Mihail is available for hire
Hire MihailMihail Nedkov
Verified Expert in Engineering
Quality Assurance Engineer and Developer
Location
Sofia, Bulgaria
Toptal Member Since
December 14, 2022
Mihail is a seasoned software engineer and architect with more than 15 years of experience. He is passionate about software quality and is highly specialized in the automation of infrastructure (AWS and Terraform), deployments (CI/CD), testing (Playwright and JavaScript), and test environments (Docker and Kubernetes). Mihail has a proven track record of building bespoke automation solutions for companies like Ericsson, Bank of Ireland, and Dun & Bradstreet.
Portfolio
Freelance
Java, Selenium, Kubernetes, REST Assured, Docker, Amazon Web Services (AWS)...
Ebury
Java, Python, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Terraform, Ansible, Docker...
Accenture
Selenium, Amazon Web Services (AWS), JBehave, Cucumber, Appium, Teradata, Java...
Experience
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes, Playwright, JavaScript, Selenium, Java
The most amazing...
...project I've developed is a bespoke platform for test automation that dramatically reduced the time and effort required to build comprehensive test suites.
Work Experience
QA Lead
2021 - PRESENT
Freelance
- Assisted software companies in developing an automation-first QA process aligned with industry standards and best practices.
- Engineered a bespoke platform to support infrastructure, deployment, and testing automation.
- Developed fully automated infrastructure-as-a-code scripts for AWS.
- Built CI pipelines for Jenkins following the pipeline-as-a-code approach.
- Materialized versatile Java and JavaScript frameworks to test web, mobile, and API applications.
- Created performance and security testing solutions.
Technologies: Java, Selenium, Kubernetes, REST Assured, Docker, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cypress, Appium, Linux, Databases, Networking, SQL, Integration Testing, Java 11, Relational Databases, Unit Testing, PostgreSQL, Git, Ubuntu, Bash Script, Quality Assurance (QA), QA Automation, QA Leadership, Manual QA, QA Testing, Automated Testing, Regression Testing, Node.js, Testing, Test Automation, Automation, Best Practices, Apache JMeter, API Testing, DevOps, JavaScript, Playwright, Quality Auditing, Postman, Test Planning, E2E Testing, Bash
QA Lead
2020 - 2021
Ebury
- Defined the roadmap for automation in the company to improve quality and lower time-to-market.
- Assembled and directed a high-performing, cross-functional automation team working across several projects.
- Developed a comprehensive test automation solution for Salesforce aiming at zero critical defects in production.
- Rewrote a legacy Cypress test automation solution, dramatically improving the system's quality under test.
- Created elaborate CI pipelines that incorporate multiple quality gates and guarantee consistent quality of the system under test.
- Migrated the system under test from Docker Compose to Kubernetes to allow easy creation of disposable test environments.
Technologies: Java, Python, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Terraform, Ansible, Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes, Jenkins, Cypress, Tilt, Grafana, ELK (Elastic Stack), Salesforce DX, Linux, Databases, Networking, Data Warehousing, Agile, Integration Testing, Java 11, Relational Databases, Spring Boot, Unit Testing, Git, Ubuntu, Quality Assurance (QA), QA Automation, QA Leadership, Manual QA, QA Testing, Automated Testing, Regression Testing, TestRail, Testing, Test Automation, Automation, Best Practices, API Testing, DevOps, Quality Auditing, Postman, Test Planning, E2E Testing
Test Automation Architect
2017 - 2018
Accenture
- Joined Accenture as a contractor working on-site for Bank of Ireland.
- Defined the bank's general testing and automation strategy by creating road maps.
- Developed multiple test automation solutions for web, mobile, desktop, REST, and database applications, improving the quality of critical bank systems.
- Implemented several CI/CD pipelines improving the existing release process and reducing software delivery time from days to minutes.
- Coached several teams in the bank on testing and automation.
