Gastón joined Velocity Partners almost six years ago. As he saw the company grow and merge with Endava, he soon discovered various opportunities of both personal and professional growth and became a benchmark of QA. 

Let’s dive into his story and see how he took advantage of this new context.

We are curious about what’s it like to work as a QA in Endava. 

I started working on this project as a Manual QA. My growth along the years accelerated thanks to my leader, my teammates and the client. Nowadays, I am an Automation QA (SDET), a reference for Quality Assurance, and it is a great satisfaction.

Ever since we merged with Endava, the Testing discipline grew considerably. Numerous integration activities with other QAs around the world led to developing a way of being much more organised. 

Being so close to different cultures is an essential source for growth on both a professional and personal level. Half of my team is from Israel at the moment. You can imagine how interesting it is for me to meet people from another time zone and who are so different from a cultural point of view. What I find fascinating is the knowledge transfer part. Having colleagues from all over the world gives me access to diverse information, experiences and tools. 

How was it to change from Manual Testing to SDET?

Since my educational background is in programming, it was clear to me that I would accept the Automation challenge whenever my project demanded it. I started generating new frameworks to automate tests. Thanks to the support of my team, I was able to add value to the project. 

Which areas are you interested in keeping exploring?

There are many opportunities that I find fascinating, especially Automation and Automation for mobile devices. I think that in Endava we have a lot of opportunities for acquiring more knowledge. 

Recently I participated in the Innovation Lab, an internal, Endava-wide hackathon. It was quite an experience. I was happy to take part in this fantastic initiative. I was able to share ideas, meet new people, interact and work together on an innovative solution for the company. Having cross-discipline initiatives is of great value to us.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love to travel and plan trips from scratch. Also, since I was a child, I always liked sports. Until I turned eighteen, I did road cycling. Afterwards, running started to be part of my daily routine. So far, I participated in many races of 5 km, 10 km, 21 km and four marathons of 42 km. I am currently preparing to qualify for the Boston Marathon, part of the World Marathon Majors, ranked as one of the world's best-known road racing events.

Do you find any similarities between sports and work? 

To manage a marathon, you have to set a goal, demands and train for it. The same thing happens when working as a QA. 

Learning something requires a lot of motivation, time for preparation and learning the tools to get to the finish line. I also believe training is a crucial aspect of achieving a goal. 

Undoubtedly having people to support and encourage you will make everything more accessible, and both in Endava and in my personal life, I can count on that.