Parvessh Agarwal
Founder & CEO
An entrepreneur at heart. He links business analysis, strategy, clear goals and ROI to practical technology.
LinkedIn →Hire QA & test engineers
who catch bugs before your customers do.
PixelCrayons is your point of contact for hiring a QA engineer. We scope the role, write the proposal and supply the QA engineer, or a small team. They treat each release as something to check properly, not just ship. Each engineer is vetted on real test suites before they touch yours. They work inside your code and your CI, the system that tests each change automatically. You can scale up or down monthly without a hiring cycle. You sit down with the engineer who will own your test suite before anything gets signed.
Interview before signing · One contact throughout · Scale monthly
Tell us about the role
Start Your Enquiry
Send a short brief. Once we have a complete brief, we confirm the date you will receive your itemised proposal.
What you get
PixelCrayons is your point of contact for hiring a QA engineer. We supply the tester under one proposal. They cover manual and automated testing as one job. That means exploratory testing and test-case design, plus Playwright, Cypress or Selenium suites in your CI. You interview the engineer first and scale monthly.
- Vetted on real releasesEvery QA engineer has tested live releases, vetted against our own delivery standards.
- One point of contact for everythingPixelCrayons handles scope, proposal, escalation, billing and status, and answers for the testing.
- Working inside your sprintYour code, CI, bug tracker and stand-ups, in the same sprint as your developers.
Our work
See what we've built
and the results it brought.
Real projects for real clients, with results we can show.
2004
Established
500+
Agencies served
4,500+
Projects delivered
340%
Revenue growth · 7 months
eCommerce
+127%
Organic traffic · 5 months
SaaS
85%
Faster delivery · backlog cleared
via agency partner
Technologies we work with
- Commerce and web
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
- Magento
- WordPress
- Webflow
- Next.js
- Marketing
- Google Ads
- Meta Ads
- GA4
- Klaviyo
- Cloud
- AWS
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud
- AI models
- OpenAI
- Anthropic
- Google Gemini
- Build and deploy
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
- GitHub Actions
- CRM and automation
- HubSpot
- Salesforce
- Zapier
- n8n
Product names and marks are trademarks of their owners. Naming a technology means our teams build with it. It does not mean a partnership, certification or endorsement.
What they cover
QA and testing skills
that make each release safer.
This is not a manual tester clicking through a script. Their job is release risk itself. That means what's broken, what's covered, and what proves both.
Core QA skills
- Manual and exploratory testing across web and mobile
- Test cases written from specs, tickets and the unusual cases nobody wrote down
- Bug reports with steps a developer can reproduce first time
- Regression testing before every release, not just the big ones
- Checks across browsers and devices
Automation
- Playwright and Cypress for testing full user journeys through the interface
- Selenium where an existing suite already runs on it
- API testing with Postman, checking REST and GraphQL contracts
- Test suites built into CI, so a broken build fails loudly, not quietly
- Test data, test environments and setup managed properly
Releases and reporting
- Working alongside developers in the same sprint, not in a queue behind it
- Owning the regression suite: kept tidy and trimmed, not just added to
- A written go or no-go call before each release
- Clear defect reports tied to release risk
- Coverage reports without invented precision
In practice
What a QA engineer
does before anyone says ship it.
How testing fits into a sprint, how to spot a strong tester, and what to hand over on day one.
Testing inside the sprint
A QA engineer's week starts before the code does. They read tickets in backlog review. They ask what should happen when input is empty, duplicated or in the wrong format. Then developers build for it. They write test cases while the feature is in progress. They test on a feature branch or staging as soon as it lands. They log defects with steps, environment and expected result. They add the stable paths to the automated suite, and remove tests that are no longer useful. By the end of the sprint, you have a clear view of what is safe to release.
What a strong tester shows you
Hand them a feature from your product, perhaps sign-up or checkout. Ask how they would test it in half an hour. Strong candidates start with the riskiest paths and ask who the users are. Weak ones start at the top of the form and work down. Ask for a bug report they are proud of and read it. Could a developer reproduce it first time? Ask how they deal with a flaky automated test, one that passes and fails at random. The right answer is to find the cause or set the test aside. It is never to rerun it until it passes.
What to hand over on day one
Give access to staging and any test environments, with accounts for each user role in your product. Share the bug tracker, and how severity is decided today. Explain your release process, including who currently says go. Share any existing automated suite and its CI setup, with an honest note on which tests are being ignored. Provide test data, or permission to create it. And list the areas customers complain about most, since testing should go there first. A tester without realistic accounts and data will test the smooth path and little else.
