Job Title: QA Engineer (Manual)
Location: [UK], NA hours support [2 PM BST to 11 PM BST]
Department: Quality Engineering / Product Engineering
✨ Role Overview
We are seeking a seasoned Hands-On Lead QA Engineer to drive the overall quality strategy for our products. In this hands-on leadership role, you will partner closely with Tech Project Managers, Engineering, Dev, and Product teams to translate requirements into robust test strategies, plans, and execution. You’ll own quality metrics, coach a high-performing QA team, and champion a culture of continuous improvement and transparent reporting. This position requires a balanced contribution across leadership and hands-on execution. Approximately 50% of the role involves leading activities such as planning, coordination, stakeholder communication, quality strategy alignment, and mentoring team members. The remaining 50% involves active participation in test design, execution, defect management, and overall hands-on quality engineering alongside the team.
🎯 Key Responsibilities
1. Quality Strategy & Planning
Collaborate with Product Owners & Tech PMs to understand project goals, scope, and acceptance criteria.
Define comprehensive test strategies (functional, integration, system, regression, security, usability).
Develop detailed test plans, test cases, and test data aligned with project timelines and risk profiles.
2. Hands-On Test Execution
Lead and participate in testing activities (manual & automated) across web and backend services.
Collaborate with the test automation team to promote shift-left practices and CI/CD integration.
Validate defect fixes, perform root-cause analysis, and ensure high-quality releases.
Active participation in the In Sprint testing activities including test execution for the testing request.
3. Team Leadership & Mentorship
Assign, review, and prioritize tasks for QA engineers; remove blockers and ensure on-time delivery.
Foster a culture of collaboration, learning, and accountability through code/test reviews and coaching.
Define career development goals; conduct regular feedback and performance evaluations.
4. Progress Tracking & Reporting
Maintain daily, weekly, monthly metrics (test coverage, defect density, velocity, automation rate).
Build and maintain QA dashboards in tools like Jira, TestRail, or equivalent.
Present concise status reports and data-driven insights to stakeholders, highlighting risks & mitigation plans.
5. Stakeholder & Cross-Team Collaboration
Act as the primary QA point of contact for Tech PMs, Engineering Leads, and Product Owners.
Participate in sprint planning, backlog grooming, and release readiness reviews.
Advocate for high product quality and user experience throughout the SDLC.
6. Process Improvement
Evaluate and refine QA processes (test pyramid, risk-based testing, automation strategy).
Introduce best practices, emerging tools, and methodologies to boost efficiency and coverage.
Lead retrospectives to capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement