Work-Force
QA Team Leader – Technology & Engineering opportunity in Cape Town, Western Cape.
Job Title QA Team Leader Department Technology & Engineering Reports To Senior Product Owner / Head of Technology Location Cape Town (Pinelands) Employment Type Permanent Grade / Band Senior (Designated Team Leader) Role Purpose The QA Team Leader is the quality anchor for Confluent’s engineering organisation. You will lead a team of QAs across all development squads, setting the standard for how software quality is defined, measured, and continuously improved.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Capability Development Lead, mentor, and develop a team across multiple development squads Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development conversations Define QA career pathways and competency frameworks within the engineering org Identify skills gaps and drive targeted upskilling — particularly in automation and AI tooling Foster a culture of ownership, quality advocacy, and continuous improvement across the team Represent the QA function in cross-functional forums, sprint ceremonies, and engineering leadership discussions QA capacity management QA Strategy & Process Own the QA strategy for the engineering organisation — covering all portfolios and development teams Define and enforce testing standards, processes, and documentation requirements Embed shift-left testing practices across the SDLC in collaboration with Product Owners and developers Drive the evolution of automation testing over an 18–24 month horizon Establish and maintain a regression pack strategy across all major platforms and products Report on QA health metrics to engineering leadership — defect rates, test coverage, automation maturity Hands-On Testing (Current Phase) Actively participate in test planning, case design, execution, and defect triage Lead by example in applying automation frameworks and scripting discipline Execute all levels of testing: unit, integration, system, regression, load, and accessibility Review and validate user stories and acceptance criteria for testability at sprint intake Perform post-release and post-implementation validation across production environments Maintain test management tooling and ensure accurate defect documentation and tracking Automation & Tooling Own the QA automation strategy — framework selection, toolchain decisions, and implementation roadmap Build and maintain automated regression and feature test packs Evaluate and introduce automation tooling appropriate to Confluent’s technology stack Develop scripting standards and reusable test component libraries Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines in collaboration with the Platform/DevOps team Track and report on automation coverage targets and progress against roadmap AI-Augmented Quality Engineering Champion the adoption of AI-assisted testing tools within the QA team — building on current GitHub Copilot usage Evaluate and pilot AI tooling for test case generation, defect prediction, and regression optimisation Develop a roadmap for AI integration into the QA workflow — from assisted scripting to intelligent test selection Stay current with emerging AI testing approaches and introduce relevant practices in a measured, risk-aware way Work with the Head of Technology to align AI adoption in QA with the broader organisational AI strategy Document lessons learned and build internal knowledge assets as AI tooling matures
Requirements
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Qualifications
Essential 3+ years of software testing experience, with at least 1–2 years in a Senior QA role Demonstrated experience leading or mentoring QA engineers in a team environment Strong hands-on automation experience — framework design, scripting, and regression pack management Proficiency with test management tools and defect tracking systems Working knowledge of SQL and ability to validate data-layer behaviour Solid understanding of Agile/Scrum methodology and where QA fits within sprint delivery Experience with CI/CD pipelines and integrating tests into automated build processes Excellent communication skills — able to translate quality risk into business terms for non-technical stakeholders Advantageous Experience with AI-assisted development or testing tools (GitHub Copilot, AI test generation, LLM-based tooling) Exposure to financial services, regulated environments, or high-stakes consumer-facing products Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS) and associated testing considerations Familiarity with performance and accessibility testing tooling Experience working across multiple simultaneous product teams or portfolios Experience and knowledge of performance and load testing