Mate Ajdukovic
✦Lead QA Engineer
Hi, I'm Mate 👋
Currently accepting new engagements

Your fractional QA engineer.

I'm a Lead QA Engineer with 10+ years across mobile, web, and APIs. Manual or automated. I help startups ship with confidence without slowing the engineering team down.

Book a 30-min callSee my work
Mobile QA — iOS & AndroidTest AutomationExploratory TestingQA Strategy & Process
Trusted by
Carb ManagerWaves LabsMatchbookToptalNumbrsEricssonBetBright
Mate's expertise was critical in transitioning from a loose collection of contractors to a cohesive and synergized engineering team. He implemented practical testing strategies that reduced regressions and elevated our overall code quality.
Michael Xavier Vinoth
Senior Software Engineer · Carb Manager · August 2023
Read on LinkedIn ↗
Selected Work

Products I've helped ship

A decade of QA across fintech, betting, telecom, and consumer health. Mobile, web, and APIs at scale.

Carb Manager

Carb Manager

Mobile + Web · iOS, Android, Web

Top-rated keto / low-carb app, 8M+ users

One of the highest-rated health and fitness apps on the App Store and Google Play.

Lead Software QA EngineerMay 2021 – Jun 2025 · 4y 2mo
What I did
  • Set up the test strategy and contributed across the SDLC.
  • Built and maintained the web E2E suite in JavaScript + Cypress.
  • Hired, interviewed, and mentored software testers.
  • Acted as Release Train Engineer coordinating multiple teams toward smooth releases.
CypressJavaScriptVue.jsFirebaseBugsnagLinearTestRail
✦ 8M+ users, top-rated in category on both stores.
Waves Labs

Waves Labs

Mobile · iOS + Android

Women's whole-health app

Personal health code, unlocked. Smarter, simpler whole health for women.

Quality & User Success LeadJul 2025 – Mar 2026 · 9 mo
What I did
  • Own the mobile test automation strategy for Android and iOS.
  • Build and maintain Appium + Kotlin Multiplatform frameworks on BrowserStack.
  • Use Claude Code daily for test design, bug repro, and debugging.
  • Reproduce, triage, and prioritize bugs in close work with engineering.
AppiumKotlin MultiplatformTestNGBrowserStackClaude CodeGeminiPostgreSQL
✦ AI-assisted QA workflow in production from day one.
Matchbook

Matchbook

Mobile + API · iOS, Android, REST

Peer-to-peer betting exchange

Real-money betting exchange with mobile and web apps.

Software QA Engineer (via Xanadu Consultancy)Oct 2017 – Apr 2020 · 2y 7mo
What I did
  • Built the mobile QA automation project from scratch in Appium + Python (iOS and Android).
  • Backend REST API testing with Python and Postman.
  • Dockerized the QA repo and integrated tests onto real devices via BrowserStack.
  • Wrote and ran test cases, suites, and plans across manual and automated work.
AppiumPythonpytestSeleniumDockerJenkinsBrowserStackPostman
✦ Mobile automation framework built from zero, on real devices in CI.
Toptal

Toptal

Freelance · Top 3% network

Vetted freelance QA engagements (NDA)

Vetted member of Toptal's freelance network. Various client engagements under NDA, mostly mobile and web QA.

Senior QA Engineer · Toptal NetworkOngoing
What I did
  • Passed Toptal's screening for the top 3% of freelance talent.
  • Delivered short-cycle QA engagements for product teams across industries (specifics under NDA).
  • Scope ranges from manual exploratory passes to full automation framework setup.
AppiumCypressPlaywrightPostmanBrowserStackJira
Numbrs

Numbrs

Mobile · Fintech

Mobile banking app

Mobile banking app letting users manage existing accounts and buy financial products from a single place.

Software QA EngineerJun 2020 – May 2021 · 1 yr
What I did
  • Test automation in Espresso for Android and XCUITest for iOS.
  • Feature, retest, and regression testing in the Scrum team.
JavaEspressoXCUITestAndroidiOSJenkinsBitbucket
Personal Projects

Things I've built and shipped on my own

Side projects where I own the whole stack: building, testing, and shipping to real users.

