[Hiring] Head of QA @Pingle Studio

Role Description

Pingle Studio is a global game development partner: we port games to all major platforms, build full games and co-develop them with publishers, and test them — helping studios ship great games without crunch. Our QA department of 40+ engineers tests games on consoles, PC, mobile and VR. We are looking for a Head of QA who will lead it and build its next stage.

In your first year you will:

• Make the QA verdict a real gate for every milestone and make first-submission certification the norm on all platforms.
• Launch test automation and AI-assisted testing where they pay off, starting with our largest projects.
• Build a leadership layer of QA Tech Leads and Project Leads, so the department runs on clear roles rather than on heroics.
• Restart people growth: regular reviews, updated grades and career tracks, mentoring and a trainee program.
• Turn QA into a service we sell on its own, not only an add-on to our ports.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in game QA, including 3+ years leading a QA department or a multi-project QA team of 25+ people through leads.
• A track record of building or transforming a QA function: structure and roles, standards, a career system, metrics — not only running it.
• Shipped titles on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch; deep knowledge of TRC, XR and Lotcheck and of the certification and submission process.
• Experience in an outsourcing or service company: dedicated QA teams for external clients, direct communication with publishers and developers.
• Scope-based QA estimation (test cycles × platforms + certification), and checking estimates against actuals.
• Strong people management: hiring, performance reviews, grades, salary and promotion decisions, growing team leads.
• Capacity planning across 10+ concurrent projects, with a clear view of utilization and the cost of overhead.
• Practical experience introducing test automation or AI-assisted testing in game QA, and a clear view of how AI changes QA services.
• Upper-Intermediate English or higher.
• Ownership, clear communication and the ability to defend quality under deadline pressure.

Requirements

• Define and run the development plan of the QA department for the next 6–12 months together with the Head of Delivery & PMO and the CEO.
• Build the leadership structure: QA Tech Leads by direction, QA Project Leads and release management; describe the roles, include them in estimates and contracts, and delegate day-to-day operations.
• Make quality a gate: acceptance criteria from the first milestone, a QA verdict for every milestone delivery, pre-submission readiness checks for every certification, a side-by-side quality comparison with the original for every port.
• Plan QA as a continuous flow through the project (daily builds, smoke, regression) rather than a last-minute burst before delivery, and make sure project plans leave time for it.
• Own capacity and hiring with PMO: a 3-month demand forecast, reserve rules, fast answers to project requests, pools of contractors and trainees.
• Grow the team: monthly performance reviews, grades and career tracks (functional, compliance, performance, automation, leadership), development plans, mentoring, a trainee program.
• Drive automation and AI in QA with the Tech Leads: pick the most expensive repetitive work, run pilots, measure the hours saved and make sure the tools are actually used.
• Own QA estimation: a scope-based model, a review of every QA estimate in presales, a regular check of estimates against actuals.
• Grow QA as a business line with sales: a service catalogue, sales materials and case studies, a trial playbook, an analysis of lost deals.
• Keep standards, data and the knowledge base alive with clear owners; publish a monthly department dashboard (utilization, overhead, certification results, quality, people).
• Own common QA services and the budget: device and devkit fleet, platform accounts, tools and licences, overtime.
• Resolve project issues and escalations with PMs, clients and other department heads.

Benefits

• A mandate to build: you shape the QA structure, processes and service offering and report directly to the Head of Delivery & PMO.
• A department of 40+ QA engineers, a large fleet of test and dev kits, and AAA and AA projects for leading publishers.
• A base to build on: department standards and a knowledge base, internal QA tools and a development backlog prepared by the senior team.
• Fast hiring and a transparent process.
• 20 paid vacation days and 10 paid sick days.
• Regular salary reviews.
• Personal Development Plan (PDP).
• Accountant support.
• Office or remote work.
• Corporate English lessons.
• 50% compensation for courses, video courses.
• Career path and mentorship.
• Referral program with bonuses.
• A community of gamers.