Looking for QA Professional immediately

About the Project Our startup is an early-stage content-and-community web platform, currently in active delivery on Next.js 15, TypeScript, Supabase (Postgres + pgvector), and Vercel, with some AI-assisted content and review tooling. The platform supports multiple user roles, each with different permissions and workflows. We’re a lean two-person team (non-technical founder + one developer) and need an independent QA specialist to act as our dedicated quality gate — someone who owns manual testing, test automation, and UI/UX evaluation. Full product details and platform access will be shared under NDA once engaged. The Role A hybrid QA role spanning our current release cycle and future phases (community/social features next, multi-vendor commerce down the line). Manual QA • Execute structured test cases across all modules: knowledge base articles, blogs, the review/scoring system, community feed, member dashboard, registration and content-submission flows • Full regression pass after every release/deploy • Cross-browser and cross-device testing (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge; desktop, tablet, mobile) • Fresh-session testing — incognito/logged-out verification to catch caching, build, or CDN issues invisible in a logged-in dev session • Role-based flow testing across multiple user roles with different permission levels • Form, notification, and moderation-workflow validation • Basic security sanity checks: default/weak credentials, exposed test routes, non-production content visible in production • Clear defect logging: reproduction steps, severity/priority grading, screenshot or screen-recording evidence Automation QA • Build and maintain an automated regression suite (Playwright or Cypress preferred) covering critical user journeys • Wire automated tests into CI/CD (GitHub Actions / Vercel pipeline) • API-level testing where relevant (Supabase queries, AI-generated content routes) • Performance regression checks aligned to a Lighthouse ≥90 performance standard • Expand coverage as new features ship, without becoming a release bottleneck UI/UX Testing • Heuristic usability evaluation (Nielsen heuristics or equivalent) across key flows • Accessibility testing to a WCAG 2.1 AA baseline: contrast, keyboard nav, screen reader compatibility, alt text • Responsive design verification across breakpoints • Visual/brand consistency checks against our design system • Flag friction in onboarding, content submission (e.g. Write Story, Submit Review), and discovery flows • UX recommendations, not just defect tickets — confusing copy, unclear CTAs, inconsistent patterns What We’re Looking For • 5+ years professional QA experience, with real depth in both manual and automated testing (not automation-only) • Experience with modern JS/TS web apps — Next.js/React strongly preferred • Comfortable producing structured documentation: test plans, use-case matrices, severity-graded defect logs • Strong written English — reports need to be clear enough for a non-technical founder to act on directly • Independent and self-directed; comfortable working async with a very small team • Available for both concentrated acceptance-testing cycles and lighter ongoing regression between releases Nice to have: • Experience testing AI-powered features (LLM-generated content, AI writing/SEO tooling, recommendation or scoring engines) • QA background on marketplace, review/rating, or multi-role social platforms • Supabase/Postgres familiarity • Accessibility certification (e.g. CPACC) — a plus, not required • Strong Upwork history with reviews specific to QA/testing work How You’ll Report We already work from a structured testing framework (use-case based test documents, severity grading, defect retest registers, go/no-go sign-off). You’ll work within that structure: • Test cases with clear pass/fail status • Defect log, severity-graded (Critical / High / Medium / Low), with repro steps • Evidence attached to every logged defect • A short plain-language summary per testing cycle • Retest and sign-off once fixes are deployed Engagement Details • Contract type: Fixed-price, short-term testing cycle • Timeline: 4–5 days for a full testing pass (manual QA, automation setup, and UI/UX review) • Duration: Single focused acceptance-testing cycle, with potential to continue through upcoming product phases • Timezone overlap: Some overlap preferred, not required