Senior Quality Assurance Testing Engineer

Fora Travel; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited vacation

Health Insurance (including an option)

Dental & Vision Insurance

Wellhub Memberships

401k plan with company match

Commuter Benefits

Supplemental Life Insurance

Stock Options

Job summary

Fora Fora in New York City seeks a Senior QA Engineer with 7+ years of backend QA experience to own integration testing and data quality across services. You’ll test from UI to API to data, ensuring edge cases are covered and changes ship at a high bar.

Work with developers, product, and design in a fast-moving, product-driven environment, and embrace AI-assisted testing to accelerate discovery while maintaining thorough validation.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of backend quality assurance focusing on integration testing and data validation.
• Proficient in API testing with Postman or REST clients.
• Strong SQL skills and experience querying relational databases.
• Familiarity with asynchronous systems and contract testing concepts.
• Excellent debugging and communication skills; comfortable with remote teams.

Responsibilities

• Own root-cause analysis for cross-layer issues from UI to API to data.
• Create and execute integration test strategies for backend services and third-party APIs.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and design to ensure testability and reliability.
• Promote continuous improvement in testing and delivery processes; leverage AI tools where appropriate.
• Own quality end-to-end, from requirements through post-release validation.

Skills

Backend QA

API testing

SQL

Observability

AI in QA

Tools

Postman

Job description

About Fora Fora

About Fora Fora is the modern travel agency, empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs to build thriving travel advisory businesses. We're modernizing the $100B+ travel industry with AI woven through every part of the advisor's workflow, plus global supplier relationships, personalized training, and a vibrant community, all in one place. That's what lets advisors build businesses that scale, while their taste and service create trips no algorithm alone could plan. At the heart of it all is our mission: to help the next generation of travel entrepreneurs turn their love for travel into a fulfilling career, whether full-time or part-time. The same idea shapes how we work. We're mission-driven and obsessed with our customers, and we believe humans and AI are both essential: the best work here comes from people and technology at their best, together. Founded in 2021, Fora has grown to a team of 200+ full-time employees based in downtown New York City. In 2026, we closed a $60 million Series D led by Forerunner and Tactile Ventures, with continued backing from Thrive Capital, Insight Partners, and Heartcore Capital. We've been named a LinkedIn Top Startup (2024), one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies (2023 and 2025), and one of TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies (2026). Come build something that hasn't existed before.

The Role

We're looking for a Senior QA Engineer with 7+ years of experience across the full stack. Your strength is backend QA - integration testing, system-level validation, and data quality across connected services, but you also own frontend and end-to-end testing of the user experience. This role suits someone who wants to understand how the whole system fits together and why the data looks the way it does. If you are the one who goes looking for the problems that don't show up on the happy path, this is the role for you. You'll work closely with developers, product managers, and designers to test how things behave from the UI through the APIs down to the data: exercising APIs, following data across services, digging into edge cases, and staying involved in quality from planning through release. Our product changes constantly - new features ship often, and existing ones evolve based on user feedback. You'll make sure those changes hold up and ship at a high bar. Experience working with offshore teams is a plus.

Key Responsibilities

Investigation & Debugging

Own root‑cause analysis for complex, cross‑layer issues - tracking through UI -> API -> database -> dependent services rather than stopping at the surface. Investigate complex, hard‑to‑reproduce issues by piecing together information from logs, traces, and monitoring tools like Datadog and Sentry. Distinguish frontend from backend causes through payload, status‑code, and data‑flow analysis, and always ask "what would I check next?"

API, Integration & Data Validation

Create and execute integration test strategies for backend services and third‑party APIs, validating how components interact across systems. Use tools like Postman to explore, document, and validate APIs against functional, performance, and edge‑case requirements. Comfortable reading and querying the database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.) to verify the application behaves correctly — understanding how data is structured across tables and confirming it matches what the system should have done. Get involved early in design discussions to ensure testability and reliability across the stack.

Collaboration & Communication

Partner with engineering, product, and design teams to fully understand business logic, technical architecture, and domain‑specific use cases. Provide thoughtful, detailed bug reports with clear steps to reproduce and meaningful business context. Participate in sprint ceremonies (planning, grooming, retrospectives) and serve as a quality advocate throughout the development cycle. Ask questions, challenge assumptions, and promote a culture of continuous improvement in testing and delivery processes.

Quality Mindset & Domain Awareness

Approach testing with high attention to detail, proactively identifying edge cases, data anomalies, and system‑level inconsistencies before they reach production. Demonstrate a creative and curious mindset - not just validating requirements, but actively looking for what might break or be missed. Embrace AI as part of the job - open to integrating AI tools into day‑to‑day QA workflows to test faster, dig deeper, and work smarter. Develop a strong understanding of the workflows across the pods you support to better anticipate risk areas and ensure domain‑appropriate validation. Own quality end to end, from requirements through post‑release validation, and keep raising the bar on how thoroughly we test.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in backend quality assurance with strong focus on integration testing, system behavior, and data validation. Proficiency in API testing tools such as Postman or REST clients; able to design and execute exploratory and regression test plans. Strong SQL skills; experience querying relational databases and validating data across interconnected tables. Familiarity with asynchronous systems and contract testing concepts. Strong analytical thinking and debugging skills, especially in complex data‑driven workflows. Proven ability to root‑cause ambiguous failures using logs and observability tools. Openness to working with AI and integrating AI‑assisted tools into everyday testing workflows. Excellent communication and documentation skills. Experience working with remote or offshore teams is a plus.

Compensation

Compensation for this role varies based on experience, with an indicative range of $110K–$140K + equity. Final compensation will depend on the level at which the candidate is hired, as we are considering multiple levels for this role.

• Unlimited vacation
• Health Insurance (including an option completely covered by Fora HQ)
• Dental & Vision Insurance
• Wellhub Memberships
• 401k plan with company match
• Commuter Benefits
• Supplemental Life Insurance
• Stock Options

This role is based in New York City with a hybrid WFH & office schedule (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are our FiDi in‑office days, with flexibility for Wednesday and Friday at your preference).

Values

We’re forging our own path Fora has always been about driving change within the industry. We’re not interested in maintaining the status quo. We’re stronger together Community is our cornerstone and collective power is our strength. We believe we can all go further when we operate together, using our combined leverage to unlock better opportunities and outcomes for our advisors, partners, and travelers. We believe in technology We believe technology is an answer to some of the most fundamental challenges the travel industry faces. We believe advancements in AI, bold investments in our platforms, and a world‑class data infrastructure will transform the work of our advisors and our partners, while creating better travel experiences for travelers. We’re here to serve We operate in service of our community and believe that when they’re empowered to focus on what they do best, we all win. It’s why we relentlessly advocate for our advisors and prioritize their best interest every step of the way. We mean business Fora is equal parts fun, meaningful work and serious travel business. We’re unlocking opportunities for thousands of travel entrepreneurs, delivering a stream of high‑quality guests at scale for our partners, and providing a superior travel experience for our travelers. It’s a better equation for the future of our industry.

WORK AUTHORIZATION

Authorization to work in the United States is required for full‑time roles based in our New York City office. Fora is unable to sponsor or assist with U.S. work authorization. Roles based outside of the United States are not subject to this requirement.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Fora is committed to an equitable hiring process and an inclusive work environment. BIPOC and traditionally underrepresented candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We will not discriminate and will take action to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any other characteristic protected by law.