
Daniel Kneller
Verified Expert in Engineering
QA Engineer and Developer
Alameda, CA, United States
Toptal member since October 3, 2025
Daniel is a QA engineer with over 10 years of experience in manual and functional testing, working with Agile and Scrum teams. He is skilled in test planning, API/UI testing, and SDLC best practices. Daniel is passionate about leveraging AI and modern QA methodologies to enhance efficiency and product quality, while fostering collaboration and keeping the company's mission at the forefront.
Portfolio
Experience
- Regression - 11 years
- Android - 8 years
- iOS - 8 years
- MacOS - 8 years
- Jira - 7 years
- Postman - 5 years
- Firmware Testing - 4 years
- Accessibility - 4 years
Preferred Environment
MacOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Postman, Jira, Ubuntu Linux, Pivotal Tracker, GitHub, Jenkins
The most amazing...
...thing I've created is the QA process and QMS as the first QA for an app that later received two FDA clearances for use as a CBT in treating chronic diseases.
Work Experience
QA Analyst II
DealPath
- Headed QA efforts for SaaS application releases, reducing post-release defects by 25% and lowering customer-reported issues by 30%.
- Authored and executed structured validation procedures, documenting inspection and test results to support release compliance and audit readiness.
- Implemented comprehensive quality strategies across multiple projects, creating more than 2,000 test cases that increased coverage by 25%.
- Leveraged Jira, TestRail, Beeceptor, and Postman to perform verification and validation, improving the accuracy of API/webhook testing by 20%.
- Introduced load and performance testing processes, identifying bottlenecks and preventing outages while capturing and logging inspection data.
Senior SDET
TikTok
- Designed and executed verification and validation test plans for accessibility features, improving reliability by 25% and ensuring compliance with accessibility standards.
- Authored SOPs, test documentation, and onboarding guides, reducing the new QA member ramp-up time from 25 days to 2 weeks.
- Coordinated regression and feature inspection efforts across QA team members, increasing throughput by 40% without compromising quality.
- Monitored and reported on system performance and security compliance data, ensuring adherence to internal policies and regulatory frameworks.
Software/Hardware QA Engineer
NVIDIA
- Performed hardware inspections, calibration routines, and verification testing on autonomous vehicle sensor systems, reducing measurement variance by 15% and ensuring compliance with DOT standards.
- Executed in-vehicle inspection and testing plans, creating 78 new test cases for mapping/localization that boosted accuracy by 20%.
- Established equipment calibration processes, reducing failed calibrations and documenting compliance for regulatory audits.
- Partnered with hardware, calibration, and operations teams to ensure traceability of materials, equipment, and inspection results.
Software QA Engineer
Better Therapeutics
- Conducted verification, validation, and inspection testing of mobile applications and biomarker devices, improving result reliability by 20% and supporting FDA clearance of two digital therapeutics.
- Authored and maintained QMS-compliant documentation for test cases, SOPs, and validation results to meet regulatory and audit requirements.
- Partnered with vendors to manage regression suite coverage and inspection documentation, reducing production bugs by 25%.
- Supported device deployment, inventory, and traceability processes, ensuring quality control and regulatory compliance under QMS standards.
Software/Hardware QA Engineer
Blackfire Research
- Authored and executed more than 650 test cases for audio/visual hardware, reducing synchronization defects by 15% and improving signal reliability by 20%.
- Performed environmental, RF chamber, and performance tests, identifying packet loss issues and improving signal integrity by 30%.
- Validated OTA updates, firmware flashing processes, and calibration schedules, reducing downtime and ensuring compliance with ISO standards.
- Maintained test equipment inventory and calibration records, producing audit-ready documentation for inspection and compliance reviews.
Experience
Interaction Matrix
This matrix became the source of truth and ended all the confusion. It also received multiple positive mentions at the retro after the feature was released.
Later, whenever a complex feature was planned, my interaction matrix would be used as a template.
Skills
Tools
Jira, Postman, Pivotal Tracker, TestRail, GitHub, Jenkins, Wireshark, Multimeters, Looker, PyCharm, Confluence
Platforms
MacOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Ubuntu Linux
Paradigms
HIPAA Compliance
Languages
Python
Other
Agile QA, Regression, Performance Testing, Documentation, RF Chamber Testing, Accessibility, CPR Certified, Firmware Testing, OTA testing, Wifi Analyzer, Oscilloscopes & Tester Equipment, Wifi Signal Attenuation, Soldering, Quality Management Systems (QMS), Autonomous Navigation, Mapping, Localization Testing, Calibration, Beeceptor
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