David Williams
@TheTestingMuse
| Testing | Muse |
|---|---|
| noun [ U ] UK /ˈtestɪŋ/ US The process of using or trying something to see if it works, is suitable, obeys the rules, etc. |
noun [ C ] UK /mjuːz/ US /mjuːz/ literary A person, or an imaginary being or force that gives someone ideas and helps them to write, paint, or make music. |
Recruiters, Please Read!
As a hiring manager of both individual contributors and managers, and having built-up stellar teams in my career, I know that hiring good people is hard. This section is designed to help you decide whether I might be a good fit for a role before you get in touch to discuss further.
While I am not actively looking for a new position, I will always listen to sensible ideas for my career growth, so here are a few points to consider before contacting me about a possible move:
- I need to feel like I’m truly making a difference in my role.
- Any role should be close to 100% remote, with any non-remote elements commutable from Kent to London.
- I am not interested in contracts, nor freelance positions - Permanent roles only please.
- I’m a “hands-off” engineering leader, with a specialisation in quality and testing.
- Please provide a full job description and salary range for the position.
- Like most people, I am not willing to change roles for a lower base salary than my current one.
- Perks, healthcare, bonuses etc are “nice to have” but don’t factor into my decision-making.
TL;DR - Ideal roles need to be making a difference, 100% Remote, permanent, hands-off, and the same or higher salary.
If that marries up with your role, then please get in touch (david@ and then this domain name) and we can make some time to discuss further.
Thanks! :)
Core Values
I try to stick to a core set of Values that drive each decision I make.
They are a reminder of the person I am, at my core, and they help me to work toward being the best I can be for my family, my friends, my career, my team at work, and of course myself.
My Core Values are:
- Lead by example
- Be someone’s muse
- Be honest, open, & relatable
- Be effortlessly efficient
- Be passionate
- Be graciously disruptive
Who Am I?
I’m a 44 year old husband, and father of two amazing kids. I live in Kent, in the United Kingdom.
I’m an award-winning international conference speaker, and also a Mental Health First Aid practitioner.
I spent a short while hosting the London Ministry of Testing “Essentials” event in London in 2020 – I love to share my experience and knowledge with people to help them be the best version of themselves.
During my 19 years in the field of engineering, quality and testing I’ve been a tester, senior, lead, QE manager, head of testing and a cross-functional engineering manager.
I have a technical mindset and a real passion for investigation and testing as a profession (especially risk-based, and Exploratory Testing with developer tools, proxies, and API’s). I’ve been told that my passion is infectious when talking about my experiences and perspectives on the subject.
Until recently I was a prolific Twitter and Slack user, plus testing community advocate. I’m in the process of resurrecting my blog, having taken a temporary step back over the last few months due to work commitments.
Speaking
I may well be a veteran software tester, and given quite a few Lightning Talks at ~300 attendee conferences, but 2018 was the year that I felt my public speaking was up to the high standard expected of international conferences, and when I began sharing my experiences in earnest.
The following are conferences I have, or will be speaking at in the near future:
Let’s Test South Africa (Nov 2018) For my first ever full-length conference speaking slot, I was flown to Johannesburg, South Africa to talk about my own experiences with a decline in Mental Health.
Test Bash Brighton (Apr 2019) I travelled down to Brighton, UK to share my Mental Health in Testing talk. TestBash Brighton was the first conference I ever attended, back in 2015 so it was an honour to have been asked to speak there. Sign-up FREE to see my talk
Romanian Testing Conference (Jun 2019) I was flown to Romania to talk about my experience with Mental Health in Testing, during my first ever visit to Romania. All conference talks were voted-on by delegates, and my talk was awarded the conference’s prized accolade of the People’s Choice Award for the impact it made.