Senior QA Engineer (Integration Testing)

Location: Porto, Porto District, Portugal

Department: Alongside

Workplace: hybrid

Employment Type: full

Description

Alongside partners with organizations to drive digital transformation and build high-performing tech teams.

We are looking for a Senior Integration Quality Analyst to join a project with one of our clients operating in the financial markets industry.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in back-end and integration testing, combined with a solid understanding of quality assurance processes and release management.

This role requires a hands-on, autonomous professional who can take ownership of QA activities, assess quality risks, and ensure that software releases meet the required quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the end-to-end QA lifecycle, from requirements analysis and test planning to execution and post-production validation;
• Define and manage QA scope, test coverage, quality gates, and entry/exit criteria;
• Design, execute, and maintain test cases for back-end applications, APIs, middleware, and system integrations;
• Perform integration, regression, and automated testing, ensuring system reliability and stability;
• Identify, investigate, and track defects, performing root cause analysis when necessary;
• Assess release readiness, identify potential risks, and provide clear Go/No-Go recommendations;
• Collaborate with development, business, and technical teams to ensure quality standards are met;
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of testing processes, automation, and quality assurance practices.

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional experience in Software Quality Assurance, ideally in complex back-end or integration environments;
• Strong experience in back-end, middleware, and integration testing;
• Solid understanding of the end-to-end QA lifecycle, including test strategy, planning, execution, defect management, regression testing, and release validation;
• Hands-on experience testing APIs, system interfaces, data flows, and dependencies between applications;
• Experience defining and monitoring test coverage, quality metrics, and release readiness criteria;
• Experience with test automation and good knowledge of Python for scripting and automation;
• Good knowledge of Linux environments;
• Experience with test management and bug tracking tools, such as Jira or equivalent;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including root cause analysis;
• Ability to work independently, take ownership of QA activities, and coordinate with multiple stakeholders;
• Fluent English, both written and spoken.

Nice to have

• Experience testing applications within Banking, Capital Markets, Brokerage, or Trading environments, particularly cash and/or derivatives markets;
• Knowledge of trading platforms, order management systems, market data, clearing, or settlement processes;
• Experience using AI tools to support or improve testing processes, including test case generation, automation, and test analysis;
• Familiarity with CI/CD processes and automated regression testing.

Benefits

• Hybrid working model (4x Porto Office);
• Opportunity to work on challenging projects within the financial markets industry;
• Collaboration with experienced technical teams in an international environment;
• Exposure to complex systems and integration environments;
• Professional growth and continuous learning opportunities.