Becoming a Quality Assurance Engineer at Propeller

Miles Wilcox is a Quality Assurance Lead at Propeller. Miles wrote the following article about his career path and journey with Propeller, including a career transition and returning after moving elsewhere.

Early Beginnings as a Frontend Developer

I began my journey at Propeller in 2015 as a Frontend Web Developer, fresh out of University, Propeller granted me the opportunity to start a career in the digital industry with an encouraging environment that accommodated my continued learning. This role taught me how to build a website from scratch. My learning started with small website changes, adding new features on websites and building my confidence before taking on bigger projects. Being a developer taught me to practice close attention to detail and delivering to tight deadlines, two attributes that would go on to serve me well as I transitioned in my career.

Understanding the Role of a Quality Assurance Executive 

During the next couple of years, Propeller created their own dedicated Quality Assurance (QA) Team. I expressed an interest in moving to the quality assurance team in 2017, as I believed the skills I had gained during my time as a frontend developer would prove invaluable. With the experience of working as a developer, I could understand both sides and communicating with developers came naturally to me. 

When I transitioned to the QA team, I was quite unique due to my background in frontend development. This experience allowed me to quickly identify issues and provide valuable insights to the development team by pointing out where I believed defects originated.

I also had the opportunity to undergo training and earned the ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level certification. This helped me grasp the fundamental methodologies behind QA testing, providing a solid foundation for my role as a Quality Assurance Engineer.

My background as a frontend developer gave me a clear understanding of what to look for and expect during website development. Being trained as a Quality Assurance Executive further enhanced my skills, and I began learning automation testing tools like Cypress, TestCafe, and Selenium.

During this time, I combined my Quality Assurance role with that of a Service Desk Manager. My responsibilities expanded, allowing me to assign smaller tasks to team members by breaking down larger projects into manageable pieces. My experience in frontend development and QA enabled me to accurately estimate the time required for tasks and match them with the right team members, all while continuing my QA responsibilities.

After nearly seven years with Propeller, I wanted to explore new opportunities. Though it was a difficult decision, I felt it was time to try something new.

Returning to Propeller as a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer

After one year with another company, I returned to Propeller and took on the role of Senior Quality Assurance Engineer. Since rejoining, I have implemented my own QA processes within the team. 

Propeller has been instrumental in my career progression, offering me the opportunity to develop and refine my skills in QA. The support and training I received not only benefited me personally but also helped improve the company’s overall quality standards.

I am incredibly grateful to Propeller for encouraging me to pursue this career path. Their support has been vital in helping me grow into the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer I am today, driving the QA processes and standards we strive for at Propeller.