With the growing complexity of digital products, QA testing is becoming increasingly important to ensure flawless experiences at every level.
QA engineers play a crucial role in this area, ensuring that quality and safety standards are met.
In this article, we cover everything you need to know about hiring a QA engineer, covering the responsibilities as well as the skills required to ensure the quality of your digital products.
What is a QA engineer?
The QA (Quality Assurance) engineer ensures that the products developed, whether software, mobile applications or complex systems, meet quality requirements and function correctly before being put into production or marketed.
These engineers work closely with developers, project managers, analysts and sometimes even end-users to identify defects, ensure compliance with specifications and improve product efficiency through a series of tests and analyses.
They are involved in all phases of the project life cycle, from planning to final delivery.
Main tasks of a QA engineer
Test design and execution
Development of test plans to identify errors, malfunctions and flaws in the product.
Test automation
Development and use of automated testing tools to speed up the validation process.
Writing quality reports
Documentation of test results, anomalies detected and recommendations for improving product quality.
Collaboration with development teams
Work with developers to fix bugs and ensure that changes do not introduce new bugs.
Technology watch
Keeping abreast of technological developments, new testing methods and tools to stay at the cutting edge of best practices in the field.
Performance validation
Ensure that the product operates efficiently under different loads and conditions.
Standards monitoring
Respect and apply quality standards (ISO, CMMI, etc.) specific to the industry or project.
Skills required
Technical skills
QA engineers need to master a plethora of tools, as well as programming languages (Java, Python, etc.).
Technologies often used by QA engineers include :
- Test management tools
- Test automation frameworks
- Performance testing tools
- Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) tools
- Test case management tools
- Bug tracking tools
- Virtualization and cloud platforms
- Code review tools
Rigor and organization
The QA engineer must be meticulous, methodical, and able to follow rigorous processes to identify errors.
Communication
Clear reporting and the ability to explain problems in an understandable way are essential.
Adaptability
The QA working environment is constantly evolving. For example, topics such as security, artificial intelligence and big data are likely to impact software testing in the future.
The QA engineer must therefore be able to adapt to new tools and technologies to meet evolving challenges.
Training and career
A QA engineer generally comes from a background in IT, software development or engineering.
The most frequent routes:
Diploma in computer science or equivalent: A degree in computer engineering, a master's degree in software engineering or a BTS/DUT in computer science.
Certifications : Certifications specific to software quality, such as ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board).
Experience: Experience in software development, systems administration or a similar role.
Where can I find QA engineers?
LinkedIn remains the best platform for finding developers. Its search tool offers several filters to refine your candidate search, including job title, location, current company and years of experience.
In addition to LinkedIn, other ways to find and hire QA engineers include:
Job platforms: You can post jobs or search for candidates on sites such as Indeed, Monster, Welcome to the Jungle, Hellowork and Jooble.
Recruitment companies: Specialist technical recruitment agencies such as Michael Page, Hays or Robert Half can help you find qualified QA engineers.
Sourcing via AI: Use artificial intelligence tools like Entelo, or AmazingHiring, which automate candidate sourcing by scouring various databases and networks to find profiles suited to your needs.
Recruiting a QA engineer - is there an alternative?
Finding talent capable of creating high-performance tests is quite complex, and even with the right candidate, creating tests with the help of a QA engineer is a costly process, often accompanied by a long lead time.
An alternative is to run your QA tests usinga no-code automated testing tool, which enables project manager, business or non-technical profiles to run tests efficiently and identify bugs thanks to clear dashboards and personalized alerts.
Onboarding is extremely simple, even for someone with no technical skills, allowing your existing teams to take on the role of QA engineers.
Low-code automation - an agile approach
In addition to the challenges of recruiting a QA engineer, customer journeys and software systems are becoming increasingly complex. As a result, test automation is becoming crucial.
A low-code functional test automation solution is part of an agile approach, with easily accessible reusable components and AI features that accelerate time-to-market.
This not only frees up developers to focus on other projects, but also enables team members without coding skills to create and manage end-to-end functional tests.
As the tool takes care of most of the technical aspects, and saves a considerable amount of time, test managers can concentrate on more strategic tasks, such as defining test strategy, establishing acceptance criteria and high value-added manual testing.
Advantages of low-code functional test automation :
- Superior efficiency
- Cost savings
- Faster time to market
- Improved collaboration
- Professional retraining and simplified training
- Centralization of information
Mr Suricate - an alternative to recruiting technical profiles
Historically, QA engineers have played a crucial role in software development.
However, the adoption of a no-code automated testing tool represents a real alternative to the recruitment of technical profiles.
The no-code SaaS solution Mr Suricate solution covers a wide range of automated tests in order to control your testing and provide your users with the best possible experience.
Take control of your applications and detect bugs in real time on your websites, applications and APIs by reproducing your user journeys at regular intervals.
