About the role

QA Lead | Connected Devices | Playwright | Android | AI Build the future of quality, not just test it.

Our client is looking for a hands-on QA Lead to take ownership of Quality Engineering across integrated hardware and software products.

This isn't a governance-heavy management role.

You'll remain close to the technology—testing, building automation, and solving engineering challenges—while helping shape how Quality Engineering evolves as the business continues to grow.
If you've built automation frameworks, worked with Android or connected devices, enjoy collaborating with engineers, and are excited by the future of AI in Quality Engineering, this is an opportunity worth exploring.

The Company

Our client is a New Zealand product engineering business developing integrated hardware and software solutions used by customers around the world.

Their products combine embedded technology, Android platforms, cloud services, and intuitive software to deliver connected experiences across a range of industries. Working in a collaborative, engineering-led environment, you'll be part of a business where quality is considered a core part of product development—not an afterthought.

As customer demand continues to grow alongside investment in new products, they're looking for someone to take ownership of Quality Engineering and help modernise how testing is delivered across the organisation.

The Opportunity
This is a genuine hands-on QA Lead role where you'll combine technical delivery with leadership.

You'll continue writing automation, validating complex systems, and working closely with engineers while also influencing QA strategy, automation maturity, and engineering quality across the business.

Initially, you'll support multiple concurrent customer projects involving integrated hardware and software delivery, while also contributing to the evolution of the company's own products. As the business grows, you'll play a key role in scaling QA capability alongside it.

You'll be responsible for:

• Owning QA across customer projects and internal product development.
• Defining QA strategy, standards, and best practices across the business.
• Designing and enhancing automation frameworks across UI, API, integration, and end-to-end testing.
• Working across Android applications, connected devices, embedded technologies, and cloud platforms.
• Partnering with engineering teams to embed shift-left testing and modern Quality Engineering practices.
• Supporting release planning, UAT, deployment readiness, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Maintaining QA plans, managing test execution, and identifying delivery risks early.
• Mentoring QA engineers and helping lift capability across the team.
• Driving automation maturity and reducing manual testing effort.
• Introducing practical AI-assisted testing approaches that improve delivery, automation, and quality outcomes.
• Supporting customer and vendor compliance requirements where required.
• Helping shape how Quality Engineering evolves as the business scales.

About You
You'll likely come from a product or engineering-led environment and enjoy solving technical challenges just as much as leading people. You remain hands-on, enjoy working closely with engineers, and have helped influence how quality is delivered—not simply executed.

You'll bring experience in many of the following:

• QA Lead, Senior QA Engineer, Senior SDET or Quality Engineer.
• Product companies or engineering-led environments.
• Connected devices, IoT, embedded systems or OEM hardware.
• Android application testing.
• Hardware and software integration testing.
• Playwright, Appium, Selenium or similar modern automation frameworks.
• API, integration, mobile and end-to-end automation testing.
• CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps practices.
• Building automation frameworks rather than simply maintaining them.
• Driving automation strategy and improving QA maturity.
• Release management, UAT coordination, and production readiness.
• AI-assisted testing using tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Playwright Agents or similar technologies.

You'll Enjoy This Role If You...

• Enjoy remaining hands-on with technology.
• Like building better engineering practices rather than simply executing test cases.
• Prefer influencing through collaboration rather than hierarchy.
• Are naturally curious about AI and where it's taking Quality Engineering.
• Thrive in product-focused, collaborative environments.
• Enjoy mentoring engineers and helping teams continuously improve.
• Want to build something rather than inherit a mature QA function.

Nice to Have While not essential, experience in any of the following would be highly regarded:

• Electronics, Computer or Software Engineering background.
• Hardware or firmware validation.
• Android development or Android automation.
• Connected device ecosystems.
• Performance or reliability engineering.
• Cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure.
• Active involvement in technical communities, conference speaking, mentoring, or open-source projects.

Why Join?
This is an opportunity to make a genuine impact within a growing New Zealand product company. You'll have the autonomy to influence Quality Engineering practices, introduce modern automation approaches, explore AI-enabled testing, and work on products that combine hardware, software, and cloud technologies—all while remaining close to the engineering teams building them. If you're looking for a role where you can continue writing code, shape the future of QA, and help build world-class connected products, we'd love to hear from you.

Please note: Applicants must be based in New Zealand and hold valid working rights.

This isn’t a big corporate structure. You’ll have room to shape how QA evolves, but you’ll also need to be comfortable rolling up your sleeves and getting into the detail.