--> About this role <--

This is not a conventional QA role. We are hiring a Quality Assurance Engineer into our new AI-accelerated delivery model — a small, senior-weighted team that delivers complex software engagements differently to how the industry has done it.

The QA Engineer is part of a pod of four: a Client Lead, a Lead Orchestrator, two Orchestrators (senior engineers who direct AI tooling and peer-review each other's work), and you. You will be the single owner of test strategy, automation, integration validation, and release readiness across the pod's engagements.

In the context of Bitcube's existing QA career framework, this role operates at the level of test strategy ownership and automation leadership that the established career path defines as Level 2 to Level 3. The pod model places that responsibility on a single QA Engineer from day one, with no junior or intermediate QAs reporting in beneath you.

If you have been building test automation, taking ownership of test strategy, working closely with engineers rather than separately from them, and you are interested in what AI tooling changes about quality assurance, this role is built for you.

--> What you will do <--

You will own quality across the pod's engagements. The pod delivers complex client work — bespoke software builds, platform migrations, AI-enabled product features. Day to day, you will:

• Design and own the test strategy for each pod engagement. What gets tested, at what layer, with what tooling, against what acceptance criteria.
• Build and maintain the automated test suite for each engagement. Unit, integration, end-to-end, performance.
• Validate AI-generated code with particular rigour.
• Own release readiness. Before any milestone goes to the client, you sign off on the testing that has been completed and the risks that remain.
• Contribute to the pod's quality patterns and tooling.
• Engage directly with clients during milestone reviews and demo cycles where quality discussion is the point.

You will not be:

• Writing daily status reports against time logs.
• Filling in utilisation trackers or hour-by-hour task records.
• Working under a Technical Project Manager.

--> How we measure output <--

Pod work is judged on outcomes, not just hours. What we measure is whether milestones land on time, at quality, against the agreed scope. Peer review quality and client satisfaction.

A scoping week might be 30 hours of focused, high-judgement work. A milestone delivery week might be 50. Sometimes the milestone lands early and the week ends Thursday afternoon. Sometimes the work is harder than expected and Friday runs long.

This model assumes mature, self-directed engineers — including knowing when to push hard and, equally importantly, when to step back. It does not work for people who need structure imposed from outside, and it does not work for people who treat the absence of structure as an invitation to coast.

--> What we are looking for <--

Required:

• Minimum 3 years of professional QA experience in production software environments.
• Strong, demonstrable hands-on test automation experience. You should be able to walk us through automation frameworks you have built, tools you have chosen and why, and the trade-offs involved.
• Proficiency with at least two of: Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, Jest, Pytest, JUnit, k6, or comparable testing frameworks.
• Strong understanding of testing strategy across the test pyramid — unit, integration, contract, end-to-end, performance, and security testing. You should be able to explain when each is the right call and when it is overkill.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and integrating testing into automated build and deployment workflows.
• Familiarity with API testing, contract testing, and modern microservices/distributed system testing approaches.
• Genuine curiosity about — and ideally hands-on exposure to — how AI tooling affects software quality. Inside Bitcube, AI use in QA is governed by our existing AI Acceptable Use Policy and AI Development Standard, both operating under our ISO 42001 management system.
• Strong written communication.
• Maturity to operate without daily supervision.

Strongly preferred:

• Specialisation depth in one or more areas that are highly relevant to pod work: AI in Testing, Security Testing, or Performance Testing.
• Familiarity with ISO 27001, ISO 42001, or other governance frameworks.
• Exposure to performance testing tools and methodologies at scale.
• Experience in agency, consultancy, or client-facing environments where you have engaged with clients directly.
• Comfort reading and understanding production code across multiple languages.

--> Certification note: <--

ISTQB Foundation certification is not required to apply. Bitcube's broader QA function treats ISTQB Foundation as a baseline standard, and you will be expected to complete it within your first six months if you do not already hold it. Bitcube will fund the certification.

--> What we offer <--

• The opportunity to own quality in Bitcube's AI-accelerated delivery model.
• A senior, deliberately small team. Four people, no project management overhead, direct engagement with the work and the client.
• Compensation on a different track to traditional delivery. Higher base salary than equivalent QA roles in conventional engineering teams, plus quarterly outcome-based variable compensation tied to pod-level delivery and client satisfaction outcomes.
• Single ownership of quality. You are not one of many QAs reporting into a QA manager. You are the quality lead on the pod, accountable for the outcome and respected for it.
• A working environment that treats AI tooling seriously without being naive about it. We hold ISO 42001 certification for our AI management systems.
• Flexi-time within a hybrid model: Tuesday to Friday in our Cape Town office, Mondays remote.
• Bitcube's broader benefits, including the certifications, training, and platform investment that come with being a senior at a UK-led, ISO-certified delivery company.

--> How to apply <--

Send your CV and a short note (not a formal cover letter — a paragraph or two is enough) to careers@bitcube.tech.

The note should answer one question directly: what is a quality problem you have caught — or wish you had caught — that you found particularly interesting, and what did it teach you about how to test?

We will read that paragraph before we read your CV.

This position is open to people with disabilities.