QA Lead

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