Software Quality Assurance Engineer

Quality Assurance Engineer - Job Description

Location: Old Rally Building, Karachi, Pakistan

About PAR

Pakistan Agriculture Research (PAR) is Pakistan’s leading provider of agricultural market intelligence and technology solutions. PAR is partenered with US-based clients working on industrial-grade enterprise solutions with a software-engineering core.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer to test and validate backend services, frontend applications, infrastructure automation, and real-time configurations across client-focused cloud-native software projects, deployed in secure Azure environments.

This is a hands-on, implementation-driven role, and test automation is central to it, not optional. You will be our sole QA. There is no existing QA process, no test suites, and no automation framework. You are not joining a QA team, you are building one and owning it end to end. You will work with a high degree of autonomy, reporting to the Engineering Lead, and collaborate directly with US-side stakeholders, so strong English communication is required.

Our product is technical and model-driven. You do not need a scientific background to apply: you will learn, with support, how to validate complex model outputs as part of the role.

Key Responsibilities

1. Test Planning & Execution

1.1. Build test plans, test cases, and regression suites from scratch across backend APIs, database logic, and frontend UI.

1.2. Test REST APIs: request and response validation, error handling, edge cases, and authentication flows.

1.3. Validate database operations and data integrity in SQL Server and Cosmos DB.

1.4. Execute manual testing for new features and bug fixes during sprint cycles.

2. Automation

2.1. Build, own, and grow automated test suites for both API and UI using Playwright and Postman.

2.2. Integrate automated tests into Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines.

2.3. Add load and performance testing where needed.

2.4. Leverage AI tools to accelerate test planning, case generation, and documentation.

3. Environment, Security & Release Validation

3.1. Validate deployments across Dev and Prod, feature flags, and environment-specific configurations (Azure App Config).

3.2. Perform targeted negative testing to ensure failure isolation and fallback logic.

3.3. Coordinate smoke and sanity testing within CI/CD pipelines.

4. Process & Collaboration

4.1. Define and document QA processes: test plans, bug reporting standards, release checklists, and definition of done.

4.2. Work with backend and frontend engineers to identify, log, track, and verify bugs.

4.3. Communicate test results, quality status, and product readiness clearly to the Engineering Lead and US-based stakeholders.

4.4. Proactively clarify unclear or ambiguous requirements before testing.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• 3-4 years of QA experience covering both backend and frontend testing
• Hands-on test automation for both API and UI is required: proven experience with Playwright and Postman (or very close equivalents), and integrating automated tests into CI/CD (Azure DevOps preferred). You should be able to describe an automation framework you built yourself
• Experience as the sole or first QA on a team, or otherwise building a QA function from scratch
• Experience testing web applications built with modern frontend frameworks (React preferred)
• Familiarity with SQL: ability to write queries to validate data
• A clear communicator who can report quality status to non-QA and US-based stakeholders, and who proactively clarifies ambiguous requirements
• Strong spoken and written English

Nice to have

• Load and performance testing experience (JMeter, Newman, or similar)
• Familiarity with Cosmos DB or NoSQL databases
• Exposure to validating data-heavy or model-driven outputs
• Understanding of cloud infrastructure concepts (Azure, Terraform basics)

Benefits & Perks

• In-person engineering culture with direct collaboration with US client teams
• Clear pathways for growth into lead roles
• Competitive salary aligned with skills and experience
• Daily collaboration with global stakeholders

Probation Duration: 3 Months

• Post-Probation Benefits: Health insurance, Provident Fund, 25 annual paid leaves, transport allowance, annual bonus, and annual salary increment.

Work Environment (Hybrid)

• Old Rally Building, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi.
• Monday, Wednesday, Friday - In person (9am to 6pm)
• Tuesday, Thursday - Remote
• Flexibility required to align with US-based meetings and project cycles.

Fill the application form link to apply. For queries, connect on WhatsApp at 0308-9333445