Software Development Engineer in Test
Summary
Quality engineer (SDET) at Zappi, a SaaS platform that lets brands pre-test ads and product ideas: designs automated API, GUI and performance test suites in Playwright/TypeScript wired into CI, applies agentic engineering and LLM evaluations to testing workflows, and does manual/exploratory testing and data validation. Office-based in Cape Town.
As we continue to evolve, we're also exploring agentic engineering, LLM evaluation and AI-driven testing approaches to improve how we build, test and assess software. We value engineers who are curious, take ownership, challenge assumptions and find practical solutions to complex or ambiguous problems.
You'll join a collaborative team where knowledge sharing, continuous learning and sound engineering judgement matter. There's an opportunity to influence how we approach quality, introduce better ways of working and help deliver reliable products that meet our customers' needs.
- Design, build and maintain automated test frameworks and suites for APIs, GUI and performance, using Playwright(TS) where appropriate.
- Apply agentic engineering techniques to build and improve testing workflows, including agent-assisted test generation, execution, failure investigation and reporting.
- Develop and run LLM evaluations, test agent-based workflows and investigate failure modes involving reasoning, tool use, multi-step execution and inconsistent outputs.
- Work with engineers and product teams to clarify requirements, identify risks early and build testing into the development process from the outset.
- Test from the customer’s perspective through manual and exploratory testing where it adds value, and automate repeatable checks to improve coverage and reduce regression risk.
- Validate data integrity, test data pipelines and verify data transformations to ensure accuracy and consistency across systems.
- Integrate and maintain automated tests within CI pipelines, analyse results and identify opportunities to improve test coverage and feedback.
- Evaluate new AI and agentic tools, improve testing practices and mentor other QA engineers through collaboration and knowledge sharing.
- Strong foundations in software quality assurance, test automation and QA methodologies, with a good understanding of the software development lifecycle.
- Hands-on experience with agentic engineering and LLM-powered systems, including building or integrating agents, designing evaluations and assessing system behaviour.
- The ability to work independently, take ownership of quality deliverables and see them through from planning to release.
- Sound technical judgement, with the ability to choose appropriate testing approaches and explain when manual testing or automation is the better option.
- Experience validating data, testing data pipelines and checking data transformations in systems that handle complex datasets.
- A practical, problem-solving mindset, with the ability to identify quality gaps, investigate ambiguous requirements and build effective solutions using conventional and AI-driven approaches.
- Familiarity with AWS, microservices, shared component library and continuous deployment, alongside a willingness to share knowledge and support other engineers.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to explain risks, findings and trade-offs to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Unlimited holidays – we want well rested and motivated teams so encourage people to take plenty of time off.
- One company-paid mental health day of rest every quarter (these are pre-scheduled, so the entire company can take the same days off regularly to reset)
- Thoughtfully designed offices to support both individual work and collaboration without interrupting others
- Private medical healthcare cover
- Medical Aid
- Group risk, life & disability contributions
- Wellbeing benefits such as free yoga and access to trained therapists / counsellors
- Paid 24h secure parking in Cape Town
- Free coffee, lunches and in-office snacks
- Tailored personal development through training allowances, coaching, mentorship and career frameworks
Earning B Corp certification assures us we’re on the right track and have structures in place to become the business we want to be.
Our commitment to minimise our impact on the environment means being honest with ourselves and transparent with you—about everything from carbon emissions to tree-planting initiatives. We achieved our goal of becoming Net Zero in 2021!
Zappi Company Culture Highlights
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Women 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Work-Life Balance 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Compensation 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO for Women 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Diversity 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Culture 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Happiness 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Leadership Teams 2023
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEOs for Diversity 2023
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Engineering Teams 2023
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Outlook 2023
- Winner of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK 2022 & 2023
- Recognised by Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators 2023
- Recognised as Best Marketing Insights Platform in the MarTech Breakthrough Awards