Manikya Dubashi

Why this persona fits the audience

Is doing technical screenings for QA automation and SDET roles in India, with a mix of live coding, test-design questions, and recruiter screens. He currently uses a different AI interview assistant on a second device during calls and then cross-checks notes afterward.

• Age: 28
• Location: Pune, India
• Occupation: QA Automation Engineer
• Income: ₹14 LPA
• Education: BTech in Electronics
• Company size: Mid-sized IT services firm (500-1000 employees)
• Years in role: 4

“You can't automate what you don't understand, and you can't scale what isn't stable first.”

Manikya Dubashi is a 28-year-old QA Automation Engineer based in Pune, India, navigating the transition from a traditional electronics background to a specialized software testing career. Holding a BTech in Electronics, he pivoted into IT four years ago, driven by a desire for more dynamic problem-solving and better career mobility. Currently earning ₹14 LPA at a mid-sized IT services firm, he is deeply entrenched in the world of test automation, spending his days building robust Selenium and Appium frameworks. However, his recent promotion to conduct technical screenings for junior SDET roles has introduced a new layer of complexity to his professional life. He finds himself juggling the responsibility of evaluating candidates' coding prowess while simultaneously managing his own development tasks. To cope with the intensity of these interviews, Manikya has adopted a pragmatic, albeit slightly makeshift, solution: he runs a competitor's AI interview assistant on a second device during live calls. This allows him to access real-time hints and syntax checks without disrupting the shared screen, though he acknowledges the friction of manually cross-checking the AI's output against his own notes post-interview. His personality is defined by high conscientiousness; he meticulously prepares for every interaction, believing that consistency is the hallmark of quality. While he is cost-aware and generally skeptical of bloated enterprise tools, his willingness to adopt technology is evident in his current setup. He balances his intense work life with a passion for cooking intricate meals and following the Indian Premier League, finding solace in the rhythm of the kitchen and the pitch. As he eyes a move to a product-based company, Manikya is constantly refining his toolkit, seeking efficiency not just in code, but in how he evaluates the next generation of testers.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Manikya's day begins at 6:00 AM with a 30-minute run along the nearby lake, followed by a shower and a protein-rich breakfast of idli and sambar. By 8:30 AM, he is commuting via auto-rickshaw to his office in Hinjewadi, listening to a cricket podcast. Work starts with a 15-minute stand-up, after which he dives into automating a regression suite for the payment gateway module until noon. Lunch is a quick meal of biryani eaten at his desk while skimming tech news. The afternoon is reserved for code reviews and pair programming sessions. Around 4 PM, he shifts focus to a scheduled interview panel where he uses a secondary laptop running an AI assistant to help analyze a candidate's test design approach, taking silent notes. Post-work, he heads home, sometimes stopping at a grocery store for fresh vegetables. Evenings are for cooking a multi-course dinner, cleaning up, and perhaps playing a casual game of mobile chess before bed at 11 PM.

Lifestyle

Manikya lives in a modest 2BHK in Kothrud, Pune, sharing the space with two engineering friends to split rent costs. His routine is highly structured; he wakes at 6 AM for a quick jog and a cup of strong filter coffee before heading to work. On weekends, his primary relaxation involves cooking elaborate South Indian or North Indian dishes, often experimenting with new recipes he finds online. He is financially prudent, prioritizing savings for a down payment on a home over luxury gadgets, though he stays updated on mid-range Android specs. Socially, he prefers small gatherings over large parties, often bonding with colleagues over lunch or weekend cricket matches watched at a local sports bar. He maintains good health through regular exercise but admits to occasional back pain from long hours at the desk.

Work life

As a QA Automation Engineer at a mid-sized IT firm, Manikya spends 60% of his day writing Selenium and Appium scripts, while the rest is dedicated to debugging flaky tests and attending stand-ups. Recently, his role has expanded to include interviewing candidates for junior SDET positions, a task he finds mentally taxing due to the need to assess both coding speed and architectural thinking. He juggle multiple tools: Jira for tracking, GitLab for version control, and his own custom Python scripts for generating test data. The pressure comes from tight sprint deadlines and the fear of missing bugs in production. He relies heavily on his second monitor setup and keeps a physical notebook for manual calculations, though he increasingly uses a browser-based AI tool on a separate laptop during interviews to assist with real-time problem solving.

Relationships

Manikya is close to his parents in Nagpur, visiting them twice a year and calling weekly. He has a tight-knit group of four college friends who meet monthly for cricket and board games. At work, he respects his manager but feels disconnected from the broader HR initiatives. He relies on his roommate, an architect, for advice on home renovation projects. His social circle is largely professional, consisting mostly of colleagues from the Pune tech community, and he values their input when evaluating new tools or career moves.

How they decide

Cautious and research-heavy. Manikya rarely adopts a new technology or service without reading detailed documentation, watching at least three independent review videos, and checking forums for user complaints. He values peer recommendations from trusted colleagues over marketing claims. When facing a choice, he creates a pros-and-cons list, weighs the long-term maintenance effort against immediate benefits, and prefers incremental adoption rather than radical changes. He is skeptical of 'magic bullet' solutions and looks for concrete evidence of reliability.

How they sound

Manikya speaks in a calm, measured tone with a slight Marathi accent influencing his English cadence. He avoids slang unless discussing cricket with friends. In professional settings, he uses precise terminology but remains concise, avoiding unnecessary verbosity. He tends to pause briefly before answering complex questions, preferring accuracy over speed. He rarely raises his voice or uses hyperbolic language, even when frustrated. His speech reflects a logical structure, often starting with the premise before moving to the conclusion. He is comfortable with silence during conversations and listens intently before responding.