“QA Engineer — the last line of defense between bugs and your users.”

A QA (Quality Assurance) Engineer ensures that software works as expected before it reaches users. They prevent bugs, not just find them, by analyzing requirements, designing test strategies, automating test scenarios, and catching inconsistencies across the entire product lifecycle.

Barrier to Entry: ⭐⭐

Key Responsibilities of a QA Engineer

  1. Requirement Analysis - Review product specs and designs to find ambiguities and edge cases before development begins.

  2. Manual Testing - Execute exploratory or planned tests on user interfaces, APIs, or systems using test cases and real scenarios.

  3. Test Case Creation - Write and maintain structured test cases (step-by-step instructions to verify behavior) and update them as features evolve.

  4. Automation Development - Create scripts in tools like Selenium, Cypress, or Playwright to automate UI, API, or regression testing.

  5. Bug Reporting & Verification - Log issues in systems like JIRA, describe steps to reproduce, and retest fixed bugs after development.

  6. Regression Testing - Re-run suites to make sure new code didn’t break old functionality — usually automated.

  7. API Testing - Use tools like Postman or REST Assured to test how backend services respond to different inputs.

  8. CI/CD Integration - Ensure automated tests run in pipelines (build processes) using Jenkins, GitHub Actions, etc.

  9. Cross-Team Communication - Constant collaboration with developers, PMs, designers, and sometimes users.

Key Skills Required

Manual Testing: Exploratory testing, UI/UX testing, cross-browser/device testing.

Test Documentation: Writing test cases, test plans, bug reports, and checklists.

Automation Skills: Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, JavaScript/Java/Python scripting.

API Testing: Postman, REST Assured, Swagger, understanding of request/response, headers, and status codes.

CI/CD Integration: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Bitbucket Pipelines.

Version Control: Git basics: branching, pull requests, commit etiquette.

Database Testing: Writing simple SQL queries to validate backend changes.

Agile/SDLC Understanding: Testing within Scrum/Kanban, sprint planning, release cycles.

Soft Skills: Attention to detail, critical thinking, clear communication, and patience.

PROS AND CONS

"Every great leader was once a beginner — discover your PM growth roadmap."

Inside a QA Engineer’s Daily Routine

8:30 AM Review Overnight Builds
• Check CI pipeline test results. Investigate test failures and flag new regressions.

9:30 AM Daily Stand‑Up
• Sync with the dev team and product manager. Raise blockers, ask questions about new features.

10:00 AM Test Case Maintenance
• Update test documentation for recent features. Remove obsolete steps and add edge cases.

11:30 AM Manual Testing Session
• Test the latest stories or bugfixes on staging. Use exploratory testing for new UI components.

1:00 PM API Testing
• Send structured requests via Postman or Swagger. Verify responses, headers, and error codes.

2:00 PM Automation Development
• Write or update Cypress/Playwright scripts. Fix flakiness or update locators after UI changes.

3:30 PM Bug Verification
• Re-test previously reported issues. Close resolved ones or reopen if not fixed.

4:30 PM Sync with Dev
• Pair with a developer to reproduce a tricky bug. Suggest test data or changes to fix logic.

5:30 PM Test Results Wrap-Up
• Commit automation changes, summarize today's findings in JIRA, and prepare test plan for tomorrow.