QA Lead

About Kinetic

At Kinetic we’re redefining operational excellence in higher education, conferencing, and events. As the leading provider of software solutions for student accommodation, event management, catering, and residential services, we help institutions streamline operations, elevate customer experiences, and unlock their full potential. With over 25 years of experience and trusted by more than 350 institutions worldwide, our software empowers universities and venues to run smarter, faster, and more collaboratively. From bustling campuses to dynamic corporate environments, our technology adapts to the rhythm of each organisation — helping them thrive in a fast-changing world. But we’re more than just software. We’re a team of passionate problem‑solvers, innovators, and collaborators who care deeply about our customers and each other. Our culture is built on empowerment, community, and continuous growth. We believe in giving people the tools, support, and freedom to do their best work — and have fun while doing it. Joining Kinetic means being part of a purpose‑driven business where your ideas matter, your development is supported, and your impact is real.

The Role

QA Lead – our student housing management platform, KxWelcome, is on a mission to achieve product‑market fit in North America. You will own the quality strategy across the full R&D function, ensuring that every feature we ship meets the standard our customers expect. You will build and lead a distributed QA team spanning the UK, Pakistan, and Serbia, embedding quality into the development lifecycle from the start, not bolted on at the end.

What You’ll Be Doing

QA Strategy & Framework

• Define and own the QA strategy across the KxWelcome product, covering functional, regression, integration, and performance testing.
• Establish quality gates and release readiness criteria in collaboration with Engineering and Product.
• Build and maintain test plans aligned to the development roadmap and release cadence.
• Drive a shift‑left approach to quality, embedding testing earlier in the development lifecycle.

Test Automation & AI‑Driven QA

• Lead the design and implementation of a test automation framework using Playwright.
• Expand automated test coverage across critical user journeys, integrations, and regression suites.
• Bring an AI‑first mindset to QA, leverage AI tools and techniques to accelerate test creation, defect detection, and test maintenance.
• Evaluate and introduce AI‑driven testing approaches that improve coverage, reduce manual effort, and increase release confidence.
• Collaborate with the AI POD on opportunities to integrate AI into the QA pipeline.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop a distributed QA team across the UK, Pakistan, and Serbia.
• Provide technical direction, coaching, and career development for QA team members.
• Manage workload allocation across product lines and development periods.
• Champion a quality culture across R&D, QA is everyone’s responsibility, not just the QA team’s.
• Work closely with Engineering on release readiness, defect management, and technical standards.
• Partner with Product to ensure test coverage aligns with roadmap priorities and customer expectations.
• Participate in bi‑weekly R&D Planning sessions and the monthly R&D Review.
• Escalate quality risks and blockers through the weekly NA Operating Review.

Continuous Improvement

• Track and report on QA metrics, defect rates, test coverage, automation coverage, release quality.
• Drive continuous improvement in QA processes, tooling, and team capability.
• Contribute to the definition of the SDLC as the organisation matures its engineering practices.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience leading QA teams in a SaaS or enterprise software environment.
• Strong hands‑on experience with test automation using Playwright.
• Demonstrable AI‑first mindset, experience applying AI tools and techniques to QA automation, test generation, or defect analysis.
• Experience defining and implementing QA strategies, frameworks, and quality gates.
• Solid understanding of CI/CD pipelines and how QA integrates into modern release processes.
• Experience managing distributed or remote teams across multiple time zones.
• Strong knowledge of SQL and relational databases for test data management and validation.
• Excellent communication skills, able to articulate quality risks to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Selenium (migration or parallel use alongside Playwright).
• Experience in Higher Education, housing, property management, or similar B2B SaaS sectors.
• Familiarity with Jira for test management and defect tracking.
• Experience working alongside Product and Engineering teams in an agile environment.
• Understanding of performance testing, API testing, and integration testing approaches.
• Experience building QA functions from the ground up or significantly maturing existing QA capability.

You Are

• Quality obsessed – you believe in shipping software that works, every time.
• AI‑curious – you actively seek out ways to use AI to work smarter, not harder.
• A leader – you develop people and build teams, not just test suites.
• Collaborative – you work across Engineering, Product, and Delivery to embed quality everywhere.
• Pragmatic – you balance thoroughness with pace, knowing when good enough is good enough.
• Communicative – you make quality visible and advocate for it at every level.

Perks of Being Part of the Kinetic Team

• Be Authentically You: Whether your style is casual or formal, we embrace your uniqueness.
• Flexible Working: We acknowledge life’s unpredictability and offer flexibility to help you maintain a balance.
• Training & Development: We prioritize growth, offering access to top‑tier training, professional courses, and conferences.
• Annual Bonus: Your dedication is rewarded with a generous annual bonus when Kinetic thrives.
• 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays) – with extra days the longer you’re with us.
• Two paid wellbeing days each year, with a budget to enjoy some time out with someone important to you.
• Enhanced pension contributions to support your future.
• Two paid days a year to give back through volunteering, charity work, or sustainability projects with our Green Team.
• Salary sacrifice schemes for electric vehicles and cycle‑to‑work.
• 24/7 access to our Employee Assistance Programme for confidential advice and support.
• A full annual health check to keep you at your best.
• A flexible benefits platform – from life assurance and learning opportunities to retail discounts and cinema tickets.
• A genuine people‑first culture where your growth and wellbeing come first.
• Performance‑related bonus scheme to reward your contribution.
• Regular socials – from team get‑togethers to all‑company celebrations, with each department owning a budget for their events.
• The opportunity to attend group conferences, away days and learning forums both in the UK and abroad – network with other talent.

Kinetic is an equal opportunity employer, fostering diversity and committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

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