Raj Uppadhyay
20+ years transforming Quality Engineering across banking, retail and enterprise technology. Engineering leader, author, global speaker, and open source contributor based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Ex-Microsoft
Author
Global Speaker
Trainer
Open Source Contributor
LIT Leader
20+
Years in QE
~20K
Tool users globally
6
Published tools
40
Engineers led
4
Countries
L
Learn
Staying ahead - AI/ML, MCP servers, cloud-native quality - before it goes mainstream.
I
Implement
Production-grade tools, frameworks, and reusable IP adopted by engineers worldwide.
T
Train
Author, speaker, coach - making advanced practices accessible at every level.
About & approach
I am an engineering leader who believes quality is a business outcome, not a gate at the end of a pipeline. Across 20+ years - including 8 years at Microsoft across India, USA and Singapore - I have led teams, built frameworks, and driven measurable change at scale.
My approach is ROI-driven: every initiative is tied to a tangible outcome - faster releases, reduced costs, or improved reliability. I don't just run teams; I build capability that outlasts my involvement.
Thought leader
Substack · Global speaker · Published author
ROI-driven engineer
Outcomes tied to time, cost and quality at every engagement
Framework & capability builder
Woolworths NZ · ASB Bank · Ex-Microsoft
Developer & open source contributor
6 tools · ~20K users · NPM & VS Code Marketplace
Trainer & educator
Book · Hands-on labs · Team uplift programs
Thought leadership & community
Publication
Scalable Test Automation with Playwright
BPB Publications - Asia's largest technical publisher · 2026
View book →
Writing
Democratize Quality - Substack
AI in quality engineering, transformation, and data-driven testing strategy.
Read on Substack →
Open source
Tools used by ~20K engineers
Six tools on VS Code Marketplace and NPM - freely maintained for the global QE community.
Community
A11y-Guard & global reach
CLI tool making accessibility mainstream - recognised in a global engineering competition across many countries.
Published tools
Reqnroll/SpecFlow Steps Generator
AI-powered BDD step definition scaffolding - most-used tool in the portfolio.
~20K active users · VS Code Marketplace
A11y-Guard
GitHub Copilot CLI tool shifting accessibility left - globally recognised.
NPM · Global reach
Azure DevOps Testing Extension
Bridges non-Microsoft tools into the Azure testing hub.
192 organisations · VS Code Marketplace
@democratize-quality/mcp-server
Open-source MCP server for AI-assisted quality automation.
NPM · Open Source
@democratize-quality/accessibility-mcp
AI-enhanced a11y testing MCP server for CI/CD pipelines.
NPM · Open Source
Personal Copilot Extension
Generative AI engineering decision support for VS Code.
VS Code Marketplace
Career
Engineering Chapter Lead
Woolworths NZ · Auckland
Mar 2022 – Present
Capability Lead
ASB Bank Ltd · Auckland
Oct 2020 – Mar 2022
Practice Lead – Testing
Theta Systems Ltd · Auckland
Jul 2019 – Oct 2020
Senior Consultant / Architect
Microsoft · India, USA & Singapore
May 2011 – Jul 2019
Senior QA Analyst
Pitney Bowes · India
Nov 2009 – May 2011
Senior Quality Analyst
Fiserv India Pvt Ltd · India
Jun 2007 – Nov 2009
Senior QA
Net Solutions · India
Sep 2005 – Jun 2007
Skills
Leadership
Quality StrategyCapability BuildingPeople CoachingExecutive InfluencingAgile & ScrumEngineering
Test AutomationCI/CD & DevOpsAI/ML in QEPerformance TestingContract TestingSRE & ObservabilityPlatforms
PlaywrightAzure DevOpsGoogle ADKDynatraceBrowserStackMCP ServersML.NetDomains
Banking & FinServRetail & e-CommerceEnterprise TechCredentials
Education
Advanced Certification in AI/ML
IIIT Hyderabad
2019
Master of Science, Computer Science
Kurukshetra University
2003
Certifications
CSTE
Certified Software Test Engineer
QAIUSA
CSM
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
AI-900
Azure AI Fundamentals
Microsoft
AZ-900
Azure Fundamentals
Microsoft
Apollo
Certified Graph Developer
Apollo GraphQL
LD
Certified Professional
LaunchDarkly