Fractional & Interim QA Leadership
Currently taking 1–2 new clientsSenior QA leadership, with AI-assisted testing built in.
I'm a fractional Head of QA for fintech, iGaming, and other high-stakes teams — owning QA strategy, release governance, and test automation. Grounded in proven, classic automation, I bring AI into the workflow where it earns its place — including migrating existing test suites to AI-assisted testing. Senior quality judgment on retainer or a scoped project, without the cost or hiring risk of a full-time seat.
- QA leadership & engineering
- 15+ yrs
- Automated coverage built from zero
- ~88%
- Test-case portfolio owned
- 900+
Release quality owned across regulated, high-stakes domains
Who this is for
You need senior QA judgment, not another tester
Your team can execute tests. What's missing is someone who's owned QA strategy, risk-based planning, and release sign-off end to end — and can build the org around it.
You're not ready for a full-time Head of QA
You need the leadership, not the fixed cost of a full-time exec hire. A fractional engagement gets you the same decisions on a schedule that matches your stage.
Release risk is growing faster than your test coverage
Shipping is getting harder to trust: unclear ownership, thin regression coverage, no automation strategy. Someone needs to own that gap before it becomes an incident.
Engagement models
Three ways to work together, from a scoped audit to embedded leadership. Pricing below is a starting point — every engagement is scoped on a call before anything is agreed.
QA Audit & Roadmap
One-time engagement · 2–3 weeks
From $3,500
A fast, independent read on where your QA function actually stands — and a prioritized plan to fix it.
- ✓QA maturity assessment (process, tooling, coverage)
- ✓Test coverage & release-risk gap analysis
- ✓CI/CD and automation stack review
- ✓Prioritized roadmap document + readout call
Fractional Head of QA
Retainer · ~8–12 hrs/week
From $4,500/mo
Ongoing senior QA leadership for teams that need strategic ownership without a full-time seat.
- ✓QA strategy & roadmap ownership
- ✓Release governance & risk-based sign-off
- ✓Monthly stakeholder reporting
- ✓Hiring, coaching & process support
- ✓Async advisory (Slack/email)
Embedded QA Leadership
Retainer · ~20–25 hrs/week
From $9,500/mo
Near full-time embedded leadership for teams scaling fast or recovering from release quality issues.
- ✓Hands-on QA org leadership
- ✓Cross-team release ownership
- ✓Automation architecture & AI-assisted QA tooling
- ✓Team hiring & day-to-day management
- ✓Weekly leadership sync
Rates depend on scope, urgency, and domain complexity (fintech and regulated environments run higher). Contact for a custom quote.
Why it pays off
The math behind fractional QA leadership — why senior quality judgment upstream costs far less than the incidents it prevents.
Upstream
Quality is cheaper the earlier you own it
A defect caught in QA review is a fraction of the cost of one that reaches production. Senior risk judgment in front of every release is the cheapest insurance you can buy.
Regulated
In fintech and iGaming, a bad release isn't just a bug
It's lost revenue, chargebacks, or a compliance incident. High-stakes domains are exactly where release governance pays for itself the fastest.
Fractional
Executive QA judgment, at a fraction of the salary
You get the same decisions a full-time Head of QA would make — strategy, sign-off, automation direction — scoped to your stage, without the six-figure seat or the hiring risk.
What you get
Capability, not headcount — the same judgment a full-time Head of QA would bring, scoped to what your team actually needs right now.
How it works
Intro call
A free 30-minute call to understand your product, team, and where QA is hurting most.
QA assessment
A focused look at your current process, tooling, and coverage to find the highest-leverage gaps.
Scope & engagement model
We agree on the right format — audit, retainer, or embedded — and what success looks like.
Ongoing delivery
Regular working cadence with your team, plus monthly reporting so progress stays visible.
Case studies
Client and employer details are anonymized here for confidentiality — happy to walk through specifics on a call.
Multi-tenant B2C platform · iGaming/FinTech
Closed a ~45% coverage gap across a 900+ test-case portfolio
As Squad Lead QA for a multi-tenant B2C platform, restructured a 900+ test-case portfolio from ticket-shaped silos into feature-based sections, identified a ~45% coverage gap, and defined a squad-wide precondition standard for CMS/admin test data — validated on a multi-tenant release milestone (50+ provisioning operations, zero blocked on a clean pass). Also architected a guarded, AI-assisted QA integration platform connecting TestRail, Jira, GitHub, Confluence, and Slack.
AI-driven ad-tech & personalization platform
Built a QA org from zero to ~88% automated test coverage
As Director of QA, built and scaled a cross-functional QA team from the ground up, drove release readiness for real-time bidding under high-throughput, low-latency constraints, and implemented UI/API/performance automation integrated into CI/CD — reaching ~88% automated test coverage.
eCommerce & banking client portfolio
Owned QA end-to-end across 3 concurrent client engagements
As Senior QA Manager at an expert-services firm, owned the full QA lifecycle from pre-sales through delivery across 3 concurrent client engagements in eCommerce and banking, built shared automation frameworks across them, and acted as the primary QA voice in client negotiations on risk and sign-off.
What people say
Recommendations written directly by former reports and colleagues on LinkedIn — unedited except for length.
“Denys is simply an outstanding leader! He excels at client communication, acting as a reliable bridge between teams and stakeholders. His approach to QA is exceptional — he can build and optimize testing processes in any setup, whether it's a small startup or a large enterprise.”
Oleksandr Pliasun
QA Manager
Reported to Denys directly · via LinkedIn, Jul 2025
“Denys is incredibly talented. While we were working together I noticed his diligence and leadership skills. He's a real QA expert.”
Eugene Shapovalov
Sr. Program Delivery Manager, FinTech & Banking
Colleague, same team · via LinkedIn, 2015
“A strong, result-oriented specialist with great communication and management skills. He can quickly understand the project and provide a detailed investigation of any problems with the system.”
Anatolii Petrovskyi
Software Architect & Technical Lead
Colleague, different team · via LinkedIn, 2015
“Incredibly responsible engineer. He's ready to accept the challenges and deal with issues confidently. He is a good manager and can find potential pitfalls before they exist — his understanding of business and development processes helps him find the most complex and important cases.”
Viktor Maksymenko
Senior Software Development Engineer in Test
Reported to Denys directly · via LinkedIn, Nov 2015
“Denys is an outstanding leader who can effectively manage any team and easily build strong connections with every team member. He is capable of building entire departments from the ground up — something he successfully did at each of his workplaces.”
Stas Lieochko
Senior QA Engineer, Solara6
Reported to Denys directly · via LinkedIn, Jul 2025
“One of the most dedicated and reliable QA Managers I've ever worked with. Denys has a real sense of ownership — he doesn't just manage tasks, he takes full responsibility for the QA side of the project and makes sure everything is running smoothly.”
Andrew Toma
QA Engineer, Manual Testing
Reported to Denys directly · via LinkedIn, Jul 2025
“For over 5 years, I collaborated with Denys across various projects. As a QA manager, he consistently provided strong support in finding solutions and wasn't afraid to experiment with and implement new approaches. His proactive mindset made a real impact on the team's success.”
Ivan Kovtun
QA Automation Engineer, Solara6
Reported to Denys directly · via LinkedIn, Aug 2025
“Very friendly and precise. Really experienced QA and a priceless teammate.”
Dmytro Kuzmin
Colleague
Colleague · via LinkedIn, 2015
See these and more recommendations on LinkedIn →
Worked with me? On my profile, tap More → Recommend.
Is QA about to become your next bottleneck?
A free 30-minute call to pressure-test where your release quality actually stands — no pitch, just a senior read on the highest-leverage gap and whether a fractional Head of QA fits.
About
I'm Denys Shutko, a QA leader with 15+ years spanning hands-on testing, test automation, and building/scaling QA organizations from the ground up — across fintech, banking, eCommerce, healthcare, SaaS, ad-tech, and B2C content platforms — from consumer iOS apps used by millions to real-time bidding systems under low-latency constraints. I've run QA departments and cross-functional squads of up to 8 people, owning everything from strategy and hiring to release governance and client negotiation.
Beyond people leadership, I personally build the tooling teams run on — including an internal Python-based QA integration platform with a guarded, human-confirmed write model designed for safe AI-assisted testing workflows. That combination — senior QA judgment plus the ability to build the platform around it — is what a fractional engagement gets you.
Based in Croatia · Remote-first · Ukrainian/Russian native, English fluent (C1)
Frequently asked questions
The short version — the rest we can cover on a call.
What does a fractional Head of QA actually do?+
Owns QA strategy, release governance, and the quality decisions your team needs — part-time. The same senior judgment a full-time Head of QA brings, scoped to what you need right now.
How is this different from a QA agency or a contractor?+
You get one accountable senior leader who owns outcomes and works inside your team — not a rotating pool of testers or a black-box vendor.
How do engagements work?+
From a scoped one-time audit to an ongoing retainer, depending on what your team needs. Every engagement is scoped together on an intro call before anything is agreed.
What does it cost?+
Pricing starts from the ranges in the engagement models above and is tailored to scope, urgency, and domain. Reach out for a quote for your situation.
Do you work remotely, and is our information kept confidential?+
Yes to both — remote-first, and client details stay confidential. Happy to work under an NDA.
Who do we contract with, and how does invoicing work?+
Engagements are contracted through DENIGITAL, a registered Croatian business — so your procurement and finance teams are dealing with a registered entity, not a private individual. Invoicing runs against agreed milestones or a monthly retainer, and I'm happy to go through your standard supplier onboarding, MSA, or NDA.
Book an intro call
A free 30-minute call to understand your product, your team, and where release quality is hurting most — and whether a fractional Head of QA is the right fit. Pick a time that works for you.
Prefer to send a message?
Not ready to book a call yet? Tell me a bit about your team and what's not working with QA right now. I read every message and reply personally, usually within a day or two.
Prefer email directly? shutkomail@gmail.com