Lead Quality Assurance Engineer
Lead Quality Assurance Engineer

Lead Quality Assurance Engineer

London Full-Time 42000 - 77000 ÂŁ / year (est.) No home office possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead QA practices, automate testing, and ensure quality in web and mobile applications.
  • Company: Zeelo is a fast-growing TransitTech company focused on sustainable transportation solutions.
  • Benefits: Enjoy a full-time role with opportunities for impact and ownership in a dynamic team.
  • Why this job: Make a real difference in tech while working in a supportive, high-performing culture.
  • Qualifications: Experience in QA roles, strong automation skills, and familiarity with PHP, Python, and TypeScript.
  • Other info: Join a diverse team across London, Barcelona, and Boston, committed to innovation and sustainability.

The predicted salary is between 42000 - 77000 ÂŁ per year.

We’re looking for a Senior QA Engineer to lead the charge in elevating our quality practices across a modern, fast-moving engineering team. This is a high-impact role — perfect for someone who’s both technically hands-on and passionate about building quality into the development lifecycle from the start. You’ll work across our core stack (PHP, Python, and TypeScript) and help ensure test coverage across both web and mobile applications. You’ll drive QA strategy, improve our automation capabilities, and help guide our shift-left testing approach. This isn’t just about finding bugs. It’s about building confidence in our product, driving quality upstream, and making sure we ship robust, scalable solutions at pace. You’ll work closely with developers, product managers, and stakeholders to ensure quality is baked in from the start, while championing best practices and modern QA approaches.

We’re a fast-moving TransitTech business with plenty of exciting challenges—legacy code, evolving architecture, and new features that need rigorous testing across web, iOS, and Android platforms. If you thrive in an environment where you can make a real impact, we’d love to chat.

What You’ll Be Doing:

  • Lead the design and rollout of QA best practices across engineering.
  • Build and maintain robust automated test frameworks across API, UI, and mobile — with tools suited to our stack (e.g., Playwright, Cypress, Appium, Pytest, PHPUnit).
  • Support data-driven decision-making — using test coverage metrics, bug trends, and release health to influence quality improvements.
  • Conduct high-value manual and exploratory testing, particularly where automation is not yet in place.
  • Owning system, integration, and E2E testing across multiple interconnected applications.
  • Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and designers early in the development cycle to define quality expectations and acceptance criteria.
  • Champion a shift-left testing culture by integrating testing into design and development phases.
  • Act as a mentor to the wider team in QA best practices.

What We’re Looking For:

  • Significant experience in QA roles, ideally in high-growth or product-led tech companies.
  • Strong hands-on experience with test automation for web and mobile apps — ideally using Playwright, Cypress, Selenium (UI), Appium (mobile), Pytest, PHPUnit, or similar (API/unit testing).
  • Familiarity with our tech stack: PHP, Python, TypeScript and SQL.
  • Passion for manual testing where it adds value — especially in exploratory testing and early-stage improvements.
  • Strong understanding of QA strategy, risk-based testing, and quality metrics.
  • Experience in Agile environments, with a proactive approach to embedding quality early in the development cycle.
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills — able to partner across engineering and product teams.
  • Knowledge of non-functional testing (performance, security, etc).

Nice to Have:

  • Experience testing across microservices, cloud-native systems, or distributed architectures.
  • Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and tools such as GitHub and Bitbucket.
  • Experience with tools like Testomat, Postman, TestRail, or Allure for test management and reporting.
  • Previous mentoring or coaching of QA team members.

Why Zeelo:

Zeelo is on a mission to make shared transportation more accessible, efficient, and sustainable. We’re scaling fast, and this is a chance to help shape the future of our technology in a role where you’ll have real ownership and impact. Zeelo is a TransitTech company powering bus operators, employers and schools to provide highly efficient, sustainable and affordable transport programs. Our mission is to empower opportunity through sustainable transportation. Our vision is to build the category leader for employers and schools offering transportation as a benefit. Our culture strives to be a high performing sports team. Inspired by the Boston Celtics “Ubuntu” mindset - I am, because we are. Our model is asset light, we do not own vehicles or employee drivers, instead we routinely procure bus operator partners to provide ground transportation. We’re a team of 130+ across offices (London, Barcelona & Boston) and live in 2 markets (UK & U.S.) Our values are Trust, Efficiency and Drive.

