About Jakub Jirák
Senior Test Manager · Test Automation & QA Expert
Who I Am
Hi, I'm Jakub Jirák — a Senior Test Manager and QA expert helping organizations design scalable testing frameworks, integrate QA into DevOps pipelines, and drive innovation through modern testing practices. With over 10 years of enterprise experience, I've trained 10,000+ professionals and automated over 1,000,000 tests across diverse industries.
I'm also the author of 4 published books, including the award-winning Think Different: How AI and Automation Are Changing Software Development, and a JetBrains plugin developer building professional IDE tools for testing, accessibility, and security analysis. I also founded HTJ2K MetaWave, the world's fastest JPEG 2000 codec optimized for Apple Silicon.
My Journey
Principal Software Engineer
Built high-performance systems in C/C++, Java, and Python. Specialized in GPU acceleration with Metal, CUDA, and OpenCL for compute-intensive workloads.
Test Automation Architect
Designed and implemented scalable test automation frameworks with Selenium, Playwright, and Cypress. Established automation strategies that reduced regression testing time by 80%.
Senior Test Manager
Leading QA teams and driving quality across entire product portfolios. Integrating testing into CI/CD pipelines and transforming QA from a cost center into a competitive advantage.
Author & Independent Consultant
Writing books on AI and automation, developing JetBrains IDE plugins, and consulting for organizations worldwide on QA strategy, test automation, and performance optimization.
What I Do
- Test Strategy & Leadership: Comprehensive test strategies aligned with business goals — scalability, efficiency, and continuous improvement
- QA Automation Strategy Consulting: Defining long-term QA automation vision, assessing current state, designing roadmaps, and guiding implementation
- Test Automation: Building scalable frameworks from scratch with Selenium, Playwright, and Cypress to accelerate delivery
- DevOps & CI/CD Integration: Seamless QA integration into DevOps pipelines with continuous testing practices for faster, safer releases
- Performance Optimization: Deep optimization across CPU (x86/ARM), GPU (Metal, CUDA, OpenCL), SIMD vectorization, and architecture-level improvements
- Accessibility Testing: Comprehensive accessibility testing and audits up to WCAG 2.2 AAA standards
- Workshops & Training: Hands-on training in modern testing practices, AI tools, and automation — 10,000+ professionals trained
- Internal Tools Development: Building custom developer tools, JetBrains IDE plugins, CLI utilities, and internal platforms that boost team productivity and streamline workflows
- Production Applications Development: End-to-end development of modern mobile and desktop applications — from design through implementation to deployment with emphasis on quality, performance, and user experience
Tech Stack
Books
- Think Different — How AI and automation are changing software development (Best New Software Automation Book — BookAuthority)
- The Complete AI Model & Mode Selection Guide — For software engineers
- AI for Non-Technical People — A complete guide for professionals without an IT background
- The Power User's Guide to AI-Powered CLI Tools — For software engineers
Available on Amazon.
About This Blog
Think Different is where I share practical insights, tutorials, and deep dives into the topics I work with every day — from AI-powered development workflows and test automation strategies to performance optimization and modern QA practices.
I don't just write about technologies — I use them in production, test them thoroughly, and share what actually works. My background in quality assurance and performance engineering means I approach every topic with a critical eye, verifying claims and testing edge cases before publishing.
Connect With Me
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