QA Lead

Kinetic Games; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

An independent games studio is looking for an enthusiastic QA Lead to support their development teams. Ideal candidates will have a deep player experience of their game, 'Phasmophobia', and at least 3 years in a Senior/Lead QA role. Your role will include managing the QA budget, coordinating best practices, and mentoring team members in a hybrid work environment based in Southampton. Enjoy perks like flexible working, training budgets, and team events.

Benefits

Weekly free team lunches

Regular social events

Hybrid & flexible working options

Flextime

Opportunities to travel to industry events

Relocation package

Employee of the Month vouchers

Training & Development Budget

30 days holiday including birthday

Christmas studio shutdown

Qualifications

• Deep player experience of our game 'Phasmophobia'.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience within a Senior/Lead QA role.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing bug workflows.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary point of contact for QA, communicating test status.
• Drive best practices for the entire development lifecycle.
• Support the QA team with coaching and mentoring.

Skills

Strong interpersonal skills

Deep player experience of 'Phasmophobia'

Confident communicator

Experience in embedded QA

Knowledge of industry trends

Experience designing bug workflows

Expert knowledge of JIRA

Experience with Unity

Managing submissions and compliance testing

3+ years in Senior/Lead QA role

Tools

JIRA

Unity

Job description

We’re an independent games studio best known for creating Phasmophobia, enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. Our team is passionate, creative, and collaborative and we’re looking for someone equally enthusiastic about games to join our growing team.

We’re a small, friendly team that values creativity, openness, and personal growth. Whether you’re helping various departments or talking about your favourite horror game, you’ll be part of a supportive environment where passion and curiosity are celebrated. You’ll be joining a small but ambitious team where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your development truly matters.

About the role:

We are looking for a positive, enthusiastic, organised and collaborative QA Lead to join Kinetic Games and support the development teams across the studio. As QA Lead, reporting to the Technical Director, you will support the QA team while driving the QA strategy in coordination with technical leadership.

Comfortable with people as much as process, you will be a keen, experienced coach and mentor for your team members with a genuine interest in their growth and wellbeing while seeking to provide the best QA support for the development team.

This role is hybrid, based in the Southampton area.

NOTE: For this role we require someone with a deep player experience of our game ‘Phasmophobia’ please only apply if you have this.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for QA, communicating test status, risks and metrics to stakeholders and production.
• Drive best practices, standards and methodologies for the entire development lifecycle.
• Support the QA team with coaching and mentoring through 1:1s, training and a focus on ongoing development and satisfaction keyed to individuals' motivations.
• Define and Manage bug workflow within issue tracking systems including triage process, priority assignment guidelines and closure criteria.
• Oversee and participate in comprehensive testing functional, compatibility and compliance as well as localisation, performance and user experience.
• Provide regular objective feedback on new features to the design team.
• You will manage the QA budget in coordination with the Technical Director
• Be an agent of continuous improvement, evaluating, recommending and implementing process and practical innovation in how we work within your area of expertise.

Requirements:

• Strong interpersonal and technical skills
• Deep player experience of our game, ‘Phasmophobia’
• Confident communicator both in writing and verbally
• Experience of delivering embedded QA in a commercial game studio
• Up-to-date knowledge of industry trends and platform holder requirements, as well as an understanding of the gaming landscape and audience.
• Proven experience of designing and implementing bug workflows, test plans and reporting structures.
• Expert knowledge of JIRA and testing experience in Unity
• Direct experience of managing submissions and compliance testing on console.
• Minimum of 3years' experience within a Senior/Lead QA role with a track record of shipping titles on multiple platforms.

🍽️ Weekly free team lunches – good food, great company!

🎉 Regular social events – we love bringing our teams together!

🏠 Hybrid & flexible working options

🕓 Flextime – because life doesn’t always fit 9–5

✈️ Opportunities to travel to amazing industry events like GDC, Gamescom, TwitchCon (EU & US), EGX & Develop:Brighton

📦 Relocation package to help you settle in

🏅 Employee of the Month vouchers

🎓 Training & Development Budget – invest in your growth with courses, conferences & learning resources

🎂 30 days holiday , including your birthday and a dedicated wellbeing day

🎄 Christmas studio shutdown – enjoy the holidays, on us!

The pay range for this role is:

45,000 - 55,000 GBP per year (Hybrid (Southampton, England, GB))