Senior QA Engineer

About Distillery

Distillery is a software development partner that helps organizations design, build, and scale modern technology solutions. Leading companies work with us to accelerate digital initiatives, solve complex technical challenges, and bring innovative products to market faster. Working as an extension of our clients' teams, we deliver lasting business value. Distillery is committed to diversity and inclusion. We embrace a dynamic and inclusive culture where you have the opportunity to continuously learn and grow.

About the Position

We are looking for a Senior QA Engineer who investigates rather than just reports. You will own quality across a React Native mobile app and a Next.js web experience, backed by Java/Spring Boot services behind a Node BFF. This is a hands-on role centered on real devices, developer tools, logs, and APIs rather than UI clicking alone, and it calls for clear, proactive communication with engineers, product, and design throughout the development cycle.

Responsibilities

• Execute manual and exploratory test passes against web and mobile releases, working from acceptance criteria, designs, and your own curiosity about where things break.
• Use browser developer tools (console, network, elements, application storage, device emulation) as a first-line diagnostic tool to narrow down where a bug lives, not just to confirm it.
• Debug the React Native application on real iOS and Android devices as well as simulators and emulators: reading native device and crash logs, using React Native's debugging tooling (Metro, the JS console, React DevTools), inspecting network traffic, working with pre-release and over-the-air builds, and reproducing issues across OS versions and device classes.
• Use Datadog (logs, dashboards, error tracking, RUM/session replay) to triage reported issues, confirm whether a bug is client-side or server-side, and attach real evidence to a ticket.
• Test REST APIs directly, validating request/response payloads, status codes, error handling, and edge cases for the Java/Spring Boot services and Node BFF.
• Validate auth/authorization and role-based access at the API level, not just what is visible in the UI.
• Test service-to-service and data-pipeline behavior, confirming events land correctly downstream rather than only checking that the originating call succeeded.
• Test idempotency, retries, and failure/edge-case handling in backend logic.
• Write bug reports another engineer can act on without a follow-up conversation: clear repro steps, environment, expected vs. actual, logs, network calls, screenshots, or recordings.
• Build and maintain regression suites and release checklists, and help move repetitive coverage toward automation over time.
• Leverage AI-assisted tooling to speed up test case generation, log analysis, and repro investigation.
• Communicate clearly and proactively in standups, tickets, Slack, and documents.
• Partner directly with engineers, product, and design during feature development, not only at the end of it.
• Report on test coverage, open defects, and release risk in a way a non-engineer can follow.
• Surface risks, blockers, and quality concerns early, and escalate when a release should not ship.
• Close the loop: verify fixes, confirm they hold in the next build, and communicate the result.
• Help define and evolve team standards for test coverage, bug intake, triage, and release readiness.
• Grow technical depth deliberately in automation frameworks, API testing, and reading enough of the codebase to make better guesses about root cause.
• Learn through pairing, code review participation, and documentation, and write down learnings so the next person does not have to rediscover them.
• Bring a mindset of experimentation and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Strong experience with browser developer tools: reading JavaScript errors, inspecting failing network requests and payloads, checking status codes and headers, working with local/session storage, and emulating device viewports for investigation, not just screenshots.
• Proven experience debugging a React Native application on real iOS and Android devices as well as simulators and emulators, including pulling native device and crash logs, installing and managing pre-release and over-the-air builds, reproducing issues across OS versions and screen sizes, and distinguishing device-specific, universal, and JavaScript-layer issues.
• Experience designing and building automated test suites from scratch (not just extending existing ones), using Playwright for web and Maestro for mobile, with judgment on what to automate versus cover manually and how to keep a suite from becoming flaky.
• Experience with API testing using Postman or comparable tools, on Java/Spring Boot REST APIs sitting behind a Node BFF.
• Basic SQL (Postgres) and comfort reading structured application logs.
• Familiarity with Datadog or a comparable observability platform for logs, dashboards, and error tracking, including searching logs for a request, following an error, and using findings to strengthen a bug report.
• Strong communication skills: clear writing, clear reasoning, asking questions when something doesn't make sense, and closing the loop. This is the single most important non-technical trait for this role.
• Experience wiring automated tests into a CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions or comparable) so they gate builds/deploys, along with experience triaging and reducing flaky tests.
• Active use of AI-assisted tooling in day-to-day work, with the ability to help the team push further in that direction.

Nice to Have

• Enough TypeScript and React to read code and understand what a change touched (the mobile app is React Native; the web app is a Next.js monorepo).
• Comfort reading existing Jest and Testing Library unit tests well enough to tell what is already covered and what is not.
• Familiarity with feature flag and experimentation tooling (Optimizely, LaunchDarkly).
• Experience verifying analytics and event tracking (Segment, Mixpanel, Braze) as part of a test pass.
• Exposure to mobile crash reporting (Sentry, Firebase Crashlytics) alongside Datadog.
• Familiarity with Jira and a test case management tool.
• Accessibility and performance testing exposure.
• Load testing familiarity with Gatling, Artillery, or comparable tools.
• A working understanding of how a React Native build reaches a device: TestFlight, Play internal testing, and over-the-air updates.

Why You'll Like Working Here

Join a global team committed to Distillery's core values: Unyielding Commitment, Relentless Pursuit, Courageous Ambition, and Authentic Connection.

• 100% Remote Work: Enjoy the freedom to work from anywhere while collaborating with a diverse, multinational team.
• Competitive Compensation: Generous and competitive package in USD, along with a comprehensive benefits plan.
• Flexible Hours: Create a schedule that aligns with your life and priorities.
• Home Office Setup: Receive all the hardware and software needed to succeed from home.
• Innovative Workplace: Collaborate with the global Top 1% of talent in a multicultural and dynamic environment.