Curriculum Vitae

Charles Heller

Senior Software Engineer · Quality Engineering · Test Data & Environment Management

I build reliable software by combining enterprise quality engineering with modern full-stack development.

charles@charlesheller.devcharlesheller.devGitHubLinkedInGermany · remote-friendly

My career began in software testing, where I learned that quality isn’t something you verify at the end of a project — it’s something you design into the product from the beginning. Over the years, I expanded into test automation, test management, test data management, environment management, cloud transformation, and software engineering.

Today I build modern web applications while applying the same engineering discipline used in enterprise environments. My goal is simple: create software that is scalable, maintainable, thoroughly tested, and ready for production.

About me

I enjoy solving complex technical challenges and turning ideas into high-quality software products.

With several years of experience in enterprise software delivery, I understand both the technical and organisational aspects of building reliable systems. I work comfortably across development, testing, cloud infrastructure, automation, and product delivery.

Whether I’m developing a SaaS platform, designing a test strategy, or introducing modern testing practices for enterprise teams, I focus on long-term maintainability rather than short-term fixes.

What I do

Enterprise delivery depth meets hands-on product engineering — one integrated quality mindset.

Full Stack Development

I design and develop modern web applications from concept to production — frontend, backend architecture, authentication, databases, payments, deployment, and automated testing. I enjoy building products that are fast, intuitive, and easy to maintain.

Quality Engineering

Quality is not a separate phase of development. It influences architecture, code quality, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Every project I build includes clean architecture, automated testing, CI, continuous improvement, and production-ready deployment.

Test Automation

Automation has been part of my daily work throughout my career. I build reliable frameworks that help teams deliver faster while reducing manual effort and release risk — covering E2E, API, integration, UI, and regression testing with Playwright, Selenium, Vitest, and CI/CD.

Test Data Management

Reliable software depends on reliable test data. I help establish enterprise-wide strategies for managing test data across applications and environments — including lifecycle management, database refresh concepts, pseudo-production environments, governance, and AWS-based approaches.

Test Environment Management

Modern delivery depends on stable environments. I coordinate enterprise test environments across teams and help ensure testing can be performed reliably — covering planning, readiness, release preparation, deployment coordination, risk assessment, and cloud-based delivery support.

Experience

Multi-year · Agile enterprise delivery

Test Manager · Test Data Manager · Test Environment Manager

Swiss Life · Enterprise CRM & Digital Platforms

Working within large agile delivery organisations, I help ensure software can be delivered with confidence, quality, and predictable releases. Responsibilities have expanded from traditional QA into enterprise-wide quality engineering and delivery management.

  • Lead enterprise test management, quality engineering, and risk-based test strategy across complex CRM and digital platforms.
  • Drive Playwright automation, API testing, and integration testing as part of release readiness.
  • Own test data management: lifecycle, refresh concepts, pseudo-production environments, governance, and cross-team coordination.
  • Coordinate test environments, deployment readiness, and release preparation across multiple Scrum teams.
  • Support AWS cloud transformation and cloud-native delivery together with product, engineering, and architecture stakeholders.
  • Improve processes continuously so quality becomes a shared delivery signal — not a late gate.

Ongoing

Independent Software Engineer

Freelance / Projects · Web products & SaaS

Alongside enterprise work, I develop modern web applications and SaaS products from idea to production — combining software engineering with enterprise quality engineering.

  • Own end-to-end delivery: architecture, frontend/backend, authentication, databases, payments, and deployment.
  • Ship production products such as NavisSedes (ticketing) and Seatly (reservations) with Next.js, Prisma, and cloud data layers.
  • Build automated testing and CI/CD into the delivery process from day one.
  • Optimise for maintainability, performance, and a clear product experience.

Selected projects

NavisSedes

Case study

A complete event ticketing platform for churches and cultural organisations — interactive seating, Stripe payments, QR tickets, reservations, role-based admin, and check-in workflows.

  • Interactive seating plans
  • Stripe checkout
  • QR tickets & email confirmations
  • Role-based administration
  • Automated testing

Next.js · TypeScript · Prisma · PostgreSQL · Neon · Stripe · Playwright · Vitest · Cloudflare

Seatly

Open

A restaurant reservation platform demonstrating modern full-stack architecture with auth, search, booking persistence, and automated testing.

  • Authentication & sessions
  • Restaurant search
  • Reservation workflow
  • Database persistence
  • CI Playwright coverage

Next.js · TypeScript · Prisma · Neon · JWT · Playwright

Playwright Automation Suite

Open

An enterprise-inspired automation framework using modern testing practices — built as a shippable engineering artifact, not ad-hoc scripts.

  • Page Object Model
  • HTML reporting
  • Reusable architecture
  • Parallel execution
  • CI-ready workflows

Playwright · TypeScript · POM · CI

Elikuren

Open

Modern choir website with a secure member platform — public presence, protected member area, media library, and administration.

  • Public website
  • Protected member area
  • Authentication
  • Media library & admin
  • Responsive design

Next.js · React · TypeScript · Tailwind

Technical expertise

Languages

  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • Python
  • Java

Frontend

  • React
  • Next.js
  • Tailwind CSS
  • shadcn/ui

Backend

  • Node.js
  • Next.js
  • Prisma
  • PostgreSQL
  • REST APIs
  • JWT Auth

Testing & Quality

  • Playwright
  • Selenium
  • Vitest
  • API Testing
  • E2E Testing
  • Test Strategy
  • Test Data Management
  • Test Environment Management

Cloud & DevOps

  • AWS
  • GitHub Actions
  • Docker
  • Cloudflare
  • Neon
  • Vercel
  • Stripe

How I work

The best software comes from combining engineering excellence with a strong quality mindset. Rather than separating development and testing, I integrate both into one engineering process.

  1. 01Understanding the business problem
  2. 02Designing scalable architectures
  3. 03Building maintainable software
  4. 04Automating testing from the beginning
  5. 05Deploying continuously
  6. 06Monitoring and improving over time

This approach results in software that is easier to maintain, easier to scale, and more reliable for users.

Currently interested in

  • Modern web applications
  • SaaS products
  • Full-stack development
  • Enterprise software
  • Quality engineering
  • Test automation
  • Cloud architecture
  • Developer experience
  • AWS-based solutions
  • Scalable platforms

Let's build reliable software

Whether you need a modern web application, enterprise quality engineering, automated testing, or someone who can bridge development and quality assurance — I’d be happy to hear about your project.

Software engineering with quality built in — not added later.

Get in touchEmail me