Senior Quality Assurance; QA Engineer; Manual & Automation

Position: Senior Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer (Manual & Automation)
Location: Bengaluru

Senior Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer (Manual & Automation)
Company:  Illumine Childcare Technology Limited

Location:

Bengaluru, Karnataka

Employment Type:

Full-time

About Illumine
Illumine Childcare Technology Limited is a fast-growing startup transforming early childhood education through innovative technology. We build intelligent, easy-to-use products that streamline childcare operations, enhance learning experiences, and empower educators and parents. Our products are trusted by thousands of childcare centers, and quality is critical to everything we ship.

Role Overview
We are seeking a  Senior QA Engineer  with  3–6 years of experience  who brings strong expertise in  both manual and automation testing . This role goes beyond execution—you will help define QA processes, drive automation strategy, and act as a quality advocate across teams.
The ideal candidate has hands-on experience building or scaling automation frameworks, enjoys mentoring others, and thrives in a fast-paced startup environment with frequent releases.

Key Responsibilities Manual Testing Excellence

● Lead and perform  functional, regression, smoke, sanity, UI/UX, and exploratory testing  across web and mobile applications.

● Deeply understand product workflows to identify edge cases, risks, and usability issues.

● Ensure high test coverage across user roles, platforms, and devices.

Test Planning & Documentation

● Own  test strategy, test plans, and test case design  for features and releases.

● Write clear, maintainable, and reusable test cases.

● Continuously review and improve existing test scenarios as the product evolves.

Automation Testing & Strategy

● Design, develop, and maintain  automation frameworks  for web and/or mobile
applications.

● Implement automated test suites for regression, smoke, and critical user flows.

● Evaluate and recommend tools, frameworks, and best practices (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Appium).

● Drive adoption of automation within the QA process to improve efficiency and release confidence.

Release Ownership & Quality Leadership

● Actively participate in  release cycles , including build validation, regression sign-off, and
production readiness.

● Validate bug fixes, assess release risk, and provide clear go/no-go recommendations.

● Prepare and review  release notes  with accuracy and clarity.

Collaboration & Mentorship

● Work closely with  engineering, product, and design teams  to shift quality left.

● Provide guidance and mentorship to junior QA engineers.

● If applicable,  lead or coordinate QA efforts  across features or squads.

Process Improvement in a Startup Environment

● Proactively identify gaps in quality, tooling, or workflows and propose solutions.

● Adapt quickly to changing priorities and evolving product requirements.

● Help define and improve QA processes suited for rapid development cycles.

Required

Skills & Qualifications

● 3–6 years of QA experience  covering both  manual and automation testing .

● Strong understanding of  QA methodologies, STLC, and defect life cycle .

● Proven experience in  automation testing  for web and/or mobile applications.

● Experience designing or contributing significantly to  automation frameworks .

● Ability to write clean, maintainable automated test code.

● Strong analytical skills and exceptional attention to detail.

● Excellent communication skills for articulating defects, risks, and quality metrics.

● Comfortable working in a  fast-paced startup  with frequent releases.

Nice-to-Have / Strong Plus

● Experience  building automation frameworks from scratch .

● Experience  leading or mentoring a QA team .

● Mobile app testing experience (iOS/Android).

● API testing experience (Postman, REST clients).

● Familiarity with  CI/CD integration  for automated tests.

● Experience working in  Agile / Scrum  environments.