Open
Forward Deployed
Quality Engineer (FDQE)
Help build a new profession. Become one of the first FDQEs in the Netherlands.
AI is changing software development. And with it, the field of quality engineering is changing too. We are therefore not looking for a traditional tester who executes a few test cases at the end of the development process. We are looking for someone who designs, measures, monitors and continuously improves quality: close to the customer, close to the technology and right in the middle of development. At QA Company, we call this a Forward Deployed Quality Engineer: FDQE. And this is a special opportunity: you can become one of the first FDQEs in the Netherlands.
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What is an FDQE?
The term Forward Deployed Quality Engineer is inspired by the Forward Deployed Engineer: a technical specialist who works closely with the customer and translates concrete problems into working technical solutions.
Forward Deployed Engineer
Build & Operate
→
Forward Deployed Quality Engineer
Measure, Evaluate & Assure Quality
An FDQE ensures that quality is not only established afterwards, but is part of the system and the development process from the very beginning. For example, you work on:
In other words:
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Why now?
Traditional software can often be tested reasonably deterministically. AI is different. An AI system can function correctly from a technical perspective and still produce an incorrect, inconsistent, incomplete or undesirable answer. So we can no longer just ask:
Does it work?
Maar vooral:
How well does it work, where are its boundaries, and when do we need to intervene?
That requires a different approach to quality engineering. At QA Company, we are developing Evaluaite, among other things: our risk-driven approach for making the quality of AI systems measurable, reproducible and manageable. And we need people who want to take the profession further.
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What will you do?
You will work on concrete challenges for customers. Sometimes together with a Forward Deployed Engineer, sometimes completely independently. A few examples.
AI-assisted migration of legacy test automation
Many organisations are stuck with outdated test automation stacks. Selenium suites that have become slow, difficult to maintain and expensive.
An FDQE can analyse the existing automation, map test coverage and risks, determine a migration strategy and use AI to transform large parts of the existing suite to, for example, Playwright or Robot Framework.
You then ensure that the new solution not only works, but also demonstrably provides the right quality and coverage. This is one of the foundations of Migraite, our solution for accelerating the migration of legacy test automation.
Testing agents in the SDLC
AI agents are increasingly taking over parts of software development and quality engineering. But:
How much autonomy do you give such an agent?
Where should there be a human-in-the-loop?
How do you measure whether the agent is doing a good job?
When can an agent act independently, and when should a quality gate intervene?
An FDQE investigates these kinds of challenges, builds the solution, integrates it into the development and CI/CD pipeline, and ensures that quality is demonstrably controlled.
That is exactly what makes this role interesting. With one customer, you may be working on AI quality engineering. With another, on test automation, quality architecture or introducing AI agents.
And not every customer will call you an FDQE. You might, for example, work as an AI Quality Engineer, AI Test Engineer or Test Automation Architect. The name matters less.
What you do is what makes the difference.
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You are not a tester waiting for a test environment
You are technically strong and enjoy actually building things. You can analyse a complex quality problem, reduce it to its essence and then turn it into a practical solution. You move easily between:
You are curious about new technology, but not impressed by every new AI hype. You want to know:
Does it work, how well does it work, how do we know, and what do we do when it isn't good enough?
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What we expect from you
You have extensive experience as, for example, a Test Automation Engineer or Software Engineer with a strong quality engineering background. And you have experience in several of the following areas:
Testautomation
CI/CD
Quality engineering and test strategy
API's, webapplicaties and integraties
Risk-based testing
Test data and quality measurement
Software architecture and development
Modern test automation, for example Playwright or Robot Framework
AI/LLMs, RAG, AI agents or AI-assisted software development
You certainly don't have to master everything already. But you do need to want to learn, build and experiment.
Strong plus
Experience with AI
Essential
Experience with quality engineering
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Why QA Company?
Because we don't want to be the biggest. We want to be one of the best.
NL
Independent
An independent Dutch software testing & quality engineering company.
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Complex challenges
We work on challenges where standard solutions fall short.
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AI is not a buzzword
We are actually developing new ways to test AI systems and make quality manageable.
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Our own methods
Such as Evaluaite and Migraite, working with modern technologies like AI agents, LLMs and Playwright.
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Shape the profession
Not just delivering projects, but helping to shape the profession itself.
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Draw your own path
The FDQE role has only just begun to emerge. You help draw the career path yourself.
Become one of the first FDQEs in the Netherlands
This is not a vacancy for someone looking for the next standard QA assignment. This is for someone who thinks:
"Interesting. I think we can make this profession a whole lot better."
If that sounds like you, we'd love to talk.
Build quality. Measure quality. Improve quality.
And perhaps you'll soon be one of the first Forward Deployed Quality Engineers in the Netherlands.
Apply directly
Send us your details and we'll be in touch soon