Q&A with a QA lead

Could you give us a bit of background on yourself?

I am a quality assurance (QA) lead in Wealth Management, based in Wroclaw, Poland.

Previously, I was doing the same for the Asset Management business and have previously worked as a delivery team lead, building a QA community in Poland. I have more than 10 years of experience in both manual and automated testing.

What's unique about working here?

In general, our function can only be described as passionate. We have some great people here, making the company so enjoyable to work at. We have a culture where we’re treated as partners, and we are encouraged to collaborate, challenge and strive for excellence.

I have been here for three years and still get excited on the way to work each morning. Every day is different.

Given your previous moves, it seems internal mobility is a real possibility here.

Absolutely. I recently moved within the company. The process was simple and it allowed me to further my career. The internal option is one of the key strengths that UBS has to offer every employee. It’s very popular.

What challenges do you face on a daily basis?

Every day is different for the team. We often have new challenges that require us to pull together and resolve them as a unit. This is what makes the job so exciting.

What myths can you dispel about working for a bank or financial services company?

This will be easy. I often hear the following: 'UBS is a bank. Banks use old technology, this will not develop or stretch me in my role.' I would strongly disagree and urge everyone to do their research as this is not the case. I am very confident that they will be pleasantly surprised with what they find out.

Additionally, in Poland, we have a flexible approach to work. Each team has different needs as they may have work colleagues based in different global offices, but generally our teams look to accommodate a flexible approach whenever possible.

What do you primarily look for when recruiting for your teams?

We look for open-minded people who are willing to learn and be challenged. Having the ability to fit into the culture that we have developed over the past few years is equally important for us.

People who join are seen and treated as high quality assurance engineers from the start. That's a big difference compared to some other companies. Team members are expected to be fully responsible for the quality of their projects from the beginning of the software development process until the product is delivered to production.

Tell us a about your team.

It’s growing! We are currently building out across several scrum teams where the QA engineers will play crucial roles. They’ll lead on the process setup, requirements clarification, automation, integration and non-functional testing, along with many other tasks. So these are really interesting opportunities.

It's truly a great time to join us so early in a major growth phase. To say that I am excited for the year ahead is an understatement.

What does the recruitment process look like?

The recruitment process is fairly simplistic and you get to meet some great UBS employees such as our recruiter and current QAs. Applications are reviewed and candidates that match the requirements are invited for an interview. This is then followed by an interview where we look at your technical skills. We always try to make the candidate experience as enjoyable as possible.

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing instead?

Professional football player!