QA Automation Engineer (Mobile-First)

About the role

Lingopie is a language learning platform built around real TV and film content. We're a small, fast-moving team looking for a QA Automation Engineer who can build automated coverage where it matters most while also rolling up their sleeves for manual testing when needed. This is not a pure automation role — you'll be expected to do both, and to know when each is the right tool.

Role Description

We're a small, fast-moving team looking for a QA Automation Engineer who can build automated coverage where it matters most while also rolling up their sleeves for manual testing when needed. This is not a pure automation role — you'll be expected to do both, and to know when each is the right tool.

What you'll own

• Automated test suites for iOS and Android (Appium and/or Detox) — this is the primary gap we're hiring to fill
• Automated regression coverage for our web apps and Chrome extension
• Manual testing across all platforms when automation isn't practical or doesn't exist yet — including TV apps (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung)
• CI/CD integration so automated tests run on every release
• Analytics event validation (Mixpanel) as part of the release process
• Ongoing test maintenance and reliability — flaky tests are your problem to fix

What we're looking for

• 3+ years in QA with a strong automation background and real mobile experience — iOS and Android, not just web
• Hands-on with Appium and/or Detox; comfortable talking about real-world tradeoffs and the messiness of device fragmentation, OS versions, and simulator vs. real device
• Able to write and maintain test code, not just configure existing frameworks
• Comfortable doing thorough manual QA on platforms where automation isn't feasible
• Experience with CI/CD integration (GitHub Actions, Bitrise, or similar)
• Consumer app experience preferred — you know what a good user experience feels like and you care when it breaks
• Analytics event validation experience is a plus
• Previous startup experience is a plus — you're comfortable with ambiguity, shifting priorities, and wearing multiple hats
• Experience as a sole or lead QA engineer responsible for end-to-end quality across multiple platforms and product teams is a strong plus — we're not looking for someone who was one of ten QA engineers running a predefined test suite

How you work

You'll work directly with product managers and R&D teams on defined projects, with clear scope for what needs to be tested. You won't be inventing the roadmap — but you will be expected to own quality within it. That means taking initiative on how testing gets done, flagging risks proactively, building out regression automation without being asked twice, and following through until issues are resolved. You'll report directly to the CTO. We're looking for someone who takes personal responsibility for the quality of what ships, communicates clearly when something isn't ready, and doesn't need to be managed closely to stay on top of things.

What we're not looking for

Someone who only wants to write automation scripts and hand off manual testing to someone else. At our scale, everyone gets their hands dirty.

Stack context

Web frontend is Nuxt-based. Mobile is native iOS and Android. We also ship TV apps and a Chrome extension. Full automation coverage across everything isn't the expectation on day one — but a clear plan for getting there is.

Why Lingopie

Small team, real ownership, product that people genuinely love. You'll have direct impact on release quality across every platform we ship. This is a remote contractor position with compensation in USD.