QA ENGINEER AND TESTING SPECIALIST (FULL-TIME, VIRTUAL)

QA ENGINEER AND TESTING SPECIALIST (FULL-TIME, VIRTUAL)

Product Quality + Bug Hunting + Customer Issue Investigation

I’m the founder and CEO of a fast-moving technology company. I’m hiring a full-time QA and Testing Specialist who will be our defense against bugs, catch issues before customers do, investigate customer-reported problems to their root cause, and help engineering ship with confidence through clear, actionable bug documentation.

This is a high-agency role. You will own product quality by systematically testing the product, asking deeper questions when users report issues, and filing bug reports so clear that engineers can act immediately.

Note: This is not a software engineering role. It is product grooming + bug hunting + customer issue investigation + documentation. If you are detail-obsessed, excellent at reproducing product issues, good at asking the right questions, and tech-savvy enough to navigate browser dev tools and multiple web applications, you will do great.

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WHAT YOU WILL OWN

CUSTOMER ISSUE INVESTIGATION (top priority, interrupt-driven)

Your job is to be the bridge between customers and engineering. When a user reports an issue, you will dig deeper, reproduce it reliably, and turn vague complaints into actionable tickets.

• When a customer issue comes in, drop everything. This is always your top priority
• Attempt to reproduce the issue based on the customer’s description
• If you can’t reproduce it, generate deeper questions such as:
– What exact steps did you take?
– What browser and extension version?
– Can you record a Loom?
– What were you trying to accomplish?
• Once reproducible, file a detailed bug ticket and escalate appropriately
• Report back with findings so the customer gets a fast, clear response

PRODUCT GROOMING AND BUG HUNTING (find bugs before customers do)

Your job is to systematically test the product, find edge cases, and catch issues before they reach production.

• Pick one area to groom each day and rotate through core features, integrations, and new functionality
• Use the product like a real user and actively try to break it
• Test edge cases such as special characters, long text, slow connections, multiple tabs, and unusual workflows
• File bug tickets immediately for anything you find
• Build familiarity with every feature so you can navigate the product fro ---------- mory

BUG FIX VERIFICATION (close the loop on fixes)

Your job is to verify that bug fixes actually work and do not break anything else.

• For each bug ticket marked “Ready for QA,” reproduce the original issue if possible
• Test the fix in staging and verify it resolves the problem
• Check for regressions to ensure no new issues were introduced
• Close the ticket with a verification note, or bounce it back with clear feedback if not fixed

BUG DOCUMENTATION (make tickets engineering can act on immediately)

Your job is to write bug reports so clear that engineers rarely need to ask follow-up questions.

• Every bug report must include:
– Clear title
– Severity (P1, P2, P3)
– Environment details (browser, extension version, system)
– Exact reproduction steps
– Expected vs actual behavior
– Loom video
– Relevant screenshots or console errors
• Build institutional memory of how the product behaves by documenting patterns, tricky bugs, and known issues
• Maintain the QA wiki and regression checklists so knowledge is retained

SYSTEMS IMPROVEMENT AND PROCEDURES (daily improvement required)

Your job is to spot patterns, identify recurring issues, and build procedures so we get better every week.

• Identify recurring bug patterns, failure points, and “things that keep breaking”
• Propose simple fixes and implement them such as better templates, checklists, test cases, or regression suites
• Create and maintain SOPs that make outcomes repeatable with clear steps, screenshots, and definitions of done
• Daily requirement: deliver one real, documented improvement to the QA process, even if small

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TECH-SAVVY OPERATIONS (navigate tools and gather evidence)

You do not need to be a software engineer. You do need to be comfortable with technology to the point where you can confidently navigate complex web applications and gather the evidence needed to reproduce and document bugs.

• Browser DevTools: inspect elements, read console errors, check network requests
• Screen recording with Loom or similar tools
• Navigating multiple systems and web applications
• Understanding basic technical concepts such as iframes, browser extensions, and API errors
• Working across staging and production environments

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TOOLS YOU SHOULD BE COMFORTABLE WITH

• GitHub for source code hosting, pull requests, and tracking issues tied to fixes
• Linear for bug tracking and ticket management
• Loom for recording bug reproduction videos
• Intercom for customer issue investigation and working with the Account Manager
• Notion for the QA wiki, checklists, and documentation
• Slack for daily check-ins and team communication
• Chrome DevTools for debugging and inspection
• Multiple web applications tested across different systems

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WORKING STYLE EXPECTATIONS

• Full-time availability, 40 hours per week
• Required working hours: 8:00am to 4:00pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday
• Strong written English and fast response times during working hours
• High ownership, extreme attention to detail, strong judgment, and confidentiality
• Comfortable working with time tracking if required
• Comfortable with synchronous communication when needed, including live Zoom debugging sessions

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DAILY EXPECTATIONS (required)

Your job each day is to keep quality high, catch bugs early, and ensure no customer issue sits without a clear next action.

• Start of day (within first 15 minutes): send a quick plan outlining testing focus, tickets to verify, and needs from engineering
• Customer issues are always top priority and must be actively investigated immediately
• Product grooming: focused daily testing of one area of the product
• Ticket verification: check and verify all bugs marked “Ready for QA”
• End of day (within last 15 minutes): send a recap with bugs found, tickets verified, areas tested, and plan for tomorrow
• Be available for live debugging sessions with engineering when needed
• During working hours, acknowledge messages quickly and share ETAs
• Daily systems improvement: ship and document one concrete QA improvement

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WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE AFTER 30 DAYS

• P1 bugs do not reach production
• Customer issues are investigated and documented within hours, not days
• Bug reports are so clear that engineers rarely need follow-up questions
• You can navigate every feature and integration fro ---------- mory
• The QA wiki has grown with documented edge cases, patterns, and test scenarios
• Daily plans and end-of-day recaps are delivered consistently without misses
• A weekly QA Health Report is delivered summarizing bugs found, verified, areas tested, and patterns noticed

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HOW TO APPLY

Please reply with the following:
1. A greeting and elevator pitch: who you are, what you specialize in, and one measurable QA result
2. Confirmation you are available 8:00am to 4:00pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday
3. Confirmation you are open to a short video call and a small paid test task
4. Tools you are strongest with
5. A short writing sample: a bug report title and three-sentence summary for “The save button doesn’t work sometimes”
6. A 3–5 step explanation of how you would investigate a customer-reported bug you cannot immediately reproduce

Read-check (small but important)
7. In 1–2 sentences, what specifically stuck out to you in this job post
8. The top five things you would be best at in this role, ranked, with one sentence each
9. Include the exact phrase “single source of truth” somewhere in your response

Tech-savvy check
10. Describe a time you tracked down a tricky bug, including what made it hard, how you reproduced it, and how you documented it

60-second video (required)
11. Send a 60-second video covering your name, background, an example of catching a critical bug before customers, why this role fits you, and your availability

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HIRING PROCESS

• Application review of written responses and video
• Clarifying questions if needed
• Short 15-minute video call
• One-week full-time trial if the video call is strong