[Hiring] QA Chapter Lead @Watu

Role Description

The QA Chapter Lead is a senior QA engineer who carries two roles simultaneously:

• Embedded QA engineer in one of the squads, attending ceremonies, writing automated tests, defining acceptance criteria, and owning the Definition of Done for your squad.
• QA Chapter Lead for your engineering function, responsible for QA standards, tooling, automation frameworks, and test strategy across all squads in the function.

You report to the Head of Engineering, which gives you the organizational standing to influence QA practice across squads you are not embedded in. This role is not a QA manager role; there is no QA team to manage.

The QA Guild (monthly cross-chapter meeting) is your primary mechanism for cross-function consistency.

What You Will Own

• As embedded QA engineer in your squad:
  • Attend all squad ceremonies - sprint planning, daily standup, sprint review, retrospective.
  • Define acceptance criteria with the Product Owner before each sprint.
  • Write and maintain automated test suites for your squad's domain - unit, integration, E2E as appropriate.
  • Own the squad's Definition of Done quality gate.
• As QA Chapter Lead across your function:
  • Define and maintain QA standards for the function.
  • Onboard new QA engineers into the chapter.
  • Run the monthly QA Guild with the counterpart Chapter Lead from the other engineering function.
  • Own the automation framework selection and evolution.
  • Report to the Head of Engineering on QA chapter health.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software QA experience with at least 2 years in a Lead QA role.
• Strong automation engineering skills.
• Experience with API testing at depth: REST, contract testing, integration test design.
• Experience defining and maintaining QA standards in an Agile squad environment.
• Experience in Java-based backend environments.

Requirements

• Experience in fintech, payments, or digital financial services.
• Experience with performance and load testing.
• Mobile app testing experience is mandatory for one of the QA Chapter roles (Android surface).
• Experience building or evolving a QA chapter, guild, or community of practice across multiple teams.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted test generation tooling.

How to Apply

Send your CV and a brief note on why this role to the Watu talent team. We run a structured process: an initial conversation with the relevant Head of Engineering, a technical interview, and a final conversation with the wider leadership team. We move quickly for the right candidate.

We are an equal opportunity employer and actively work to build a team that reflects the diversity of the markets we serve.

All personal information provided will be processed in accordance with applicable data protection laws and regulations and used solely for recruitment and selection purposes.