Technologies: Selenium, Amazon Web Services (AWS), JBehave, Cucumber, Appium, Teradata, Java, SikuliX, Windows, Databases, Data Warehousing, Integration Testing, Java 11, Relational Databases, Spring Boot, Unit Testing, Git, Quality Assurance (QA), QA Automation, QA Leadership, Manual QA, QA Testing, Automated Testing, Regression Testing, Testing, Test Automation, Automation, Best Practices, API Testing, Quality Auditing, Postman, Test Planning, E2E Testing
Senior Software Development Engineer in Test
2015 - 2017
Dun & Bradstreet
- Worked as a contractor to build test automation solutions for REST APIs, Hadoop systems, and web applications.
- Started as the first automation engineer and gradually built and led a team of five engineers.
- Coached and mentored new team members to develop their skills and exceed performance goals.
- Eliminated manual testing thoroughly for the REST API system to enable short delivery cycles.
- Improved the development process extensively for the Hadoop system by introducing a Java-based automation solution.
- Operated in close collaboration with developers and architects to define the architecture for automation.
Technologies: REST, Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Cucumber, Hadoop, HBase, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AngularJS, Selenium WebDriver, Windows, Java, Databases, Data Warehousing, Agile, SQL, Integration Testing, Java 11, Relational Databases, Spring Boot, Unit Testing, Mockito, Git, Bash Script, Quality Assurance (QA), QA Automation, QA Leadership, Manual QA, QA Testing, Automated Testing, Regression Testing, TestRail, Testing, Test Automation, Automation, Best Practices, API Testing, DevOps, Quality Auditing, Test Planning, E2E Testing, Bash
Senior Java Developer
2014 - 2015
Tecnotree
- Worked as a contractor in the Java team, building a charging solution for mobile users.
- Mentored and supported team members, helping them to transition from C programming language to Java.
- Built completely independently the NSN Payment Agent application, which received requests for charging mobile subscribers over the Diameter protocol and then made a CORBA request against the charging server.
- Implemented a thorough JUnit test suite due to the crucial need for quality in mobile charging applications.
- Completed multiple performance tests using Seagull to prove the system will remain stable under tremendous load.
Technologies: Java, CORBA, JUnit, Seagull BarTender, Windows, Integration Testing, Java 11, Relational Databases, Unit Testing, Git, QA Automation, QA Testing, Automated Testing, Regression Testing, Testing, Test Automation, Automation, Best Practices
Senior Java Developer
2011 - 2014
Ericsson
- Joined Ericsson as a contractor and played an instrumental role in building new systems from the beginning.
- Received a permanent position after the successful completion of the first system.
- Worked across several projects, including the KPI Notifications and CEP Mediation and Services, providing technical leadership on the architecture and implementation.
- Identified bottlenecks in the CEP Mediation system and implemented performance improvements.
- Proposed and implemented a complete automated test framework that proved crucial for finding regressions.
- Provided support and mentoring for junior members of the team.
Technologies: Java, JEE, Hadoop, Hazelcast, JMS, Esper, Apache Hive, Jenkins, Windows, Databases, Data Warehousing, Agile, SQL, Integration Testing, Java 11, Relational Databases, Unit Testing, Mockito, Git, QA Automation, QA Testing, Automated Testing, Regression Testing, Testing, Test Automation, Automation, Best Practices
Java Spring Developer
2010 - 2011
Vereo
- Worked in a small, close-knit, high-performing team that implemented a comprehensive web portal from inception.
- Contributed to all system modules and implemented about one-third of the Java Server Faces (JSF) pages.
- Implemented independently the functionality for taking online tests in the E-Learning portal.
- Took responsibility for delivering the end-to-end solution to the client.
- Conducted significant overtime (over 55 hours a week) to meet tight deadlines.
Technologies: Java, Spring, JSF, Web Services, Hibernate, JavaScript, CSS, Linux, Databases, Networking, Agile, SQL, Java 11, Relational Databases, Spring Boot, Unit Testing, PostgreSQL, Git, Ubuntu, QA Testing, Testing, Automation
Java Struts Developer
2009 - 2010
Codix
- Worked in the extranet team, which handled a Jakarta EE (JEE) web system to manage the entire debt collection process.
- Implemented many pages utilizing the Struts and Tiles tag libraries.
- Introduced the corresponding business logic utilizing the Apache Struts framework.
- Helped the front-end team with tasks for writing JavaScript and CSS.
- Mastered new technologies quickly, such as Struts with Tiles.
