Quality Engineering Lead

X, bigly labs; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,350,000; Full time

Job summary

X, bigly labs is seeking a Quality Engineering Lead in Johannesburg to drive automation-first QA across the SDLC. You will embed automated checks early, design scalable testing frameworks, and lead automation initiatives within Agile teams to ensure code quality and rapid delivery.

The role requires 5–8 years in QE/QA or Software Eng, with strong programming in Java/TS, API/UI/test automation and GitHub-based pipelines. Leadership and mentoring are essential to success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or related field.
• Certifications in QA/Automation advantageous.
• ISTQB Advanced or Automation Engineer advantageous.
• CI/CD, DevOps certifications advantageous.
• Strong understanding of SDLC, Agile and DevOps.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement and improve scalable automation frameworks.
• Embed automated quality checks early in development (commit/build/PR).
• Maintain automated quality gates aligned to branching strategy.
• Increase automated coverage across unit, API, component, integration, UI and regression tests.
• Identify opportunities to improve testability and automation performance.
• Coach engineers and QE practitioners on quality practices.

Skills

Automation frameworks

Test automation

API testing

CI/CD pipelines

Shift Left

Java

JavaScript/TypeScript

DevOps

Agile practices

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science / IT / Software Engineering

Additional certifications (ISTQB, automation)

Tools

GitHub

GitHub Actions

CI/CD tooling

Job description

We are X, bigly labs, Dis-Chem's high-performance innovation hub; a place where bold ideas meet data, design, and radical customer focus to reimagine what healthcare can be.

Our mission is to power the future of healthcare by lowering costs, unlocking new possibilities, and improving access to healthcare for all South Africans. We do this through cutting-edge digital solutions that deliver smarter, more human, and truly patient-focused experiences. Here, your work is not limited to a whiteboard; it becomes real. It drives decisions, shapes experiences, and moves healthcare forward.We are driven by one big question: How do we use data and today's technology to build breakthroughs to better health?

There's only one question left: are you ready to make healthcare smarter, and actually mean it?

Quality Engineering Lead is responsible for providing the technical leadership required to embed automation and quality into the earliest stages of the Software Development Lifecycle.The role is primarily focused on establishing and maintaining an automation-first approach to Quality Engineering, ensuring that quality is built into development rather than being treated as a separate testing phase.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR?

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering or related field.
• Relevant software engineering or Quality Engineering certification advantageous.
• ISTQB Advanced, Certified Tester, Automation Engineer or equivalent certification advantageous.
• Relevant DevOps, Cloud, Agile or CI/CD certification advantageous.
• Strong understanding of modern Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Agile and DevOps practices.
• Demonstrated understanding of Shift Left Quality Engineering and automation-first principles.
• 5-8 years' experience in Software Quality Engineering, Test Automation or Software Engineering.
• Minimum 2-4 years' experience leading automation initiatives or acting as a technical QE/Test Automation Lead.
• Proven experience designing and implementing automated testing frameworks.
• Strong programming experience in at least one modern programming language, preferably Java, C#, JavaScript or TypeScript.
• Experience with API, UI, integration, contract, component and regression automation.
• Experience integrating automated testing into GitHub-based CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience implementing automated quality gates within Pull Requests and branch workflows.
• Experience working with Git branching strategies and applying quality controls throughout the development lifecycle.
• Experience with Shift Left testing, including unit, component, API, contract and integration testing.
• Experience with cloud-native, microservices, REST APIs and event-driven architectures.
• Experience with test data, service virtualisation and environment management.
• Experience with performance, security and resilience testing is advantageous.
• Experience using AI-assisted engineering and testing tools to improve automation productivity is advantageous.
• Experience working within Agile engineering teams and coaching developers on automation and quality practices.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING?

• Design, implement and continuously improve scalable automation frameworks aligned to the QE strategy.
• Embed automated quality checks at the earliest appropriate stage of development, including commit, build and Pull Request validation.
• Implement and maintain automated quality gates aligned to the engineering branching strategy, ensuring changes meet defined quality standards before promotion.
• Increase meaningful automated coverage across unit, API, component, integration, UI and regression testing based on risk and business criticality.
• Identify opportunities to improve testability, automation performance, reliability and developer feedback loops.
• Coach engineers and QE practitioners to build quality and automation into their development practices.

WHO YOU ARE?

• Familiarity with agile product development cycles
• Ability to balance strategic clarity with on-the-ground practicalities
• Excellent communicator, with the ability to translate technical concepts to business audiences
• Empathetic, collaborative, and trusted by both business and technical teams
• Holds high standards in documentation, clarity, and delivery

Our values show up in how we think, build, and make choices that make an impact. We are building a culture that drives progress; one that fixes friction, chases what changes, and owns the outcome. We design with tomorrow in mind, ask sharper questions, and answer them with care, urgency, and systems that scale.

Think you've got energy, curiosity, and guts? Come hold the space, make it matter, and own a breakthrough.