At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead QA practices, automate testing, and ensure quality in web and mobile applications.
- Company: Join Zeelo, a fast-growing TransitTech company revolutionising sustainable transportation.
- Benefits: Enjoy a dynamic work environment with opportunities for real impact and ownership.
- Why this job: Make a difference in tech while collaborating with passionate teams and driving quality upstream.
- Qualifications: Significant QA experience, strong automation skills, and familiarity with PHP, Python, and TypeScript.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team across London, Barcelona, and Boston, embracing a culture of trust and efficiency.
The predicted salary is between 43200 - 72000 ÂŁ per year.
We’re looking for a Lead 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.
- Own 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.
Contact Detail:
Zeelo Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior QA Engineer
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with our tech stack, especially PHP, Python, and TypeScript. Understanding these languages will not only help you in interviews but also demonstrate your commitment to the role.
✨Tip Number 2
Showcase your experience with test automation tools like Playwright, Cypress, and Appium. Be prepared to discuss specific projects where you've implemented these tools to improve QA processes.
✨Tip Number 3
Highlight your ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams. Share examples of how you've worked closely with developers and product managers to integrate quality into the development lifecycle.
✨Tip Number 4
Demonstrate your passion for manual testing, particularly in exploratory scenarios. Discuss how this approach has led to significant quality improvements in your previous roles.
We think you need these skills to ace Senior QA Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights relevant experience in QA roles, particularly in high-growth tech environments. 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 implemented QA best practices and improved automation capabilities in previous roles.
Showcase Your Collaboration Skills: Highlight experiences where you've worked closely with developers, product managers, and designers. Discuss how you’ve integrated testing into the development cycle and championed a shift-left testing culture.
Demonstrate Your Problem-Solving Abilities: Provide examples of how you've tackled challenges in QA, such as dealing with legacy code or evolving architectures. Show how your proactive approach has led to quality improvements and successful project outcomes.
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've implemented these technologies, as this will demonstrate your capability to lead QA practices effectively.
✨Emphasise Collaboration
Since the role involves working closely with developers and product managers, share examples of how you've successfully collaborated in past projects. Discuss how you defined quality expectations and acceptance criteria together, showcasing your teamwork skills.
✨Demonstrate a Shift-Left Mindset
Talk about your approach to integrating testing early in the development cycle. Provide examples of how you've influenced teams to adopt a shift-left testing culture, which is crucial for ensuring quality from the start.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving abilities in real-world scenarios. Be ready to discuss how you would handle legacy code or evolving architecture, and how you would ensure robust testing across web and mobile platforms.