Testing
Hiring QAs: Manual Testing vs Automation vs SDET
By Ketki Naidu
H
Recruiters often face unique challenges when hiring for Quality Assurance roles. Understanding the differences between Manual QA, Automation QA, and SDET is crucial for finding the right fit.
Manual QA
- Focus: User-centric validation and exploratory testing
- Approach: Reactive — finding bugs through hands-on testing
- Skills: Domain knowledge, attention to detail, user empathy
- Best for: Early-stage products, UX-critical applications
Automation QA
- Focus: Automated test scripts and CI integration
- Approach: Reactive — building regression test suites
- Skills: Scripting (Selenium, Cypress), CI/CD tools
- Best for: Mature products with stable features needing regression coverage
SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test)
- Focus: Testing infrastructure design and tooling
- Approach: Proactive — building frameworks and tools for the team
- Skills: Advanced coding, architecture design, framework development
- Best for: Large-scale applications needing custom testing solutions
Key Recruitment Considerations
When hiring for QA roles, consider:
- Technical assessment — align tests with the specific role requirements
- Growth potential — look for candidates who can evolve with your needs
- Team dynamics — how will they integrate with existing development workflows?
- Strategic contribution — can they improve your overall quality culture?
Conclusion
There’s no one-size-fits-all QA role. Understanding the spectrum from Manual QA to SDET helps you hire the right person for your team’s specific needs and maturity level.