Ivan “Vanya” Balukov

Engineering Manager · Quality Engineering Lead

Hands-on engineering leader working across the full software development lifecycle — from technical strategy and architecture to product delivery and team development.

I build high-performing teams by day and hex-grid strategy games by night. 19 years of shipping software for mission-critical systems — from maritime simulators to next-generation aviation platforms.

Get in touchDownload CV
Bass GuitarSnowboardingCampingGame Dev
Ivan “Vanya” Balukov — vinyl, Sinatra, and good vibes

Selected Impact

Yandex

Yandex: 10 → 2 days

Reduced regression time through checklists, early testing, and documentation testing.

RingCentral

RingCentral: ~50 people

Unified the department's development process while preserving team autonomy.

Farel

Farel: 3 airlines

Led the technical launches of Asman, Red Sea, and ESAV.

Selected Work

The challenge, my contribution, and what changed.

Airline Operating System

Farel: Airline Operating System

Farel2021–Present
Challenge
Deliver an airline platform spanning inventory, reservations, check-in, and payments.
My contribution
Led engineering and quality strategy, architected the TypeScript/Playwright automation framework, and managed production releases.
Outcome
Replaced manual regression testing with automation and led technical launches for Asman, Red Sea, and ESAV.
One Shared Development Process

RingCentral: One Shared Development Process

RingCentral2018–2021
Challenge
Bring teams working in different ways into one shared development process.
My contribution
Organized Jira by team and introduced backlog grooming within a shared development process.
Outcome
Unified development across a department of approximately 50 people, while letting each team keep Scrum or Kanban.
Desktop Application Suite

Yandex: Desktop Application Suite

Yandex2012–2018
Challenge
Shorten regression cycles for a desktop application suite.
My contribution
Introduced checklists, early testing practices, and documentation testing.
Outcome
Reduced regression testing from 10 days to 2 days.

Personal Creations

What I build when nobody's watching.

SnapClaw
OPEN SOURCE

SnapClaw

One-Click AI Agent Deploy

One-click Railway deploy for OpenClaw — turn your ChatGPT account into a personal AI agent in Telegram in five minutes. No Docker, no terminal, no DevOps.

RailwayTelegram BotAI AgentTypeScript
View on GitHub
Rail Baron
LIVE

Rail Baron

Strategy Board Game

An original turn-based strategy game with rules built from scratch. Lay rail tiles across a city grid, take delivery contracts, and earn doubloons as market prices swing — online multiplayer for 2–5 players with shareable game IDs and a spectator mode.

Next.jsTypeScriptMultiplayerUpstash Redis
Play
NPBB.app
LIVE

NPBB.app

Procedural 3D City

A first-person walk through a procedurally-generated 3D city — Infinitown-style, built on SimplePoly. Wander streets under warm streetlamps, watch traffic flow through intersections, and explore an atmospheric nighttime mode with a flashlight.

SimplePoly3DProcedural CityFirst-Person
Explore
More personal projects(6)
TrailPack
LIVE

TrailPack

Backpacking Checklist

Plan what to pack, track gear weight, and build a packing list for each trip. A beginner-friendly checklist with gear suggestions; your data stays in your browser.

ReactTypeScriptBackpackingLocal-First
Plan a Trip
E2E Best Practices
OPEN SOURCE

E2E Best Practices

Boilerplate & Guide

A comprehensive boilerplate with best practices for E2E tests. Practical code examples with proper architecture, TypeScript support, and proven testing patterns.

WebDriver.ioTypeScriptTestingBest Practices
View Guide
My Computer
LIVE

My Computer

Peace of Mind Calculator

A personal finance tool to distribute income across life, savings, stocks, and crypto. No tracking, no banks — just your money. Bilingual (EN/RU).

Next.jsFinanceSupabaseBilingual
Try It
Kosmodrom.work
LIVE

Kosmodrom.work

To-Do & Timer App

A space-themed productivity app combining to-do lists with timer functionality. Gamification, break reminders, and focus tools.

AngularTypeScriptProductivitySpace Theme
Visit App
Street Lamps
LIVE

Street Lamps

Stories in the Dark

An atmospheric storytelling experience where each street lamp has a personality and a story. Poetic, moody, and built to make you feel something.

