A fast-growing, AI-driven SaaS company operating in the network management and IT infrastructure space, is looking for a Hands-On QA Lead who can own quality end-to-end - from strategy to execution.

This is not a coordination role. You will be deeply involved in testing complex, distributed systems, while also building and leading the QA field in the company. You’ll define how quality is done in the company and ensure the company ships reliable, production-grade systems.

What You’ll Do:

Own the overall quality strategy across the platform
Design, write, and execute end-to-end test plans for complex system workflows
Lead solution-level testing across multiple services and components
Build and maintain automated test frameworks (API, integration, and system tests)
Stay hands-on: write code, debug issues, and investigate failures
Work closely with engineering and product departments to ensure high-quality releases
Drive CI/CD quality gates and integrate testing into the development lifecycle
Identify gaps, break assumptions, and push the system to failure points

Leadership Responsibilities:

Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing QA team
Own hiring and scaling of the QA function
Set quality standards, processes, and best practices
Drive accountability for quality across engineering teams
Balance hands-on work with leadership and execution

What We Expect:

You are hands-on first, leader second - you lead by example
You have a strong sense of ownership and accountability
You are comfortable testing complex, distributed systems, not just UI flows
You think like a "breaker", constantly looking for edge cases and failure scenarios
You can operate in a fast-paced startup environment with minimal guidance
You care deeply about building robust, reliable systems

Requirements:

5+ years of experience in QA / Test Engineering, including tech-lead/leadership experience
Strong experience in test automation (API, integration, system-level)
Hands-on experience with scripting (e.g., Python, Bash, or similar)
Experience testing networking systems / protocols / infrastructure
Proven experience with solution-level / end-to-end testing
Experience writing and executing comprehensive test plans
Experience with Docker and Kubernetes
Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices

Advantage:

Strong hands-on experience with networking equipment such as routers, switches, firewalls, and access points
Experience testing distributed systems / microservices architectures
Experience with performance and load testing
Background in cloud environments
Experience working with Java-based systems
Experience with test frameworks and infrastructure at scale