Senior QA Engineer

Senior QA Engineer – Bogotá Site Lead

Location:
Bogotá, Colombia (Hybrid)

Work Modality:
Full-time | Hybrid (3 days in-office once site is established)

About Near

Near is a global recruitment agency that partners with fast-growing startups and tech-driven companies to help them build high-performing remote and hybrid teams across Latin America. We focus on long-term placements, strong culture fit, and roles where professionals can grow, lead, and make a meaningful impact.

About the Company

Our client is a rapidly scaling SaaS company building modern, mission-critical software for operational teams. As part of their continued growth, they are investing in creating a center of excellence in Colombia, beginning with Quality Assurance and expanding into additional engineering and customer-facing functions over time.

About the Role

We are hiring a Senior QA Engineer who will also serve as the Bogotá Site Lead, combining hands-on technical leadership with local site ownership.

This is a foundational hire. You will be the first senior QA leader in Colombia, responsible for setting quality standards, modernizing QA practices, and helping establish a physical site and team culture. Initially, the role will lean more toward site leadership and setup (approximately 30%), with the remainder focused on deep QA execution and strategy. Over time, the role is expected to become more technically focused as the site and support functions mature.

This opportunity is ideal for someone who has built QA practices before, thrives in ambiguous environments, and wants to leave a lasting technical and organizational legacy.

Responsibilities

Quality & Technical Leadership

• Lead and execute advanced QA efforts across web applications, with a strong focus on modern, scalable practices
• Help shift quality left within the development lifecycle, improving early detection and prevention of defects
• Serve as a Subject Matter Expert in QA, guiding standards, tooling, and best practices
• Write, review, and maintain automated tests using Playwright
• Work with TypeScript, API testing tools (Postman), and contribute to test strategy at scale
• Support performance testing initiatives as the organization matures
• Clearly document and communicate reproducible steps for bugs and edge cases

Site & Team Leadership

• Support the establishment of the Bogotá office and help shape the site's operating model
• Act as the local QA leader, supporting and mentoring existing and future team members
• Partner with leadership on hiring initiatives as the Colombia team expands
• Help define in-office expectations, targeting three days per week once the site is live
• Coordinate quarterly in-office collaboration for distributed team members

Requirements

Must Have

• 7–8+ years of experience in Quality Assurance with demonstrated senior-level ownership
• Proven experience building or modernizing QA practices in growing or scaled organizations
• Strong hands-on experience with Playwright
• Experience working with TypeScript
• Solid experience with API testing using Postman
• Advanced English proficiency (C1 level or higher)
• Strong communication skills and the ability to challenge decisions constructively
• High attention to detail, curiosity, and a mindset for finding edge cases
• Professional maturity, strong judgment, and comfort operating autonomously

Nice to Have

• Experience with performance testing tools and methodologies
• Prior experience acting as a site lead, team lead, or early local hire
• Startup or scale-up environment experience
• Comfort working cross-functionally with Engineering, Product, Customer Success, and IT

Values & Culture Fit

• Scrappy, hands-on, and solutions-oriented
• Team-first mindset with a strong sense of ownership
• Comfortable saying no when quality or integrity is at risk
• Motivated by building something from the ground up

Why This Role Is Unique

As the first senior QA hire in Colombia, you will define both the quality bar and the cultural foundation for the company's LATAM presence. This is a rare opportunity to combine deep technical impact with operational and site leadership, influencing how teams, systems, and standards are built for years to come.

We're not looking for someone to manage existing systems — we're looking for someone to build them.