CreativeStorytellingWeb ExperienceDesign
Explore
ZombieGuard
LIVE

ZombieGuard

Satirical Landing Page

A hilariously deadpan landing page for a fake zombie vehicle protection service. Because prepared drivers survive.

HumorLanding PageCopywritingDesign
Activate Protection

Professional Journey

19 years, from QA Engineer to Engineering Manager. Open a role for the full story.

Engineering Manager / QA Lead at Farel2021–Present · Raleigh, USA
  • Lead end-to-end engineering for a next-generation airline operating system at Farel (YC S20), including system architecture, quality strategy, PCI-DSS compliance, and production release management.
  • Shape technical strategy, architecture, and technology choices; manage technical debt and risks while contributing hands-on across the software development lifecycle.
  • Turn business goals into product priorities and delivery plans in partnership with the CEO.
  • Lead hiring, performance reviews, compensation and promotion decisions, mentoring, and leadership development.
  • Manage engineering budgets and work with clients, partners, and vendors on technical decisions and integrations.
  • Architect the proprietary TypeScript/Playwright automation framework that replaced manual regression testing and underpins the continuous delivery pipeline.
  • Lead Farel's PCI-DSS 4.0 certification as principal liaison with the Qualified Security Assessor.
  • Serve as Deployment Manager for production releases, and approve quality strategy together with the QA team.
  • Own the quality strategy for Farel's Departure Control System.
  • Led the technical launches of international carriers Asman, Red Sea, and ESAV.
  • Author Test Policy, Test Strategy, and Test Plans (IEEE/ISTQB-aligned), plus internal security training programs (Incident Response Plan, Secure Development Training, Information Security Awareness).
  • Drive AI-assisted engineering tooling (Cursor, GitLab Duo) into the development pipeline; AI-agent review now runs across the product, infrastructure, and QA codebases.
Lead QA Engineer at RingCentral2018–2021 · Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • Implemented and supervised accurate QA workflows, including issue tracking, multi-layer review, and release testing.
  • Established a shared development process for approximately 50 employees, with Jira organized by team and backlog grooming, while preserving each team's choice of Scrum or Kanban.
  • Created structured plans and tasks for QA interviews to ensure highest quality engineering.
  • Developed sophisticated automated testing frameworks to enhance QA process efficiency.
  • Implemented visual and accessibility tests.
QA Engineer at Yandex2012–2018 · Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • Sole QA engineer for large-scale mobile app from concept to release — helped achieve 4.5 stars in Google Play Store.
  • Led the transition of two teams from waterfall to Agile Scrum.
  • Reduced regression time from 10 days to 2 days through checklists, early testing practices, and documentation testing.
QA Engineer at Kongsberg2009–2011 · Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • Created and implemented a comprehensive testing workflow from scratch.
  • Introduced early-stage testing practices for faster issue identification.
  • Implemented automation for regression testing using Lua and MS Test Manager.
  • Implemented performance and load testing for stress conditions.
QA Team Lead at R-Style Softlab2007–2009 · Vologda, Russia
  • Established and managed a QA team from the ground up.
  • Developed comprehensive testing protocols for banking software solutions.
  • Implemented testing processes for critical financial applications ensuring regulatory compliance.

Core Expertise

Always learning new technologies and approaches.

Leadership & Strategy
Quality Leadership · Team Development & Mentoring · Technical Vision & Strategy · Resource Planning · Stakeholder Communication · Delivery & Execution · Culture Building
Engineering Excellence
JavaScript & TypeScript · Node.js & Express.js · Angular & React · Kubernetes & Docker · CI/CD Pipelines · System Architecture · Database Design · Cloud Infrastructure
Quality Engineering
Test Strategy & Planning · SDLC Optimization · Quality Framework Design · Agile & Scrum · Process Optimization · Risk Assessment · Code Review & Standards · Performance Engineering
Test Automation
WebdriverIO & Playwright · API Testing · Load & Performance Testing · Mutation Testing · Test Architecture · CI/CD Integration · Visual & A11y Testing · Test Data Management