Accessibility QA Engineer with 4+ Years of Experience

Shiva Krishna Kotha

***************@*****.*** +1-813-***-**** New Jersey, USA [Open to relocate] PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Digital Accessibility QA Engineer with 4+ years of hands-on experience manually testing websites, mobile apps, documents, authenticated systems, CMS content, and digital forms for compliance with WCAG 2.0/2.1 AA, Section 508, ADA, and MAS. Strong expertise in JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, keyboard-only testing, HTML/ARIA review, and documenting findings in clear, actionable terms for developers, content teams, and platform owners. Experienced in building test cases, maintaining test libraries, analyzing patterns across issue sets, and communicating results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. DHS Trusted Tester certified, with proven results improving remediation efficiency and reducing high-severity issues.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Accessibility Standards: WCAG 2.0/2.1 (A/AA/AAA), Section 508, ADA, MAS Assistive Technology: JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, ZoomText, high-contrast modes, keyboard-only testing Platforms: Web (SPA + traditional), mobile apps (iOS/Android), documents (PDF/Word/Excel/PowerPoint), WordPress CMS, Canvas LMS

Tools: axe DevTools/Axe Monitor, Accessibility Insights, WAVE, ANDI, CCA, PAC, browser DevTools QA/Test Engineering: Test case design, test libraries, defect logs, issue patterns, regression/UAT, Jira, Azure DevOps Web Tech: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, TypeScript, WAI-ARIA, WordPress, XML Programming/CI: Java, Python, SQL, Selenium WebDriver, Cucumber, Git, Jenkins Documents: Adobe Acrobat Pro, Equidox, accessible authoring for Office Suite WORK EXPERIENCE

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ Dec 2025 - Present Accessibility Remediation Specialist

• Conduct detailed manual accessibility audits of SEBS/NJAES websites, forms, digital documents, and WordPress content using JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, and automated tools like axe/WAVE to uncover both common patterns and unique issues.

• Built and maintained test cases and repeatable testing protocols across asset types, helping streamline audits and improve coverage across high-traffic academic content.

• Organized and maintained issue inventories, grouping findings by component type and WCAG SC to help IT teams prioritize remediation efficiently.

• Reviewed and corrected HTML/CSS/ARIA, WordPress templates, and PDF tags/structures (Acrobat + Equidox) to ensure accurate headings, landmarks, focus order, and screen-reader navigation.

• Regularly communicated findings to developers, content contributors, and platform owners, providing clear remediation guidance and validating fixes before deployment. BigCommerce, Remote, USA Mar 2025 – Dec 2025

Web Accessibility Engineer

• Performed manual end-to-end accessibility testing for ecommerce journeys such as search, filters, cart, checkout across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, validating with JAWS/NVDA, VoiceOver, and keyboard-only.

• Audited authenticated customer flows and administrative tools, identifying issues across legacy and modern components and documenting them with WCAG-mapped success criteria in Jira.

• Built and refined test libraries for forms, interactive widgets, and dynamic content, improving the speed and consistency of future audits.

• Worked closely with engineers on HTML/ARIA remediation, verifying focus management, announcements, error handling, and semantic markup before code reached QA.

• Supported vendor evaluation and new component reviews, raising accessibility risks early and contributing input for procurement decisions.

• Reduced high-severity accessibility defects by 35% QoQ by grouping issues into patterns, prioritizing with product teams, and guiding developers toward repeatable solutions. Accenture, India Jul 2021 - Dec 2022

Software Engineer – Accessibility Specialist

• Carried out full accessibility audits for large enterprise systems, including data collection tools, internal business processes, and case management systems, using JAWS/NVDA, keyboard testing, and automated tools.

• Authored clear remediation notes with concrete HTML/ARIA examples, improving developer understanding and reducing defect reopen rates.

• Organized test artifacts, maintaining traceable documentation, compliance checklists, and evidence logs for internal and client audits.

• Remediated PDFs and Office documents, fixing tagging, lists, reading order, tables, and alt text to meet non-web accessibility requirements across enterprise assets.

• Collaborated with cross-functional teams in Agile sprints, validating fixes, overseeing regression checks, and ensuring accessibility criteria were consistently included in story definitions. Mc Kinsey & Company, India Jan 2020 - Jun 2021

Associate Software Engineer

• Supported QA teams by assisting with early-stage accessibility checks on internal tools, reviewing HTML structure and interaction patterns for navigation, focus, and labeling issues.

• Helped document test cases, regression notes, and structured findings, improving clarity and consistency across testing teams.

• Coordinated with designers and developers to ensure test results were well understood and that fixes aligned with WCAG principles and user-centered design thinking. EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

M.S., Computer Science & Engineering, University of South Florida Tampa, FL Jan 2023 – Dec 2024 DHS Trusted Tester Certification

Accessible Document Authoring (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel) AI for Accessibility

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