Job openings/QA Lead

 YOU ARE ...

...a person who has a background of tinkering with complex open source software, figuring out how to break it, and then comprehensively and logically documenting its flaws. You work well with others outside your discipline, and have taken on (or are ready to take on) the responsibilities of coordinating with development, product management, outside contract firms, and a large volunteer community. As an experienced QA engineer, you understand what an effective QA organization looks like, but you're comfortable building up QA systems from scratch, largely autonomously, in a small non-profit organization with many competing priorities.

You understand how to implement tests at all levels -- in other words, you're comfortable helping with the development of unit tests, but also with careful roll-out of a new feature driven by user feedback. You are confident and comfortable communicating via public IRC channels, mailing lists, bug trackers, wikis, etc. You have the capacity and desire to become a group leader, but the patience and work ethic to shine as an individual contributor. You understand our community and open source development, and enjoy working with volunteers. You appreciate the added complexity of making software work well in all widely used languages.

Above all, making Wikipedia, the world's largest encyclopedia, and other free knowledge projects better by improving the underlying software strongly appeals to you.

JOB TITLE

Quality Assurance Lead Engineer [CLOSED]

JOB PURPOSE

The Quality Assurance Lead Engineer will be the first full-time quality assurance engineer employed by the Wikimedia Foundation (in a group we plan to expand). With the support of the Wikimedia Foundation staff and contract test engineers, this person will provide quality assurance support for Wikimedia Foundation's development efforts. This person is responsible for building an appropriately formal quality assurance practice, balancing the need for more predictable software development schedules with the need to maintain a vibrant and motivated development (and QA) community.

JOB SUMMARY

Duties include, but are not limited to the following:


 * Write test plans, complete with time estimates for completion of task by self and/or others
 * Perform test plans, reporting bugs found in appropriate bug tracking tools, and other results back to engineering management
 * Assist management with scheduling and prioritization of quality assurance activities
 * Identify third-party test contracting firms and other cost-effective opportunities to provide better test coverage
 * Direct outside contract test engineering staff, providing test plans and general guidance on day-to-day procedural questions
 * Educate and inspire our large volunteer community to join our quality assurance activities
 * Identify opportunities for test automation, working with development staff and contractors to replace the most repetitive activities with automated counterparts
 * Maintain and augment existing automated tests, and add new ones as appropriate
 * Install MediaWiki on test cluster and personal environment, and administer test instances for contract test engineers

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
 * At least 3-5 years of experience as a Quality Assurance Engineer
 * Some experience in at least one programming languages such as Python, PHP, Ruby, Perl, or Java
 * 1-2 years hands-on experience with Linux web application installation and operation via SSH/command line tools
 * Experience with automated testing frameworks

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
 * Experience with PHPUnit, CruiseControl, QUnit, and Swarm is a major plus
 * Prior experience as a QA Lead or QA Manager is a major plus
 * You are able to learn quickly. Relevant hands-on experience and eagerness to learn and try new concepts are more important than having certificates
 * The ideal candidate will be creative, highly motivated, and able to operate effectively in multiple cultural contexts
 * You are able to work independently where needed, and can work remotely as part of a globally distributed team
 * Experience with large web site application architectures is a major plus
 * Experience with systems and network security is a plus
 * Experience working with online volunteers is a major plus
 * Experience with use of wiki technology is a major plus
 * You must be comfortable in a highly collaborative, consensus-oriented environment
 * Understanding of free culture / free software / open source is a plus
 * International work experience is a plus
 * Active participation as a Wikimedia volunteer would be an asset, though not a prerequisite