QA Engineer - Freelance/Contract

Metajive Design LLC • Encinitas, CA

just now • Onsite

About The Position

As a QA Engineer, you will be a key contributor to our product quality strategy. You won't just follow test cases; you will design them, influence the architecture for "testability," and help maintain our automated testing suites. You are expected to have a deep understanding of how our system components interact and how to identify edge cases that others might miss. This is a freelance/contractor role.

Requirements

• Experience: 3–5 years of professional experience in software quality assurance.
• Willingness to be on-site for project kick-offs and check-ins at our office in Encinitas, CA.
• Automation: Proven experience writing automated tests (not just executing them). Proficiency in at least one scripting language (e.g., JavaScript, Python, or Java).
• Testing Lifecycle: Strong mastery of the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) and how it integrates into Agile/Scrum environments.
• Tooling: Expert-level knowledge of Jira, TestRail (or similar), and Git for version control.
• Database: Ability to write complex SQL queries to verify data persistence and perform backend validation.
• CI/CD: Basic understanding of how testing fits into CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab).
• Critical Thinking: The ability to look at a feature and ask, "What happens if the user does this?"
• Adaptability: Comfortable switching between manual exploratory testing and technical automation tasks as the sprint requires.
• Communication: Ability to explain technical defects to non-technical stakeholders and advocate for quality when deadlines are tight.

Responsibilities

• End-to-End Ownership: Take full ownership of testing for specific features or modules, from initial requirement analysis to final release.
• Test Strategy & Design: Create sophisticated test strategies that go beyond "happy paths," incorporating negative testing, boundary analysis, and error handling.
• Automation Development: Write and maintain reliable automated scripts within our framework (e.g., Selenium, Playwright, or Cypress). You will help reduce manual regression efforts by identifying high-value automation targets.
• API Testing: Perform deep-dive testing of RESTful APIs using tools like Postman or Charles Proxy to validate data integrity and system integration.
• Defect Management: Act as a "Quality Advocate" by not just reporting bugs, but investigating root causes and providing developers with detailed logs and reproduction steps.
• Collaboration: Work closely with Product Managers to refine User Stories and acceptance criteria, ensuring requirements are clear and testable.
• Mentorship: Provide guidance and peer reviews for junior QA members' test cases and automation code.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed