From Manual QA to Automation Engineering – My journey to reaching my dream job

September 19, 2024

Interview

Time for talent with Bea Storm

Hi, my name is Bea, and it’s a pleasure to meet you virtually!

I joined Tactile in 2019 as a QA Tester, initially working on Lily’s Garden shortly after its launch. I was thrilled to be one of the first people to experience new story days each week, and even after five years, I’m still captivated by the story—it always makes me smile when I play it.

Since then, my role has shifted to Automation Engineering. It’s been a long journey to reach my dream job in QA Automation, and I am incredibly grateful to have experienced that journey at Tactile. The path wasn’t always easy, but the support and opportunities I’ve had here have helped me grow both personally and professionally.

Before Tactile

… I worked as a nutritionist in my hometown in Transylvania. I completed my bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics at a medical university. But, when I moved to Denmark, I found finding a job in my field challenging. This led me to rethink my career path and explore new opportunities.

Transitioning into the gaming industry was a big shift, but the core of my motivation remained the same: a desire to learn and tackle new and exciting challenges. While working as a nutritionist presented its own difficulties, especially when helping patients make life-changing dietary adjustments, I eventually found more satisfaction in solving problems through automation rather than addressing human health issues. Both roles, however, require careful analysis and problem-solving, and I’ve enjoyed the journey that led me to where I am today.

Joining Tactile

I started as a Story tester and moved into a functional testing role early in my career at Tactile, which required more in-depth test analysis methods. My curiosity and love for learning have always driven me to expand my knowledge. I began studying game development to understand how and where games could break and what areas needed the most testing.

This drive led me to work as an Area Setup Specialist for Penny & Flo, opening up an entirely new world. I discovered my passion for working with Unity and learning programming, which inspired me to apply for a Junior Automation Engineer role.

From Manual QA to Automation Engineering

The shift from manual QA to automation has been exciting, but challenging. Over time, I’ve gained a better understanding of our processes, making the move from manual testing to writing scripts and automating test cases easier.

My current role focuses on building strong collaboration between the manual and automation QA teams. We’ve set a goal to improve QA by working closely together and training the manual QA team on the automation tools we’ve created to enhance our testing process.

This teamwork improved the quality of overall testing, and I’m proud to have helped the manual team grow by showing them how to use these tools and improve their work. It’s been rewarding to be part of this change and help raise the quality at Tactile.

Having an impact

I’m part of a fast-paced, dynamic team that constantly pushes each other to improve. We regularly hold skill-sharing sessions, learning from one another’s work, which is a fantastic opportunity for me as a junior member to grow and gain new skills.

What I love most about Tactile is the flat structure. You really feel it. I’ve had moments where I came up with an idea, and I could go straight to leadership to share it. They listened and discussed it with me, which made me feel valued at every level of the company.

The keys to success

At the start of any career, staying motivated and curious is important—especially in Quality Assurance. Curiosity is key. I’ve always tried to look at my testing tasks from different angles, wondering how things could break or how I could gather more data. Working in the game industry, part of entertainment makes the process even more fun and rewarding. It’s great to be part of an environment where people are relaxed, fun, and passionate about their work.