QA Testing Agile Specialist (Automation Focus) - Hybrid Porto (2 Days/Month)

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Join an international technology company as a Senior QA Testing Specialist with automation focus and contribute to quality excellence across cross-functional, global software development teams. 

This role is ideal for experienced QA automation engineers (5+ years professional testing experience) who have strong Agile backgrounds and are passionate about ensuring comprehensive quality through both automated and manual testing approaches. You'll work with international, cross-functional squads including developers, business analysts, and product owners, embedding quality practices from discovery through delivery while maintaining the flexibility of predominantly remote work.

Critical Requirement: ISTQB Foundation Level certification is mandatory - only apply if you hold this qualification. Beyond certification, the role emphasizes practical automation expertise with frameworks like Selenium, Java, and JUnit, combined with strong back-end testing capabilities using REST web services and SQL database validation.

Working in a highly flexible hybrid model with just bi-weekly office visits, you'll assist with ensuring functional requirements are fully validated, verifying deployment environments, assessing performance requirements, and investigating quality-related technical challenges. The position balances strategic quality thinking - considering longevity, client budgets, and maintenance ease - with hands-on technical work in test automation and execution.

PROJECT & CONTEXT

You'll be working across multiple client projects as part of international, cross-functional squads, taking ownership of quality assurance from early requirements discovery through production delivery. The role emphasizes comprehensive test coverage across functional, integration, and system testing levels, with particular focus on test automation to enable efficient regression testing and maintainable test assets for long-term project success.

Your responsibilities span both strategic and tactical quality activities. On the strategic side, you'll ensure functional requirements are fully validated through well-designed test coverage, assess performance requirements and conduct appropriate load/stress/scalability testing, consider client budgets when recommending testing tools and automation approaches (highlighting trade-offs), align required QA skillsets with available project team capabilities, and plan for ease of future maintenance through embedded automation and reusable test assets.

On the hands-on technical side, you'll work extensively with back-end testing using REST web services (or SOAP where needed), perform SQL database validation to verify data integrity and correctness, develop and maintain test automation frameworks using technologies like Selenium, Java, and JUnit, apply test design techniques including boundary value analysis, equivalence partitioning, and exploratory testing, and verify deployment environments and configurations across different stages (dev, test, staging, production).

The role requires strong collaboration with developers, business analysts, and product owners in Agile environments, actively participating in sprint ceremonies, advocating for quality throughout the development lifecycle, and working closely with team members to embed quality practices from the earliest stages. You'll need excellent communication skills to explain quality risks, testing strategies, and technical findings to diverse audiences across international teams.

Problem-solving and initiative are central to success - you'll proactively identify and resolve quality issues in fast-paced environments, investigate quality-related technical challenges, guide project team members when needed, step in hands-on when appropriate, and continuously improve testing processes and automation coverage. The position emphasizes results-oriented thinking with strong analytical capabilities for interpreting test results and making data-driven quality decisions.

Working with considerations for solution longevity, you'll ensure testing strategies and automation frameworks remain reliable and maintainable over time, not just for immediate project needs. You'll also need to balance quality excellence with practical constraints like client budgets and team capabilities, making pragmatic recommendations rather than pursuing perfection at any cost.

Core Tech Stack: Selenium (automation), Java (test code), JUnit (testing framework), REST APIs (back-end testing), SQL (database validation)
Test Types: Functional, Integration, System, Performance (load/stress/scalability), Regression
Methodology: Agile/Scrum with cross-functional squad collaboration
Work Environment: International teams, predominantly remote with bi-weekly Porto office visits

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR (Required)

