Olena

Olena Kozha
QA Engineer with AppSec Experience

Valencia, Spain | [відкрити контакти](див. вище в блоці «контактна інформація») | [відкрити контакти](див. вище в блоці «контактна інформація»)

LinkedIn: [відкрити контакти](див. вище в блоці «контактна інформація»)

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Result-oriented QA Engineer with 8+ years of expertise in manual software testing and software quality assurance with
a year of Application Security experience. Proven track record in functional, regression, API, and cross-platform
testing, combined with specialized hands-on experience in Application Security (AppSec), Payment Gateways (PGW),
and PCI DSS compliance verification.

Leverages a background in pedagogy, management, and economics to bring exceptional analytical rigor, cross-team
communication, and process optimization to software development cycles. Detail-obsessed and passionate about
building secure, reliable products.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Testing & Security: Manual Testing (Functional, Regression, Integration, API, UI/UX, Smoke, Sanity, Mobile QA),
AppSec, OWASP Top 10, SAST/DAST, Vulnerability Identification, Security Audit Verification.

Fintech & Compliance: Payment Gateway (PGW) Testing, PCI DSS Security Compliance, Complex Financial Logic
Validation, Edge-Case Transaction Testing, Third-Party PSP Integrations.

Testing Tools & Environments: Postman, Swagger, Hoppscotch, SoapUI, Chrome DevTools, Burp Suite, Wireshark,
Proxyman, JMeter, Selenium WebDriver, Visual Studio, WebStorm, Active Directory, Azure Blob Storage.

Infrastructure & CLI: Kubernetes (k8s / kubectl), iTerm2, Terminal, Bash / Shell Scripting Basics, Pod Monitoring,
Log Analysis & Troubleshooting.

Databases: PostgreSQL (DBeaver), MS SQL Server, Database Verification.

CI/CD & Version Control: Git, GitHub, GitLab, TeamCity, Jenkins.

Test Management & Bug Tracking: Jira, TestRail, TestOps, Redmine, TestLink.

Protocols & Formats: Binary Protocols, REST API, WebSockets, HTML/CSS, XPath.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Brave Brains SL | Valencia, Spain

Manual QA Engineer | 2025 – Present

• Executing comprehensive functional, integration, and security testing for client projects.
• Validating complex business logic and API workflows, ensuring high system reliability and performance.

BrainRocket | Limassol, Cyprus

Manual QA Engineer / Junior Application Security Engineer | Oct 2021 – 2025

• PCI DSS Payment Platform (Built from the ground up):
o Tested the company’s custom payment system from the ground up, collaborating closely with InfoSec
and legal compliance teams to ensure full alignment with PCI DSS and regulatory standards during
provider integrations.
o Authored comprehensive QA documentation, test cases, and API collections from scratch, creating a
single source of truth used as a primary guide by incoming QA testers and the InfoSec team.
• Payment Gateway (PGW) & Financial Department:
o Executed end-to-end testing for Payment Gateway (PGW) integrations with third-party payment
providers, verifying transaction success rates, error handling, and edge cases.
o Handled testing of highly complex, multi-layered financial logic, fee calculations, and transaction
workflows, ensuring absolute precision.
o Authored detailed test suites, edge-case scenarios, and Postman API collections from scratch,
establishing a standardized framework for payment integration testing.
• Application Security (AppSec Role):
o Conducted security testing and vulnerability identification using OWASP Top 10 guidelines and
SAST/DAST concepts.
o Performed post-audit security re-testing and fix verification for vulnerabilities identified during
internal and third-party security assessments.
o Utilized iTerm2/Terminal and Kubernetes (kubectl) to monitor pod statuses, analyze application
logs, and perform root-cause analysis for backend issues.
• iGaming Industry Projects:
o Performed functional, regression, API, and UI/UX testing for high-load gambling platforms and web
applications.
o Managed defect triage, root cause analysis (RCA), and continuous live production support under strict
reliability requirements.

DataArt Solutions, Inc.

QA Engineer | Aug 2018 – Oct 2021

• Voice Data Recorder & Controller Media System (UK Client): Served as the sole QA Engineer in a sub-
project team, testing voice platforms capturing millions of calls daily for government, financial, and contact
center sectors (Cloud/Hybrid).
• Budgeting System for Clinical Research Organization (Swiss Client): Conducted testing for a large-scale
financial budgeting system for medical research, validating cost calculation algorithms, statistical data
processing, and client tracking system integrations.
• Smart House Systems (Polish Client): Tested automated worker container software integrated with the
DeviceHive Raspberry Pi platform for real-time environmental interaction.
• Traveling Application: Performed end-to-end testing for a job matching platform connecting foreign
employers with candidates.

Beetroot Academy

Manual Testing Instructor | 2020 – 2022

• Designed and delivered online/offline manual testing courses for adults.
• Structured technical material into accessible modules, mentoring students in API testing, test documentation,
and bug tracking; successfully guided multiple students to land IT jobs prior to course completion.

Private & Public Educational Institutions

English Language Teacher | 2009 – 2018

• Taught English to students of various age groups, developing strong cross-functional communication,
adaptability, and group management skills.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

• DataArt Courses: "The Basis of Manual and Automated Testing" (2017)
• Kherson State University: Specialist Degree in Economic Theory (2007 – 2009)
• Kherson State University: Specialist Degree in Pedagogical Methodology & Foreign Languages (English)
(2004 – 2009)