Technologies: Java, Apache Struts, Apache Tiles, PL/SQL, JavaScript, CSS, Linux, Databases, SQL, Java 11, Relational Databases, Unit Testing
Java Developer
2008 - 2009
Freelance
- Developed a web-based application for selling clothes online from the ground up entirely independently.
- Implemented a web crawler that found clothes with highly reduced prices online so that they could be added to the website.
- Launched the application six months after inception and managed the entire technical operation of the system.
- Mastered new technologies quickly, such as JSF, JEE, JPA, and MySQL.
Technologies: JEE, JSF, JPA, Hibernate, MySQL, CSS, JBoss AS, Windows, Java, Databases, SQL, Java 11, Relational Databases, Unit Testing, PostgreSQL
Java Developer
2005 - 2008
Amadeus
- Worked in the core business logic team building a Java web application that supported flight, hotel, car, and rail bookings.
- Enhanced the grid pricing functionality, which combined flights from different providers for optimal prices among the multiple development tasks on the back end using Java.
- Completed numerous development tasks on the front end using JavaScript and CSS, such as features to add special equipment like child seats to the car reservation.
- Wrote multiple PL/SQL procedures for various tasks.
Technologies: Java, Jakarta Server Pages (JSP), Java Servlets, PL/SQL, JavaScript, CSS, Linux, Databases, Networking, Agile, SQL, Java 11, Relational Databases, Unit Testing, Ubuntu, Bash Script
Experience
Defensor
Defensor was a platform for building tailored test automation solutions following the behavior-driven development (BDD) approach. It provided capabilities for deployment automation and several types of test automation such as web, API, performance, etc.
Salesforce Automation System
The salesforce test automation solution is a versatile software system that consists of a Java engine for executing BDD scenarios, API calls, SQL queries, and multiple CI pipelines for deploying the Salesforce application and running the UI, API, performance, and security tests.
Hadoop Automation
The Hadoop test automation solution is an elegant software system for testing Hadoop-based applications. The test automation solution generates some input files for the Hadoop MapReduce job, feeds them into the system under test, and verifies the results in HBase.
Education
2008 - 2010
Master's Degree in Software Engineering
Sofia University - Sofia, Bulgaria
2002 - 2006
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
Sofia University - Sofia, Bulgaria
Certifications
DECEMBER 2022 - PRESENT
ISTQB Certified Tester, Foundation Level
ISTQB
JUNE 2015 - PRESENT
Oracle Certified Master JEE Architect
Oracle
OCTOBER 2012 - PRESENT
Oracle Certified Java Professional
Oracle
Skills
Languages
Java, SQL, Java 11, JavaScript, CSS, Bash Script, Python, Bash
Frameworks
Jakarta Server Pages (JSP), JSF, JPA, Hibernate, Apache Struts, Apache Tiles, Spring, JUnit, AngularJS, JBehave, Appium, Cypress, Selenium, Spring Boot, Hadoop, Mockito
Libraries/APIs
Java Servlets, JMS, Selenium WebDriver, Node.js, Playwright
Tools
Jenkins, Cucumber, Docker Compose, REST Assured, Git, TestRail, Postman, SikuliX, Gatling Load Testing, Terraform, Ansible, Grafana, ELK (Elastic Stack), Salesforce DX, Apache JMeter
Paradigms
Agile, Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Unit Testing, Automated Testing, Testing, Test Automation, Automation, Best Practices, E2E Testing, DevOps, REST
Platforms
Linux, Windows, JEE, Docker, Ubuntu, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes, Firebase
Storage
Databases, Hazelcast, PostgreSQL, Relational Databases, PL/SQL, MySQL, JBoss AS, Apache Hive, HBase, Amazon DynamoDB, Teradata
Other
Networking, Architecture, Web Services, Tilt, Integration Testing, Quality Assurance (QA), QA Automation, QA Leadership, Manual QA, QA Testing, Regression Testing, API Testing, Quality Auditing, Test Planning, Esper, CORBA, Seagull BarTender, User Experience (UX), Data Warehousing, VM, APIs, QA Test Plan Management
Collaboration That Works
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
1
Share your needs
Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2
Choose your talent
Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3
Start your risk-free talent trial
Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring