Umesh Chanderia

Engineering Manager

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India20 yrs experience

Highly StableAI Enabled

Key Highlights

17+ years of experience in Storage Testing and Automation.
Expert in AI/ML integration for storage validation.
Proven track record in leading high-performance QA teams.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Storage Testing Expert with a focus on AI/ML integration and automation.

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Skills

Core Skills

Quality AssuranceTest EngineeringStorage SystemsAutomationPerformance ValidationNas TestingSan TestingStorage Deployment

Other Skills

3PARAIAmazon S3Artificial Intelligence (AI)Asset and Liability Management (ALM)BrocadeCisco TechnologiesFCPHP StorageHPCMachine LearningNFSNVMe Over Fabrics (NVMeOF)NimblePerl

About

Lead Storage Test Engineer with 17+ years of experience specializing in Object, File, and Block Storage systems including S3, NFS, SMB, FCP, and iSCSI. Passionate about driving innovations in Storage Testing, Automation (Python, Shell, PyTest), RCA (Root Cause Analysis), and AI/ML-based validation strategies. Proven track record in Storage Performance, Scalability, Reliability, AI/ML integration, and executing benchmarks like MLPerf Storage. Currently leading two QA teams (S3DS and NSDS) at DataDirect Networks (DDN), focusing on cloud-scale Object Storage and enterprise NAS. Expertise across Storage Platforms: Alletra MP, Nimble Storage, 3PAR, FabricPool (AWS S3), NVMe Storage, MetroCluster (DR). Actively building Gherkin-based BDD Automation powered by AI/ML models, enabling predictive testing, RCA analysis, and auto-scenario generation. Committed to advancing storage reliability through intelligent, automation-first approaches.

Experience

Ddn

2 roles

Engineering Manager – Quality Assurance

Promoted

Sep 2025 – Present · 6 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Leading Quality Engineering across the EXA Ecosystem, which includes multiple distributed storage and observability teams:
Managing QA for DS NSDS (NFS/SMB), DS S3DS (S3 Object Storage), GCP Integration, DDN Insight, and DDN Observability.
Driving cross-functional quality strategy, test automation, and scalability validation for DDN’s AI and HPC storage platforms.
Collaborating with development teams to align on design reviews, observability milestones, and release goals.
Focused on building a high-performance QA culture across geographically distributed teams and ensuring product reliability in AI and HPC workflows.
Mentoring leads and engineers to adopt data-driven validation and AI-based automation in testing.

Test AutomationQuality EngineeringAIHPCQuality AssuranceTest Engineering

Lead QA Engineer – Storage Systems

Dec 2024 – Sep 2025 · 9 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Leading two QA teams for validation of S3DS (S3 Object Storage) and NSDS (NFS, SMB) platforms.
Designed an AI-based Gherkin Scenario Generator to automate storage testing workflows.
Executing MLPerf Storage benchmarks and cloud-scale object storage performance validations.
Developing RCA (Root Cause Analysis) prediction models using NLP and deep learning for defect classification.
Driving automation of regression and scale testing for distributed object and file storage stacks.

Machine LearningArtificial Intelligence (AI)Test AutomationPython (Programming Language)Team LeadershipNFS+3

Hewlett packard enterprise

Lead Engineer (Sr. Specialist)

Mar 2020 – Dec 2024 · 4 yrs 9 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Led validation strategy for Alletra MP, Nimble Arrays, and Object Storage platforms supporting AI/ML and traditional workloads.
Executed MLPerf Storage benchmarks to validate AI/ML scale and stress scenarios.
Defined and implemented test strategies for performance, scalability, automation, and reliability.
Directed Customer Focus Testing (CFT), simulating real-world 3PAR & Nimble workloads.
Reproduced complex field issues and led Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for 3PAR/Nimble arrays.
Designed Python automation frameworks and CI pipelines for platform qualification.
Mentored junior engineers and contributed to test architecture for hybrid storage products.

Machine LearningArtificial Intelligence (AI)Test AutomationPython (Programming Language)Team Leadership3PAR+3

Netapp

Member of Technical Staff

Jan 2012 – Mar 2020 · 8 yrs 2 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Led planning and execution of functional, performance, and interoperability testing for SAN features.
Led NFS Delegation and Locking functional validation for NFSv3, NFSv4, and NFSv4.1.
Delivered system-level and integration testing for locking and delegation features.
Validated critical features like NVMe over FC, FabricPool (AWS S3 tiering), and MetroCluster DR.
Designed and executed test automation using Python for NetApp’s ONTAP platform.
Handled firmware upgrades, backend fault injection, and high-availability validation scenarios.
Worked closely with development and support teams to drive closure of critical bugs.

Test AutomationFCPNFSAmazon S3Team LeadershipNVMe Over Fabrics (NVMeOF)+2

Calsoft

Senior QA Engineer

May 2011 – Dec 2011 · 7 mos · Pune/Pimpri-Chinchwad Area

Led NAS testing covering CIFS, NFS, Snapshots, Replication, and Data Migration.
Validated BlueArc Storage solutions for performance and robustness.
Defined and implemented test strategies for performance, scalability, automation, and reliability.

Test AutomationNFSTeam LeadershipAsset and Liability Management (ALM)Test EngineeringNAS Testing

Symphony services, pune

Senior Product Engineer

Nov 2009 – May 2011 · 1 yr 6 mos · Pune, Maharashtra, India

Performed manual and automated SAN testing for NetApp's 7-Mode platforms.
Handled Bug Automation (BURTs) and reproduced critical issues.

Test AutomationFCPStorage Area NetworksiSCSITest EngineeringSAN Testing

Hewlett packard enterprise

Technical Consultant

Nov 2006 – Nov 2009 · 3 yrs · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Implemented and supported HP EVA, MSA Storage Arrays, Brocade SAN switches, and DR setups.
Delivered Storage Deployments and Upgrades for enterprise customers like UBI.

Test AutomationTest EngineeringStorage Deployment