Hello, I'm

Yuliia Diakova

QA Manager ยท Head of QA

๐Ÿ“ Amsterdam, Netherlands

Experienced quality leader with 15 years in QA, specializing in building QA teams and processes from scratch. Translator turned technologist โ€” with the precision of language and the rigor of engineering.

About Me

I'm energized by first-of-their-kind projects - the ones where there's no playbook yet.

I don't just follow processes โ€” I evolve them. When I see a gap, I move from execution to solution design, applying deep critical thinking to every challenge I take on.

Shifting priorities, rapid change, undefined parameters? That's Tuesday. I stay focused and effective when things get ambiguous, because clarity is something you create, not something you wait for.

I act as a trusted advisor to stakeholders โ€” building confidence through advocacy, persuasive communication, and consistently delivering on what I commit to.

Risk isn't something I react to โ€” I navigate it proactively. I identify downstream impacts early and architect solutions that protect the integrity of the project before problems surface.

I've mastered the art of remote collaboration. I value deep work and asynchronous communication, and I've built teams that thrive in distributed environments.

I give and receive direct, data-driven feedback โ€” even when it's uncomfortable. Because that's how teams get better.

What I Do

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Quality Leadership

Test strategy, risk-based testing, QA culture building, release management, CI/CD pipeline quality

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People Management

Team building (3โ€“15 engineers), mentoring, OKR frameworks, performance development, hiring, cross-functional alignment

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Process & Methodology

Agile/Scrum, sprint planning, grooming, retrospectives, 3 Amigos, RCA, release management

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Tools & Technology

Playwright, Jira, Confluence, Zephyr, BrowserStack, Postman, Microsoft Project, DevTools

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Domain Expertise

FinTech/digital banking, logistics technology, enterprise platforms, regulatory compliance, multi-product environments

Experience

QA Lead & People Manager

Access Softek 2017 โ€“ Present
  • FinTech/digital banking serving 400+ US financial institutions
  • Built the complete QA function from zero
  • Promoted to QA Lead within 3 months for two core products: OAO and Lending
  • Introduced Agile methodology, 3-week sprints, and structured documentation
  • Established feature matrices, structured bug reports, 3 Amigos meetings, and risk-based testing
  • Halved release cycles โ€” from 6 weeks to 3 weeks
  • People Manager for the full QA chapter (3โ€“5 engineers)
  • Used OKR frameworks for individual growth planning
  • Grew junior hires into senior positions
  • Managed the full hiring cycle

QA Engineer

PLS Logistics 2016 โ€“ 2017
  • Hands-on QA in logistics tech on two-week Agile sprints
  • Functional, UAT, smoke, exploratory, and system testing
  • Structured test cases and bug reports

QA Engineer & Team Lead

Elephant Head Software 2010 โ€“ 2016
  • Built QA practices from scratch
  • Worked on platforms for Verizon, Pearson, and other enterprise clients
  • Led a team of 5 QA engineers
  • Bridged communication gaps, supporting colleagues with English as a barrier

Education

Bachelor's Degree โ€” English & German Philology
International Humanitarian University

Let's Connect

I'm always open to discussing quality engineering, team leadership, or new opportunities.