QA, Automation & AI Tooling · Nairobi, Kenya
I build the safety net
that lets teams ship fast.
I lead QA and engineering operations at Ello, where we build an AI tutor for children. I set the testing strategy, build the mobile automation and AI tooling that extends the reach of a small team, and own the release pipeline end to end, store review and appeals included.
Accountable for what ships,
and for the reasoning behind it.
I joined Ello before the first version shipped and moved to full time in 2022. Since then I have grown with the product through v1, v2 and now v3, advancing from QA Manager to leading engineering operations in 2024. I am responsible for the testing strategy, the release pipeline, and the response when something breaks across iOS and Android. An increasing share of that work now runs unattended, through regression suites and AI tooling I build and evaluate myself.
The rest is review work. I prepare releases against the App Store and Google Play guidelines, investigate rejections, and carry appeals to a decision. Because the product serves children I also hold internal responsibility for privacy and safety compliance, COPPA and GDPR included, which I would rather settle before a feature ships than after.
The same discipline runs through the whole of my career: assess something against a defined standard, then commit to a judgement. Due diligence on more than 300 early stage companies. Compliance audits. Ship and no-ship decisions taken under deadline. The judgement itself is seldom the difficult part; the difficulty lies in articulating it afterwards so that it is specific, defensible, and still sound when challenged.
I am meticulous by temperament and reluctant to abandon a difficult bug. Away from work I listen to music, which I once made, and spend my time with family in Nairobi. My favourite children's book is Goat Matata.
Six areas of responsibility.
QA Leadership & Process Design
I lead the quality function end to end: designing how we test, defining the standard each release is measured against, and guiding the team through significant transitions, including consolidation onto a single AI Tutor application.
App Store & Play Review
I own the submission and review cycle in full. That covers preparing builds against the App Review Guidelines, establishing precisely why a rejection occurred, and carrying appeals through to approval. Sign-off is coordinated across Nairobi, San Francisco and Brazil.
Test Automation & AI Tooling
I develop the automation that extends what a small team can cover: mobile test suites in Appium and AltTester, AI tooling assessed thoroughly before anyone depends on it, and the scripting behind our Linear triage and daily quality reporting.
Compliance & Child Safety
I hold internal responsibility for compliance wherever a feature touches children's data, including COPPA, GDPR and platform safety requirements. I audit against those standards and advise product and engineering early, while a change remains inexpensive to make.
Engineering Ops & Security Hygiene
I maintain the operational foundation beneath engineering: rotating service credentials, managing CI secrets, and ensuring GitHub Actions and our bug reporting pipelines do not fail silently.
Team Mentorship
I support the progression of the people on my team, from a new tester's first week through to a move into QA engineering or product. Previously I supervised more than 15 annotators working through 5,000 hours of child speech data against a strict accuracy standard.
Career to date.
QA & Engineering Ops Manager · Ello Technology
Lead QA and engineering operations across iOS and Android. Own the testing strategy, release gates and regression coverage every build clears, and build the mobile automation and AI tooling that widens coverage without adding headcount. Store submission and appeals sit inside that remit.
QA Manager · Ello Technology
Built the QA function from scratch: test plans, regression suites and mobile automation in Appium and AltTester. Held the pass/fail gate through high-volume release cycles, and supervised 15 annotators curating 5,000 hours of child speech data for model training.
Analyst & Ops Manager · Stealth VC, San Francisco
Ran diligence on 300+ early stage companies across Africa and the Middle East: verifying claims, assessing risk, and writing the memo each investment decision rested on. Managed 10 analysts through a high-volume caseload.
Field Operations Manager · Mastercard Labs, Nairobi
Deployed an AI-driven POS system to 100+ merchants. Ran field interviews and focus groups to shape the product, and rebuilt the data collection and reporting pipeline, cutting error rates and giving leadership figures they could rely on.
Customer Relationship Officer · Duka Connect, Nairobi
Onboarded 250+ retail clients onto an ML-driven POS platform, resolving adoption blockers on site and converting field feedback into product changes that improved retention.
Education
The working toolkit.
- Test Strategy & QA Process Design
- Test Automation (Appium, AltTester)
- iOS / Android Testing
- Release Gates & Regression Coverage
- Mobile Release Management
- AI-Assisted QA Tooling
- Bug Triage & Prioritisation
- GitHub Actions
- App Store Review Guidelines
- Submission & Appeals Cycles
- Compliance Auditing (COPPA, GDPR)
- Child Safety Requirements
- Investigation & Due Diligence
- Clear Written Feedback
- Confidential Data Handling
- Linear
- AWS Secrets Manager
- Team Mentorship
Let's talk quality.
If you would like to discuss app review, quality engineering, or a piece of work, I would be glad to hear from you.
scovyelly@gmail.com →