Senior QA Engineer

Senior QA Engineer

Full-Time 50000 - 65000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
nando's

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead quality strategy for Nando's Point of Sale and Kitchen Management systems.
  • Company: Join a vibrant team at Nando's, known for its inclusive culture.
  • Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, flexible working, and opportunities for growth.
  • Other info: Diverse and supportive workplace where everyone can thrive.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact on customer experiences in a fast-paced environment.
  • Qualifications: Experience in QA for web, desktop, or mobile applications required.

The predicted salary is between 50000 - 65000 £ per year.

  • Senior QA Engineer - Nando's Point of Sale & Kitchen Management System (NPOS & NKMS)
  • Overall Ambition

Help shape the future of Nando's at-counter customer and employee experience by building quality into every stage of delivery.

You'll play a key role in ensuring our Point of Sale and Kitchen Management platforms are reliable, accessible, performant and resilient for millions of customers and Nandocas across the globe.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for a Senior QA Engineer to join our passionate, lean, agile, fast-growing and evolving technology team on a permanent basis.

You'll be an experienced QA professional who enjoys solving complex technical challenges and driving quality across every stage of the software development lifecycle.

You'll take ownership of quality strategy across our Point of Sale and Kitchen Management products, combining hands-on hardware validation, modern testing practices and release governance to ensure exceptional customer and restaurant experiences.

Living the Nando's Values

As a Nandoca, you'll embody the values that make Nando's unique.

  • Pride
  • Take ownership of your work, hold yourself to high standards and care deeply about delivering quality outcomes.
  • Passion
  • Bring energy, curiosity and enthusiasm to solving problems and creating exceptional customer experiences.
  • Courage
  • Challenge the status quo, embrace change and make informed decisions, even when faced with uncertainty.
  • Integrity
  • Act with honesty, transparency and accountability in everything you do.
  • Family
  • Collaborate openly, support your teammates and contribute to an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

These values shape how we work together, make decisions and build technology that moves Nando's forward.

The Role

As a Senior QA Engineer, you'll define and lead the quality strategy across our Point of Sale and Kitchen Management platforms, ensuring every release meets the highest standards before reaching our restaurants.

This is a hands-on senior role focused on quality engineering rather than simply writing automated tests.

You'll own test planning, release validation, hardware testing, production quality and continuous improvement across multiple products.

You'll work closely with Software Engineers, Product Managers and Technical Leads to ensure quality is built into every stage of delivery, balancing speed with stability as we deliver software to restaurants around the world.

You'll enjoy reproducing complex production issues, validating software on physical hardware and identifying opportunities to improve our overall testing approach.

You'll also champion modern QA practices, AI-assisted testing where appropriate and continuous improvement across the engineering organisation.

About the Point of Sale & Kitchen Management Team

Our mission is to transform the at-counter experience for both Customers and Nandocas by replacing legacy Point of Sale providers with a best-in-class platform built by Nando's.

This is a largely greenfield programme that will become the backbone of Nando's ordering technology, integrating seamlessly with our digital ordering and Kitchen Management platforms.

Although based in the UK, the platform supports restaurants globally across the UK, South Africa, Australia and the USA, creating exciting engineering challenges around localisation, configurability and operational resilience.

Our software powers restaurant tills, kitchen displays, payment devices and ordering workflows where reliability is business critical.

Every release directly impacts restaurant operations, making quality engineering fundamental to our success.

Responsibilities

  • Define and lead the quality strategy across our Point of Sale and Kitchen Management products.
  • Design, execute and continuously improve comprehensive test plans for restaurant hardware and software.
  • Perform hands-on manual validation across Windows and Android Point of Sale devices, kitchen screens, receipt printers and payment terminals.
  • Own release validation activities and ensure production readiness before deployment.
  • Monitor post-release stability and rapidly investigate, reproduce and resolve production issues.
  • Work closely with Software Engineers to improve testability, quality and release confidence throughout development.
  • Build and maintain automated testing using modern frameworks including Playwright and Maestro where appropriate.
  • Support API, integration, end-to-end, accessibility, regression and performance testing activities.
  • Contribute to test management using Testmo and help drive continuous improvements across our quality processes.
  • Use monitoring, observability and production insights to improve platform reliability and customer experience.
  • Champion accessibility, resilience and operational excellence as core engineering principles.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies, including AI-assisted testing approaches, where they deliver measurable value.

Skills & Experience

Essential

  • Significant experience leading QA strategy for modern web, desktop or mobile applications.
  • Strong hands-on manual testing experience across physical Windows and Android hardware.
  • Experience testing customer-facing or operational business-critical applications.
  • Experience creating comprehensive test plans and release validation strategies.
  • Strong understanding of functional, integration, regression, accessibility, API and performance testing.
  • Experience with modern automation frameworks such as Playwright and/or Maestro.
  • Experience testing Flutter applications.
  • Familiarity with JSON payloads, API validation and backend integrations.
  • Experience with test management platforms such as Testmo or similar.
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
  • Experience working within Agile software development teams.
  • Enthusiasm for embracing AI-assisted testing as part of the engineering workflow.

Desirable

  • Experience using Browser Stack or similar real-device testing platforms.
  • Experience with visual regression tools such as Percy.
  • Experience with Log Rocket, Grafana or similar observability platforms.
  • Exposure to performance testing tools such as k6 or Gatling.
  • Experience working with Google Cloud Platform.
  • Understanding of SQL databases and backend services.
  • Experience working with restaurant technology, retail systems or hardware-integrated applications.
  • You'll Be
  • Collaborative, constructive and empathetic in how you work with others.
  • Pragmatic in balancing quality, delivery speed and long-term maintainability.
  • Passionate about creating reliable, accessible experiences for customers and restaurant teams.
  • Comfortable influencing engineering teams without direct authority.
  • Someone who leaves teams, products and engineering practices better than they found them.
  • Everyone is Welcome

At Nando's, everyone is welcome.

Inspired by our Southern African heritage, we know and value the richness that diversity brings to Nando's.

We're committed to creating an inclusive and respectful culture for all, including our existing and future Nandocas, partners and suppliers, customers and the communities we are part of.

We deliberately work hard to create an environment where every individual is valued, respected and can flourish regardless of who they are, their background or outlook on life.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of individuals and will consider any reasonable adjustments to enable candidates to perform at their best throughout the recruitment process.

Senior QA Engineer employer: nando's

At Nando's, we pride ourselves on creating a vibrant and supportive work environment where our team members, or Nandocas, feel like family. As an Assistant Manager in Salisbury, you'll enjoy unique benefits such as a 4-week paid sabbatical after five years, free meals during shifts, and extensive training opportunities that foster personal and professional growth. With a strong emphasis on internal progression and a culture that values fun and camaraderie, Nando's is the perfect place for those looking to thrive in a dynamic and rewarding role.

nando's

Contact Details:

nando's Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Senior QA Engineer

Join Local Tech Meetups

Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at nando's or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!

Contribute to Open Source Projects

Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to nando's.

Tap into Online Developer Communities

Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like nando's.

Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles

Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like nando's that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!

We think you need these skills to ace Senior QA Engineer

QA Strategy Development
Manual Testing
Test Planning
Release Validation
Windows and Android Testing
API Testing
Integration Testing

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.

Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at nando's.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at nando's and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!

Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!

How to prepare for a job interview at nando's

Brush Up on Your Coding Skills

For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.

Know Your Tools and Frameworks

Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If nando's uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.

Showcase Your Projects

Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.

Prepare for Behavioural Questions

While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.