Breeze

Breeze

Mobile + Web · iOS, Android, Web

Calm Anxiety & Panic, web + iOS + Android

A calm-down companion for anxiety and panic. Shipped end to end across iOS, Android, and web.

Founder, Engineer, QA2025 – present
What I did
  • Built and shipped the iOS and Android apps and the marketing site.
  • Set up the test strategy and ran QA across all three platforms.
  • Released to the App Store and Google Play under my own name.
React NativeiOSAndroidWebMaestro
✦ Live on App Store and Google Play.
FrontRow

FrontRow

Open source · Android + iOS

Open-source mobile QA training app

Real Android and iOS app intentionally seeded with QA scenarios so engineers can practice automation.

Creator & Maintainer2026 – present
What I did
  • Designed and built the app and its instrumented bug catalog.
  • Set up Maestro flows and GitHub Actions CI for Android.
  • Documented test scenarios so other QA engineers can learn from a real codebase.
KotlinMaestroAppiumGitHub ActionsClaude Code
✦ Public sandbox for the QA community.
Job Radar

Job Radar

AI / LLM ops · Personal product

Personal AI job-search aggregator

Multi-source job aggregator with LLM-based ranking and an evaluation harness, focused on remote mobile QA roles.

Creator & Maintainer2026 – present
What I did
  • Ingest from Remotive, RemoteOK, Himalayas, HN, Wellfound, LinkedIn, and Reddit.
  • Score and rank postings with an LLM, calibrated against a hand-labelled set.
  • Built an evaluation harness so the ranking can be tuned without regressions.
PythonLLM evalsClaudePostgreSQL
✦ Hands-on LLM evals applied to a real product.
What I Do

How I work with teams

Three concrete engagement shapes. Pick the one closest to what you need and we'll tailor from there.

Most popular
🤝01

Embedded QA

Full / part time or hourly

Drop me into your team for a sprint, a quarter, or longer. I work the full backlog like a hire would, just without the headcount commitment.

✓ Full-time, part-time, or hourly engagement
✓ Joins standups, sprint planning, retros
✓ Mobile, web, and API testing
✓ Manual and automation across the stack
Book a 30-min call
🔍02

QA Consulting

Custom

Process audits, strategy, and hands-on help for teams that want to ship faster without breaking things.

✓ Process audit & review
✓ Strategy & roadmap
✓ Tool selection guidance
✓ Ongoing advisory
Book a 30-min call
👥03

Team Training

Custom

Tailored workshops to lift a team's QA practice without taking weeks off delivery.

✓ Tailored workshop content
✓ Hands-on exercises
✓ Real-world scenarios
✓ Follow-up support
Book a 30-min call
🎯04

1-on-1 Mentoring

Let's talk

For individual QA engineers wanting personal coaching, automation skills, or interview prep.

✓ Personal career guidance
✓ Test automation coaching
✓ Interview preparation
✓ Flexible scheduling
Book a 30-min call
Skills & Tools

What I work with

Mobile
AppiumMaestroEspressoXCUITestBrowserStack
Web
CypressSeleniumPlaywright
API
PostmanREST Assuredcurl
Languages
PythonJavaScriptTypeScriptJavaKotlin
AI-assisted QA
Claude CodeCursorGeminiLLM evals
Tooling
JiraLinearTestRailNotionDockerJenkinsGitHub Actions
About

Meet Mate

10+
years QA
8M+
users at peak
Top 3%
Toptal network
ISTQB
certified
LinkedIn ↗GitHub ↗

I'm a Lead QA Engineer with 10+ years across mobile, web, and APIs. Built and led QA for products with millions of users (Carb Manager, 8M+) and shipped frameworks from scratch in betting, fintech, telecom, and health.

Today I work with startups on QA strategy, mobile and web automation, and AI-assisted QA workflows (Claude Code, Cursor, LLM evals). I'm also part of Toptal's top 3% freelance network and run an open-source mobile QA training app called FrontRow on the side.

Based in Croatia, working remotely across any timezone. ISTQB certified.

Ready?

Let's improve your QA.

Tell me what you're building and where the quality risks are. I'll tell you what I'd do first.

Book a 30-min callOr send a message