Junior Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer (Manual & Automation)

Junior Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer (Manual & Automation)

Company: Illumine Childcare Technology Limited Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Employment Type: Full-time

About Illumine

Illumine Childcare Technology Limited is a fast-growing startup transforming early childhood education through innovative technology. We build intelligent, easy-to-use products that streamline childcare operations, enhance learning experiences, and empower educators and parents. Our products are trusted by thousands of childcare centers, and quality is critical to everything we ship.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Junior QA Engineer with 1–2 years of experience who brings strong expertise in both manual and automation testing. This role goes beyond execution—you will help define QA processes, drive automation strategy, and act as a quality advocate across teams.

The ideal candidate has hands-on experience building or scaling automation frameworks, enjoys mentoring others, and thrives in a fast-paced startup environment with frequent releases.

Key Responsibilities Manual Testing Excellence

• ● Lead and perform functional, regression, smoke, sanity, UI/UX, and exploratory testing across web and mobile applications.
• ● Deeply understand product workflows to identify edge cases, risks, and usability issues.
• ● Ensure high test coverage across user roles, platforms, and devices.

Test Planning & Documentation

• ● Own test strategy, test plans, and test case design for features and releases.
• ● Write clear, maintainable, and reusable test cases.
• ● Continuously review and improve existing test scenarios as the product evolves.

Release Ownership & Quality Leadership

• ● Actively participate in release cycles, including build validation, regression sign-off, and
• production readiness.
• ● Validate bug fixes, assess release risk, and provide clear go/no-go recommendations.
• ● Prepare and review release notes with accuracy and clarity.

Collaboration & Mentorship

• ● Work closely with engineering, product, and design teams to shift quality left.
• ● Provide guidance and mentorship to junior QA engineers.
• ● If applicable, lead or coordinate QA efforts across features or squads.

Process Improvement in a Startup Environment

• ● Proactively identify gaps in quality, tooling, or workflows and propose solutions.
• ● Adapt quickly to changing priorities and evolving product requirements.
• ●Help define and improve QA processes suited for rapid development cycles.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• ● 1–2 years of QA experience covering both manual and automation testing.
• ● Strong understanding of QA methodologies, STLC, and defect life cycle.
• ● Proven experience in automation testing for web and/or mobile applications.
• ● Experience designing or contributing significantly to automation frameworks.
• ● Ability to write clean, maintainable automated test code.
• ● Strong analytical skills and exceptional attention to detail.
• ● Excellent communication skills for articulating defects, risks, and quality metrics.
• ● Comfortable working in a fast-paced startup with frequent releases.

Nice-to-Have / Strong Plus

• ● Experience leading or mentoring a QA team.
• ● Mobile app testing experience (iOS/Android).
• ● API testing experience (Postman, REST clients).
• ● Familiarity with CI/CD integration for automated tests.
• ● Experience working in Agile / Scrum environments.