Hire QA engineers

We go beyond just looking at job titles or how many years someone has worked. When we screen QA engineers, we focus on how they think, not just what they know. That means understanding:

• how they prioritize test cases

• how they spot patterns in bugs

• how they communicate risks to developers or product managers

We look for engineers who are not afraid to ask “What if…?” and who’ve shown they can spot issues before they become real problems in the process of evaluating software quality.

During our technical interviews, we run scenario-based tests. For example, we’ll ask how they’d build a test plan for a feature with unknown edge cases or how they’d handle regression testing under tight deadlines. Their answers give us insight into their judgment, not just their skills. We also evaluate how well they adapt to different product types (mobile vs. web, B2B vs. B2C) because quality assurance isn’t one-size-fits-all.

Finally, we look at how well they’ve collaborated in the past. QA is a team sport. If they’ve worked with cross-functional teams, improved bug-reporting processes, or introduced automated testing frameworks into legacy workflows, that’s a huge plus. We want people who raise the quality bar without slowing the team down.

Our QA engineers come from a wide range of technical backgrounds, and we make sure they’re comfortable with the tools your QA team already uses or can help you choose better ones:

• Many of our test automation engineers are fluent in tools like Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, and Appium

• For manual and exploratory testing, they often use TestRail, Jira, Zephyr, or even more lightweight systems, depending on your setup

• When it comes to backend and API testing, tools like Postman, Swagger, and REST Assured are common

We also have engineers who are experienced with CI/CD pipelines and understand how to hook tests into Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or CircleCI. For mobile apps, we look for engineers with real-device testing experience, not just emulators.

However, tools are only part of the story. What really matters is how the engineer applies them: whether they’re using the right test management tools and testing techniques, writing maintainable scripts, identifying flakiness early, or customizing test suites for fast feedback during sprints. We vet for that kind of thoughtful, practical experience.

We’ve staffed QA engineers in everything from FinTech and SaaS to eCommerce, logistics, EdTech, and HealthTech. That means we’re used to adapting to different types of risk and compliance requirements. For example, QA in FinTech isn’t just about catching UI bugs. It often includes checking for precision in calculations, testing edge cases in transactions, and ensuring security protocols aren’t compromised.

• In HealthCare, QA engineers have to be mindful of how software handles patient data, uptime, and integrations with electronic health record systems. 

• In eCommerce, they pay special attention to checkout flows, cart behavior, inventory syncs, and responsive design across devices. 

Every industry has its own quirks, and we help you hire a QA engineer who’s worked in similar contexts before or who knows how to get up to speed quickly.

We also keep an eye on transferable skills. A QA engineer who’s tested onboarding flows in a social platform will likely be great at finding friction in a SaaS app signup. What matters most is their ability to understand product behavior, user expectations, and potential failure points in your specific context.

At KPS, we specifically look for people who communicate clearly and are proactive about raising questions, not just reacting to requirements throughout the whole software development life cycle (SDLC). Top QA engineers will jump in during sprint planning, clarify user stories, and highlight edge cases others might miss. They help reduce ambiguity, not just catch bugs after the fact.

We also evaluate how well engineers write and organize their test cases and bug reports (and how they use bug tracking tools). We ask questions:

• Can they explain the issue in plain language, give clear steps to reproduce, and point out possible root causes? 

• Do they tag developers in the right tools and keep feedback loops short? 

These small things add up to major efficiency gains during development.

When designers are involved, we look for dedicated QA engineers who are comfortable discussing UX feedback too. If something feels off, like a confusing tooltip or a mobile layout glitch, they’ll mention it even if it technically passes a test. In short, we find people who feel responsible for the whole product experience, not just their assigned ticket.

This is one of the most overlooked areas in QA hiring, and it’s one we pay close attention to. We want engineers who understand that software testing is about protecting the user experience and supporting the company’s goals. That could mean prioritizing what’s most critical for a product launch or adjusting software testing processes based on the feature’s business value.

During our vetting process, we ask questions like: 

• How would you adjust your test plan if the deadline moves up? 

• How do you decide which bugs to escalate and which to log for later?

The goal is to see how well they can connect their QA work to what the business is trying to achieve, whether that’s faster release cycles, smoother onboarding, or increased conversion.

We also appreciate engineers who are comfortable using analytics and feedback loops. Some of our senior software QA testers will proactively look at crash reports, user behavior, or feedback from customer support to inform what needs more testing (for example, functional testing). This shows us they’re not just testing for the sake of the testing process; they’re trying to make the product better for real people.