4 QA Job Descriptions: Tester, Engineer, Manager & Technician
Congratulations! Hiring a new team member is a sign of growth. But like most things in life, venturing into the unknown means a potential for risks. The hiring process is already time-consuming, and hiring the wrong person means a delay in productivity and can be costly. So how do you minimize this risk?
You can always check references and assign tests, but the first step to hiring the right person is to attract the right candidate. Know what the role is responsible for and communicate that in your job description. This sets a baseline for the characteristics you're looking for in an ideal candidate that you can refer to when selecting from your applications.
Basic Quality Assurance Job Description
A quality assurance specialist works with a team to ensure that a product is meeting the needed quality standards set by both the producer and the end-user. This person ensures the reliability, usability, and proper performance for the product to be distributed to the outside market so you'd want to hire someone who can follow and implement proper QA procedures.
Skills:
- Attention to detail
- Ability to communicate well in written and verbal form
- Management and analysis of data collected
- Problem solving and analysis
- Customer service focused
- Team player
Requirements:
- BA preferred
- Working on certification for the position
- Experience in inspection, auditing, and/or testing
- Ability to implement corrective action programs
- Industry or product experience for the particular product made
- Computer skills especially in QA based programs
- Knowledge of tools and methods for QA
- Experience with data analysis
Duties:
- Create sampling procedures and ways for recording and reporting data
- Conduct and monitor testing of products to ensure quality
- Document QA activities
- Investigate customer complaints and performance issues
- Collect statistical data and apply it
- Ensure compliance with industry regulators
- Evaluate issues found and help create solutions
Quality Assurance Engineer Job Description
The quality assurance engineer is in charge of assessing the quality of and providing feedback to specifications and technical documentation. This position is highly involved in planning and implementing strategies when it comes to quality management and testing products. Your ideal candidate should excel in critical thinking and communication.
Skills:
- Curious and willing to learn
- Possess technical skills for QA work
- Be able to think both critically and creatively
- Time management skills
- Communication skills
- Team player
Requirements:
- BS or MS degree in computer science, engineering, or similar degree
- Work experience in software development
- Work experience in software QA
- Ability to use software QA methodologies, process, and tools
- Ability to write clear, concise, and full test plans and cases
- Ability to do white and black box testing
- Knowledge of appropriate testing tools
Duties:
- Testing of products and naming deficiencies
- Put forward solutions to ID product issues
- Investigate quality to make improvements for customer satisfaction
- Plan and create a quality planning strategy
- Collaborate with the PD team
- Watch for QA bottlenecks and make improvements
- Collect data
- Prepare and present reports for Upper Management
Related reading: Here are some tips for remote quality engineering teams.
Quality Assurance Manager Job Description
The role of a quality assurance manager is to ensure that all requirements are met before the product goes out the door to customers. This person will be inspecting methods and procedures and identifying problems as they appear. You ideal candidate should have great experience in quality control, but also have the leadership qualities to guide others towards your company goals.
Skills:
- Self-confidence
- High technical skills
- Good numerical skills and statistics
- Solid leadership skills
- Time management and organizational skills
- Solid communication ability
- IT skills
Requirements:
- BSc/BA in business administration or a similar field
- Certification of QC is an advantage
- Experience as a QA manager or other relevant role
- Complete knowledge of methodologies of QA
- Data analysis and statistical skills
- MS Office and database skills
- Outstanding ability to communicate
- Detail-oriented
Duties:
- Create procedures for inspection and to report quality issues
- Monitor operations that could affect the quality
- Supervise and lead inspectors, techs, and staff
- Appraise customers needs and how the product is meeting them
- Report malfunctions to production execs for action
- Review standards and policies
- Keep records of reporting and reviews
- Make sure all legal standards are met
Quality Assurance Technician Job Description
A quality assurance technician assures production quality is consistent, staff are well managed, processes are validated, and audits are done. This position handles system improvements and manages documentation. A great quality assurance technician has to be thorough, skilled at problem-solving, and a team player.
Skills:
- Be able to assess and improve the QA process
- Information analyzation
- Strategic planning
- Good communication skills – written and verbal
- Attention to detail
Requirements:
- BSc or BA in the appropriate field
- Abilities in QA measuring and testing
- In-depth knowledge of safety needs and legal standards
- Computer knowledge in MS Office and analytics software
Duties:
- Collaborate with customer service and production departments for execution of projects
- Do reviews and approve documentation and process deviations
- Make sure teams follow all requirements
- Create test situations, data, and scripts based on project objectives
- Do manual and automated testing, analyzation of data, and recording results
- Review all notes for accuracy
- Note defects and make sure they are do not repeat
Final Thoughts On The QA Job Description
Whether you are hiring a QA technician, an engineer, or a manager, being able to break down and articulate the skills, requirements, and duties of each position is helpful to your search. A clear and elaborate job description will continue to bring value even after you've hired the right person because it will help clarify goals for the position and minimize role confusion.
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