Lead Quality Engineer

Zafin; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Zafin, a Toronto-based AI platform company, is seeking a Lead QA Engineer to build QA for Zafin AIOS from the ground up, defining standards and mentoring the team.

You'll work with developers, data engineers, and analysts on backend, integration, and data validation testing, applying DST and AI-assisted testing in a banking environment.

Qualifications

• 3–4 years of software testing experience at senior/lead level.
• 2+ years defining QA standards or best practices for a team.
• 2+ years mentoring QA engineers (2+ engineers).
• 1–2 years hands-on experience with Deterministic Simulation Testing (DST).
• 3+ years API testing and validation experience (Postman or equivalent).
• Experience standing up QA in greenfield or early-stage environments.
• Experience using AI-assisted or AI-native testing tooling.
• Working familiarity with Agile/Scrum (3+ years).
• Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Define and establish QA standards, processes, and best practices for the team.
• Design and own test strategy for backend apps, integrations, and file-based data exchanges.
• Validate backend data processing, file-based workflows, and inter-system integrations.
• Lead API testing and validation efforts (Postman, etc.), including performance testing.
• Apply DST approaches and AI-aware testing methodologies in the practice.
• Mentor other QA engineers and potentially build the QA function as the first hire.
• Drive test planning, test case design, execution, and defect triage.
• Collaborate with developers and analysts to resolve defects and influence quality decisions.
• Track and report quality metrics and maturity to leadership.

Skills

QA leadership

APIs testing

DST testing

Agile/Scrum

Mentoring

Back-end testing

AI testing

Postman

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

Postman

Selenium

Cypress

JMeter

Git

Azure

Kubernetes

Job description

Zafin is an AI platform company helping regulated institutions modernize how critical work is designed, governed, and delivered. Our technology enables organizations to move faster while maintaining the governance, accountability, and control required in highly regulated environments.

Our portfolio includes Zafin AIOS, an agent orchestration platform for governed AI work; the Zafin Banking Platform, which helps banks modernize product, pricing, offers, billing, loyalty, and relationship management; and Zafin IO, an integration platform that connects data, systems, and workflows across complex enterprise environments.

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Zafin partners with leading financial institutions across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia‑Pacific. As AI transforms the future of financial services, we're building the platforms that help regulated organizations adopt AI responsibly and at scale.

What's the Opportunity?

Lead QA Engineer will own and build Zafin AIOS's QA practicefrom the ground up — not just execute within an existing framework. This is a foundational hire: you'll define the standards, processes, and best practices the QA function runs on, while also getting hands‑on with complex backend, integration, and data‑validation testing. You'll work closely with developers, business analysts, and data engineers to validate end‑to‑end system functionality and data accuracy, and you'll be expected to mentor other QA engineers as the team grows. We're looking for someone forward‑looking — comfortable with modern, AI‑native approaches to testing, including Deterministic Simulation Testing (DST), who can bring that thinking into a banking environment that's historically been manual‑testing‑heavy.

What Will You Do?

• Define and establish QA standards, processes, and best practices for the team/org — build the practice, not just staff it.
• Design and own the overall test strategy for backend applications, integration points, and file‑based data exchanges, including functional, regression, and integration testing.
• Validate backend data processing, file‑based workflows, and inter‑system integrations.
• Lead API testing and validation efforts (Postman and beyond), with exposure to performance testing.
• Apply and champion Deterministic Simulation Testing (DST) approaches where applicable, bringing forward‑looking, AI‑aware testing methodology into the practice.
• Lead or mentor other QA engineers, including as the sole/first QA hire building out the function.
• Drive test planning, test case design, execution, and defect triage at a program level.
• Partner with developers and analysts to resolve defects, clarify requirements, and influence upstream quality decisions.
• Track and report on quality metrics and practice maturity to leadership, not just individual defect status.

What Do You Need to Succeed?

• 3–4 years of software testing experienceoperating at a senior/lead level (owning strategy, not just executing test cases).
• 2+ years of experience explicitly defining QA standards, processes, or best practices for a team or organization — not just following an existing playbook.
• 2+ years leading or mentoring other QA engineers (formally or informally), including experience managing or coaching a team of 2+ QA engineers.
• At least 1–2 years of hands‑on experience with Deterministic Simulation Testing (DST), or demonstrable equivalent experience with simulation‑based/deterministic testing approaches in complex distributed systems.
• 3+ years of hands‑on API testing and validation experience (Postman or equivalent).
• Experience standing up a QA function in at least one greenfield or early‑stage environment (ideally as the first or sole QA hire on a team/product).
• Demonstrated forward‑looking perspective on AI in testing — ideally 1+ years of direct experience incorporating AI‑assisted or AI‑native testing tooling into a QA practice.
• Working familiarity with Agile/Scrum, with 3+ years operating in sprint‑based delivery models.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience — flexible given the seniority bar above).

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of Kafka message validation and consumer/producer testing.
• Familiarity with ETL concepts, data pipelines, or batch processing systems.
• Experience building or scaling automation frameworks (Selenium, TestNG, Cypress) rather than just using them.
• Experience using JMeter or similar tools for API performance testing.
• Understanding of CI/CD pipelines and version control tools (Git).
• Exposure to Cloud — Azure and Kubernetes.

Additional Job Details

• Vacancy Status: Open Position to be filled
• Expected Salary range: $140K to $80K (depends on the candidate's experience and competence)
• Mode of Work: Hybrid
• Use of AI: Zafin may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and/or other forms of automated technology to screen and/or assess applicants for this position. Zafin will not utilize AI for conducting interviews and/or making hiring decisions.

What’s in it for you

Joining our team means being part of a culture that values diversity, teamwork, and high‑quality work. We offer competitive salaries, annual bonus potential, generous paid time off, paid volunteering days, wellness benefits, and robust opportunities for professional growth and career advancement. Want to learn more about what you can look forward to during your career with us? Visit our careers site and our openings: zafin.com/careers

Zafin welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Zafin is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal information collected from all applicants throughout the recruitment process. The methods by which Zafin contains uses, stores, handles, retains, or discloses applicant information can be accessed by reviewing Zafin’s privacy policy at https://zafin.com/privacy-notice/. By submitting a job application, you confirm that you agree to the processing of your personal data by Zafin described in the candidate privacy notice.