Job Description

Company Description
Balsam Brands is a multi-brand eCommerce retailer with roots in holiday and home décor. Based in Silicon Valley, the company operates market-leading website such as www.BalsamHill.com. We strive for excellence in everything we do and have been honored to receive the following awards as a result:

• Forbes: America’s Best Small Companies (2016)
• Inc. 5000: America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
• San Francisco Business Times: Fast 100 – Fastest Growing Bay Area Companies (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
• Silicon Valley Business Journal: 75 Fastest Growing Private Companies (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)

The company’s outward focus on building trusted consumer brands along with its internal focus on excellence and being a great place to work have propelled it to consistent, rapid growth. In 2021, Balsam International, our Regional Operating Headquarters in the Philippines, received the Great Place To Work recognition which is a testament to the People First culture that we have built over the years. Functioning remotely since 2010, our team of hard-working, passionate professionals contributes significantly to the company's success. Team members in the Philippines get a company-issued laptop on their first day and enjoy full employee benefits including mandatories (SSS, PAG-IBIG, PhilHealth), 13th month pay, healthcare coverage +2 dependents, internet subsidy (after regularization), continuous learning benefits, access to counseling sessions, paid time off (including volunteer days and holiday breaks). The meal subsidies, company trips and other perks are just the cherry on top of the long-term work-from-home setup.


Balsam International is looking for Senior Software QA Engineers who will be a part of the Quality Assurance team and will be working in an agile working environment. You will be responsible for designing and documenting test cases based on business requirements, and manual and automated test execution including the development of automated test scripts using Selenium WebDriver for Java. You are also expected to contribute to test planning, test report documentation, and peer review sessions. You will also be involved in the continuous development of the test automation framework being used by the QA team as well as expanding the current framework to support business needs. What you’ll be doing: Implementing tools, standards, and best practices

• Implements best practices for test automation and shares them with the team.
• Reviews and documents existing tools and verify if they are obsolete or need replacement.

Automation environment maintenance

• Maintains and oversees the status of the test environments along with their test data.
• Ensures that the test environments are functional and can cater to the needs for test automation.

Test Case Automation

• Automates manual test scripts using Cucumber for Java.
• Conducts code reviews on teammates' pull requests.
• Maintains and updates test scripts that were already automated.
• Plans automated suites to support project teams during regression testing.

Exercise Software Quality Assurance

• Collaborates with teammates to establish internal processes and best practices for Software Quality Assurance.
• Proposes and implements process improvements that could benefit not just the QA team, but the project team as well.
• Stays up-to-date with the new testing tools and test strategies.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams and practice Agile methodologies

• Participates in agile ceremonies like scrum meetings, sprint planning, and project retrospectives and provides personal input and feedback.
• Attends in production or live deployments and monitors deployment status after performing sanity testing.
• Creates a recording of user documentation of configurable components or any related functionalities for business users or as needed.
• Collaborates remotely with cross-functional teams in the United States, Philippines, and India.

Test execution, planning, and reporting

• Executes test cases and or scripts. Including thorough regression tests, white or black box testing of new and existing functionalities.
• Assesses scope of testing and creates test suites in Zephyr for JIRA.
• Reviews and collates test execution results and reports them to the project teams.
• Reports test cycle metrics, including test results, defects found, and overall testing status.

Performs other duties that may be assigned from time to time. What we're looking for:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or other relevant courses.
• Minimum of two (2) to three (3) years of relevant experience Software QA Engineer or other similar roles.
• Solves discrete problems under the minimal guidance of senior team members.
• Participates actively in short- to medium-term projects. May be required to work as the lead on the project with team members and other functions.
• Delivers high-quality results on projects of medium complexity within established timelines; attempts projects of high complexity with guidance.
• Expert in role-specific tasks and processes. Displays competency in function-specific technologies and tools. Confidently represents function across teams.
• Clear communicator; presents the material in a logical and efficient manner.
• Curious about self and other team members. When called upon, provides constructive feedback to team members and manager. Open to constructive feedback and developing own potential.
• Demonstrates understanding of customer mindset in the execution of functional work.

Location: Our corporate offices are based in Northern California with a Regional Operating Headquarters (ROHQ) in the Philippines. Company executives visit the Philippines regularly, so team members attend in-person meetings from time to time. The Senior Software QA Engineer position is a remote working position for Balsam International Unlimited Company Philippine ROHQ in Manila. Team members in the Philippines are located within Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan or certain parts of Laguna only (Biñan, Cabuyao, Calamba, Los Baños, San Pedro, and Santa Rosa). Our must haves:

• Must live within Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan or certain parts of Laguna only (Biñan, Cabuyao, Calamba, Los Baños, San Pedro, and Santa Rosa).
• Must be willing to attend occasional in-person meetings depending on the status of the pandemic. For 2022, all in-person gatherings in Balsam are suspended until further notice. The safety of our team members is of utmost importance.
• Must have a backup laptop or desktop for use, if the primary laptop encounters issues.
• Must have a fast, reliable DSL, Fiber, or Broadband connection (not mobile or broadband stick) as the primary internet connection with a minimum actual speed of 10MBPS.
• Must have a backup internet connection of the same speed, if the primary connection becomes spotty.

Note: An online assessment will also be part of the recruitment process. Status: Full Time Hardware Provision: Company-issued laptop will be provided on the first day. What we offer team members:

• Government-mandated Benefits (SSS, PAG-IBIG, PhilHealth)
• 13th Month Pay
• Paid Leaves. We use the time off to rest, go on vacation, or just sleep in! Our paid time off is flexible to our needs.
• Internet Subsidy. With internet allowance, we are set up for success.
• Healthcare Coverage (+ 2 dependents). We worry less about rising medical costs with flexible quality healthcare benefits.
• Maternity, Paternity, and Solo Parent Benefit. We make sure parents are supported while they navigate work and family life.
• Continuous Learning and Professional Development Benefit. Our professional and personal development are fully supported. Whether it be online courses, workshops or books!
• Mental Health Support. We manage work and life's challenges through Mental Health Day breaks, 24/7 professional counseling, and curated webinars.
• Company Incentive. An additional cash-based perk for all our Brandits based on company's performance.
• Meeting & Team Building Allowance. Happy tummies make our meetings more fun and productive!
• Shutdown Week. We can spend more time on things that matter with an additional one week of paid time off on top of paid leaves.
• Volunteer Time Off. With two paid days off, we are able to volunteer for advocacies we believe in.
• Bereavement Leave. We get additional paid leaves when a loved one passes to grieve and provide immediate support to our families.