest), set up CI/CD pipelines, run load testing, and lead QA teams. Actively bringing AI tooling into the testing process. I combine technical QA with UX analysis and prototyping in Figma — catching bottlenecks before development starts. ISTQB Advanced Level (Test Manager) certified.
# highlights
- Built QA processes from scratch on several projects: from manual testing to UI, API and load test automation integrated into GitLab CI
- Introduced a shift-left approach: design-stage prototype reviews cut UI defects by 30–40% before development starts
- Built Python + PyTest + Playwright/Selenium automation frameworks for 3+ large projects
- Integrated AI tools into QA: faster test-plan generation, documentation assistants
- Automated AI model response verification with a second LLM — replaced manual review with a scalable quality-evaluation pipeline
- Ran end-to-end load testing of a gamification system (Locust): fixed bottlenecks that caused crashes at 200 users — the system now reliably handles 1,000–2,000 users, a 5–10x gain
- Mentored 5+ testers; grew Middle and Senior engineers within the team
# experience
QA Lead · CROC · Jan 2025 — present
- QA team management: hiring, task setting, quality control, career development
- Mentoring testers: technical interviews, career tracks within the team
- Presales: test effort estimation, QA strategy for new projects
- Release management: cross-team coordination, go/no-go decisions, stakeholder reporting, demos
- AI tooling in QA processes: documentation assistant, AI-generated test plans
- Automated AI response verification with a second LLM — a scalable quality-evaluation pipeline instead of manual review
- Championing shift-left at the process level: prototype reviews before development, backlog grooming
Senior QA · CROC · Nov 2021 — Jan 2025
- Designed and built UI/E2E automation frameworks: Python + PyTest + Selenium/Playwright; Page Object Model, custom fixtures and conftest structure
- API test automation (PyTest, Postman, Bruno): REST and SOAP coverage
- Load testing with Locust and JMeter: scenarios, load profiles, bottleneck analysis
- Load-tested a gamification system end to end (Locust) — 5–10x capacity gain after fixes
- CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI, Jenkins): test runs, reports, notifications
- Created and reviewed UI prototypes (Figma) before development — 2–3x fewer UI defects
Middle QA · CROC · Jan 2020 — Oct 2021
- Test strategy upkeep, planning and effort estimation
- Usability testing; interactive prototypes in Figma / Adobe XD
- UI prototype reviews — catching contradictions and bottlenecks before development
- Testing BPM systems (BPMSoft CRM) and DWH (SSAS/MSSQL/PostgreSQL): data validation, ETL checks
- First automation frameworks on PyTest: smoke and regression autotests
- Cross-system integrations: event chains, message queues
Junior QA · CROC · Sep 2018 — Jan 2020
- Functional spec analysis, test case design, test plans
- Functional, smoke, regression and integration testing of web and mobile apps
- Defect logging and triage, test result reporting
# skills
- Automation: Python, PyTest, Playwright, Selenium, Allure
- API: Postman, Bruno, SoapUI, REST, Fiddler
- Load testing: Locust, Apache JMeter
- CI/CD & tooling: GitLab CI, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Docker, Git, TFS
- Data: SQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, SSAS
- Platforms: BPMSoft CRM, MS Dynamics CRM
- Test management: TestIT, TestRail, Jira, Confluence
- Design & UX: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD / Photoshop / Illustrator
# education
MSc, Computer Science and Engineering · Russian Technological University (MIREA), Moscow · 2020
BSc, Software Engineering · Russian Technological University (MIREA), Moscow · 2018
# certifications
ISTQB Advanced Level Test Manager · 2021 · ID: 13424-1
ISTQB Foundation Level · 2020 · ID: 78207
# languages
Russian · native
English · B1, intermediate