Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Strategy

• Design and own the QA strategy across the NedGraphics and Optitex product portfolios, bringing a clear point of view on what good looks like based on prior experience building QA functions elsewhere
• Lead a strategic transformation of the QA function: moving it from its current state to a modern, automation-first, AI-enabled operation, with a credible roadmap and milestones
• Build a quality-focused culture within the team and across the wider engineering organisation
• Establish clear standards, processes, and quality gates for product releases, informed by best practices from previous roles
• Work closely with engineering leads and Product Managers to integrate QA throughout the development lifecycle
• Set a clear direction for the team and develop individuals to reach their potential
• Act as a hands-on people leader: manage performance, run 1:1s, and support career development for a team of 5

Automation and Tooling

• Expand automation coverage significantly across the product suite
• Set the automation roadmap and direct the existing automation engineer
• Identify and introduce AI-assisted testing tools to improve speed and coverage
• Progressively reduce reliance on manual regression testing

Hands-on Testing

• Contribute directly to test design, execution, and defect analysis on complex features
• Stay close to the product portfolio to provide well-informed quality judgment
• Set the standard for how good testing is done

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Essential

• Proven experience leading or managing a QA team, ideally having built or significantly transformed a QA function from the ground up
• Demonstrated experience building or executing QA strategy, not just following one: you know what good looks like and can point to a track record of setting the direction yourself
• Hands-on background in software testing; this is a player-coach role
• Solid experience testing native desktop applications
• Working knowledge of at least one test automation framework for UI desktop applications (e.g. WinAppDriver, Appium, Squish by Qt Group, or equivalent)
• Proficient in Python and shell scripting for building and maintaining test automation
• Ability to integrate the automation framework into a wider AI agentic-based build flow, spanning tools such as Azure DevOps, Cursor, and Claude cloud agents
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence engineers, PMs, and senior stakeholders
• A track record of improving QA processes and delivering measurable results
• Experience working effectively across multiple time zones with a globally distributed team, including asynchronous collaboration and flexible scheduling
• Prior experience leading a team, with a clear approach to setting direction, delegating, and developing people

Desirable

• Experience with AI-assisted testing tools or a genuine interest in adopting them
• Background in software product companies, ideally with desktop application portfolios
• Exposure to agile or scrum delivery environments
• Experience growing an automation capability from the ground up
• Familiarity with Azure DevOps for work item tracking, test plans, and pipeline integration

Benefits

• A new, senior role with real scope to shape how quality is done at NedGraphics
• Close collaboration with VP Engineering and a technically strong R&D team
• A team of 5 QA engineers to lead and develop
• Competitive salary plus 5% discretionary bonus
• Flexible working arrangements across EU/UK