• Professional Testing Experience: 5+ years of professional software testing experience with proven track record across different testing types and projects
• Agile Experience: 3+ years of experience working in Agile environments with active participation in sprint ceremonies and iterative delivery
• Education: BSc in Computer Science or equivalent technical degree
• ISTQB Foundation Certification: ISTQB Foundation Level certification is MANDATORY - this is a strict requirement and candidates without this certification are very rarely accepted
• Agile QA Understanding: Strong understanding of QA's role within Agile software development and how to embed quality throughout sprints
• Functional Testing: Extensive experience in functional, integration, and system testing across different application layers
• Back-End Testing: Proven experience with back-end testing using REST web services (or SOAP), including API testing, request/response validation, and error handling
• SQL & Database Validation: Strong SQL skills and experience with database validation - verifying data integrity, constraints, and correctness
• Test Design Techniques: Practical application of test design techniques including boundary value analysis, equivalence partitioning, and exploratory testing
• Test Automation: Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks such as Selenium, Java, JUnit, or comparable toolsets
• Comprehensive Test Coverage: Ability to ensure functional requirements are fully validated through well-designed test coverage strategies
• Environment Verification: Experience verifying deployment environments and configurations across different stages (dev, test, staging, production)
• Performance Testing: Understanding of performance requirements and ability to conduct appropriate load, stress, and scalability testing
• Longevity Thinking: Consideration for solution longevity - ensuring tests and automation remain reliable and maintainable over time
• Budget Awareness: Ability to consider client budgets when recommending tools, frameworks, or automation approaches, highlighting practical trade-offs
• Team Skillset Alignment: Skill in aligning required QA skillsets with available project team capabilities for build and ongoing maintenance
• Maintenance Planning: Focus on planning for ease of future maintenance and regression testing through automation and reusable test assets
• Technical Problem-Solving: Capability to investigate and resolve quality-related technical challenges, guiding team members and stepping in hands-on when needed
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Experience working closely with international, cross-functional squads (developers, BAs, POs) to embed quality from discovery through delivery
• Excellent Communication: Excellent communication skills for effective collaboration in international teams, explaining technical concepts to diverse audiences
• English Fluency: Fluent in English (B2+ minimum) for daily communication, documentation, and collaboration with international teams
• Analytical Thinking: Strong analytical thinking and results interpretation capabilities for making data-driven quality decisions
• Proactive Work Ethic: Demonstrated proactive work ethic - taking initiative in test planning, execution, and continuous improvement
• Issue Identification: Proven ability to proactively identify and resolve quality issues in fast-paced environments before they impact delivery
• Location: Based in or willing to commute to Porto for bi-weekly office visits (every other Thursday, 2 days per month total)

NICE TO HAVE (Preferred)

• ISTQB Agile Tester Extension: Agile Tester Extension certification demonstrating specialized knowledge of testing in Agile contexts
• Additional ISTQB Certifications: Test Automation Engineer, Test Analyst, or other advanced ISTQB certifications
• Additional Automation Tools: Experience with other automation frameworks beyond Selenium (Cypress, Playwright, TestNG, Rest Assured)
• API Testing Advanced: Deep expertise in API testing tools (Postman, SoapUI, Rest Assured) and contract testing approaches
• Performance Testing Tools: Hands-on experience with performance testing tools (JMeter, Gatling, LoadRunner)
• CI/CD Integration: Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps)
• BDD Frameworks: Experience with Behavior-Driven Development frameworks (Cucumber, SpecFlow) for living documentation
• Additional Languages: Programming experience beyond Java (Python, JavaScript, C#) for broader automation capabilities
• Test Management Tools: Familiarity with test management platforms (TestRail, Zephyr, Xray, qTest)
• Defect Tracking: Advanced experience with defect tracking tools (Jira, Azure DevOps) including workflow customization
• Cloud Testing: Experience with cloud-based testing platforms (AWS, Azure) or cloud device farms
• Container Testing: Understanding of testing containerized applications (Docker, Kubernetes environments)
• Microservices Testing: Specific experience testing microservices architectures with distributed systems challenges
• Security Testing: Basic understanding of security testing principles and OWASP top 10
• Accessibility Testing: Knowledge of accessibility testing standards (WCAG) and tools
• Mobile Testing: Experience with mobile test automation (Appium, Espresso, XCUITest)
• Test Data Management: Advanced test data preparation and management strategies
• Mocking & Stubbing: Experience with service virtualization and mocking frameworks (WireMock, Mockito)
• Code Review: Participation in code reviews with ability to identify testability improvements
• Monitoring & Observability: Understanding of production monitoring and how it relates to testing strategies
• Multiple Domains: Experience across various industries (fintech, e-commerce, healthcare) providing broader perspective
• Portuguese Language: Portuguese language skills helpful for local team communication but not required
• Mentoring Experience: Track record of mentoring junior QA engineers or knowledge sharing within teams
• Technical Writing: Strong documentation skills for test plans, strategies, and automation framework guides

Location: Porto, Portugal (Hybrid - 2 days/month on-site, predominantly remote)