Manual QA Tester (Contract 3+ months)

Job Description

What You'll Do
We're looking for a sharp, methodical manual tester to add dedicated manual-testing capacity to the QA org during a busy stretch of releases. You'll run structured manual and exploratory test passes across Standard Bots' software - the robot control apps, teach pendant, and core workflows - execute regression every release, and file clean, well-documented bugs. Because our software drives physical 6-axis robots, a bug isn't just a UI glitch; it can move real hardware. Careful, observant testing is the whole job.
This is a contract role (roughly 3 months, with the option to extend). It's a strong fit for an experienced manual tester who is disciplined, hardware-curious, and writes crisp reproduction steps.
Responsibilities

- Execute manual regression and smoke passes across software releases - on the product UI and on real robots - to catch regressions before they reach customers.

- Run broad exploratory testing across complex robotic workflows: probe edge cases, unusual sequences, and the failure modes scripted tests miss.

- Write and maintain clear, repeatable manual test cases in our test-management tool (Qase), and keep them current as features ship.

- File high-quality bug reports with precise reproduction steps, system state, logs, and firmware/build versions, so engineers can act without back-and-forth.

- Partner with SDETs and Systems Test Engineers to reproduce and isolate defects, and surface the coverage gaps you find along the way.

- Support release QA, including gated test runs and release-candidate validation, and report results clearly.

- Perform basic recovery on test hardware (re-home, reset) to keep test cells available.

Skills You'll Bring

- Manual Testing Foundation: 2+ years of hands-on manual QA experience, with strong test-case design and disciplined, repeatable execution.

- Exploratory Instincts: A knack for breaking things - you find the failure modes no one thought to script.

- Clear Bug Reporting: Excellent written communication. You capture the state, logs, and steps needed to reproduce, not just a screenshot.

- Hardware Curiosity: Comfortable testing a product where software controls physical hardware, and aware that software bugs have physical consequences.

- Tooling Comfort: At home in Linux/CLI environments and with test-management tools (Qase or similar); basic scripting is a plus.

- Methodical & Reliable: You follow procedures precisely, notice when something is off, and chase it down.

Who You Are
A detail-oriented, self-driven tester who takes pride in catching what everyone else misses. You're comfortable around hardware, communicate clearly, and thrive in a fast-moving release cycle. No robotics background required.
Nice To Have

- Experience testing products where software controls physical hardware (robots, EVs, drones, medical devices, appliances)

- Familiarity with test-management tools (Qase, TestRail) and bug trackers (Asana, Jira)

- Basic scripting (Python, Bash) or CLI comfort for log parsing and data extraction

- Exposure to robotic systems (6-axis arms, collaborative robots) or hardware-in-the-loop testing

- Familiarity with network protocols (SSH, HTTP)