Lead Quality Assurance Engineer employer: Zeelo

At Zeelo, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and high-performing culture inspired by the 'Ubuntu' mindset. As a Lead Quality Assurance Engineer, you'll have the opportunity to make a significant impact in a fast-growing TransitTech company, with access to robust employee growth opportunities, a commitment to innovation, and a supportive environment that values trust, efficiency, and drive. Join us in shaping the future of sustainable transportation while enjoying the benefits of working in vibrant London, where creativity and technology thrive.
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Contact Detail:

Zeelo Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Lead Quality Assurance Engineer

✨Tip Number 1

Familiarise yourself with the specific tools mentioned in the job description, such as Playwright, Cypress, and Appium. Having hands-on experience or even a solid understanding of these tools will help you stand out during discussions with the hiring team.

✨Tip Number 2

Showcase your experience in Agile environments by preparing examples of how you've embedded quality early in the development cycle. This will demonstrate your proactive approach and align with Zeelo's emphasis on quality integration.

✨Tip Number 3

Prepare to discuss your mentoring experiences, especially if you've guided others in QA best practices. This aligns with the role's requirement for leadership and will highlight your ability to contribute to team growth.

✨Tip Number 4

Research Zeelo’s mission and values thoroughly. Understanding their focus on sustainable transportation and teamwork will allow you to tailor your conversations and show that you're genuinely interested in contributing to their goals.

We think you need these skills to ace Lead Quality Assurance Engineer

Test Automation
PHP
Python
TypeScript
SQL
Playwright
Cypress
Appium
Pytest
PHPUnit
Manual Testing
Exploratory Testing
QA Strategy
Risk-Based Testing
Quality Metrics
Agile Methodologies
Collaboration Skills
Non-Functional Testing
CI/CD Pipelines
Test Management Tools

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights relevant experience in QA roles, especially in high-growth tech companies. Emphasise your hands-on experience with test automation tools like Playwright, Cypress, and Appium, as well as your familiarity with PHP, Python, and TypeScript.

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: In your cover letter, express your passion for quality assurance and how you can contribute to Zeelo's mission. Mention specific examples of how you've successfully implemented QA best practices and improved testing processes in previous roles.

Showcase Your Technical Skills: Include a section in your application that lists your technical skills related to QA, such as experience with CI/CD pipelines, non-functional testing, and any tools you've used for test management and reporting. This will demonstrate your readiness for the role.

Highlight Collaboration Experience: Since the role involves working closely with developers and product managers, be sure to highlight any past experiences where you've successfully collaborated across teams. This could include examples of how you defined quality expectations or mentored team members in QA best practices.

How to prepare for a job interview at Zeelo

✨Showcase Your Technical Skills

Be prepared to discuss your hands-on experience with test automation tools like Playwright, Cypress, and Appium. Highlight specific projects where you implemented these tools and the impact they had on the quality of the product.

✨Demonstrate Your QA Strategy Knowledge

Familiarise yourself with risk-based testing and quality metrics. Be ready to explain how you've used these strategies in previous roles to improve product quality and drive decision-making.

✨Emphasise Collaboration

Since this role involves working closely with developers and product managers, share examples of how you've successfully collaborated with cross-functional teams in the past. Highlight your communication skills and ability to define quality expectations early in the development cycle.

✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions

Expect questions that assess your problem-solving abilities in real-world scenarios. Think about challenges you've faced in QA, particularly in fast-paced environments, and how you overcame them. This will demonstrate your proactive approach to embedding quality from the start.

Lead Quality Assurance Engineer
Zeelo
Z
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