Where QA hires go wrong
The most common mistake is putting QA at the end of the process. The tester gets a finished build days before release. They can only report problems nobody has time to fix. Another mistake is measuring them on bug counts, which rewards trivial reports and arguments about severity. A third is asking one person to automate everything while also testing every release by hand. Then neither happens properly. And a tester cannot fix unclear requirements. If nobody agrees what a feature should do, testing will show the disagreement but not settle it. Involve QA from backlog review onwards.
How it works
How hiring works,
with one contact throughout.
Start
Brief and a call
We sign an NDA, and you describe the product, your tech stack and the testing gap to PixelCrayons.
Once the brief is complete
Proposal and interview
We confirm when your proposal will arrive. We propose the QA engineer whose track record fits. You interview them before anything is signed.
Your decision
You sign off
You confirm the scope, the payment and the access we need. Nothing starts before this.
Typically 2 to 3 business days later
The engineer starts
They get code and CI access and review your current tests and coverage. Then they join your stand-ups and start testing your builds.
Every month
Scale up or down
Add a second tester ahead of a major release, and step down once the untested work is cleared. You resize monthly through the same PixelCrayons account team.
You make requests, give approvals and see the weekly review in your Prism workspace. Each decision is written down with the result it was meant to bring. See how Prism runs the work →
Get a Proposal
Meet the people who will do the work before you sign
Why through us
Why hire through us:
the tester and the release checks behind them.
PixelCrayons scopes the QA hire, supplies the engineer and manages your account. You get one contact and a well-matched tester who writes down every go or no-go call. It is always clear who answers for the work.
Vetted on real releases
Every QA engineer we propose has tested live releases before yours. They are vetted against our own delivery standards. A CV claim about coverage is easy to write. We would rather talk through a go or no-go call they made on a real release. What would have changed their mind?
One point of contact for everything
PixelCrayons scopes the QA role and writes the proposal. As your one account team, we then handle escalation, billing and status. You sign with PixelCrayons, and we answer for every commitment in the proposal for as long as the work runs.
Working inside your sprint
Your code, your CI, your bug tracker, your stand-ups. Dedicated means working alongside your developers in the same sprint. Tickets are never thrown back over a wall days before release.
Quality checks you can see
You get a weekly written review in Prism, tied to what shipped. Defects are logged with steps a developer can reproduce first time. Release sign-off is written down before anything goes out. Ever wonder what a month of testing covered? The defect log and sign-off records answer before we do.
Side by side
Hiring on your own,
compared with hiring through us.
A full-time in-house QA hire is worth it once testing is a permanent, central job for you. We'll tell you plainly when that's the case. This page covers every other case.
| Hiring it yourself | Through PixelCrayons | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to a working QA engineer | A full recruiting cycle: sourcing, interviews, notice periods, onboarding | A shortlist and an interview before anything is signed |
| Vetting | CV screening and a take-home test: gaps in testing show up after launch | A track record on real test suites, checked against our own delivery standards |
| Management work | All yours: goals, weekly reviews, career growth, holiday and sick cover | PixelCrayons' account team handles day-to-day contact and escalation; you read the test reports, not manage staff |
| Scaling ahead of a major release | A new hiring cycle each way: months to hire, severance to let go, often too late for the release | Resize monthly: add a tester ahead of a release, step down once it ships |
| Risk when it doesn't work | A poor hire's gaps in testing show up in your live product, after the fact | If the fit is wrong, we propose someone else; the test cases and coverage notes pass on with the handover |
Who is accountable
The people responsible
for your work.
Saundaraya Gupta
Technical Manager
Brings technical work, client updates and project management together, so work moves smoothly from brief to launch.
LinkedIn →Every engagement
A named coordinator and escalation contact
Know who coordinates your engagement, who owns the work and how to escalate an issue.
All engagements. Roles may be combined and vary with your engagement.
Before you sign
Our commitments
Each one says where it applies and links to its full terms.
Time-zone overlap
At least four hours a day inside your core working hours. Two hours plus a daily written handover for the US West Coast.
Managed specialists only; not a staffing promise for project teams.
Full termsClear IP & Ownership Terms
Your materials remain yours. Bespoke deliverable rights, licences and handover are agreed before work starts.
All engagements.
Full termsClear Delivery & Escalation Ownership
Know who coordinates your engagement, who owns the work and how to escalate an issue.
All engagements. Roles may be combined and vary with your engagement.
Full termsWhy not just hire a freelancer?
A freelancer can be the right choice for a single, well-defined task. We are set up for work that needs an accountable team: a named coordinator, delivery reviewed by QA and a senior lead before release, and continuity arrangements written into the engagement. Confidentiality, ownership and escalation terms are agreed in writing before work starts.
How does time-zone overlap work?
Your engineers work at least four hours a day inside your core working hours. We set the window with you before the engagement starts and hold it for as long as the engagement runs. For the US West Coast the live overlap is two hours each morning, with a written handover at the end of every Indian day. We do not run night shifts: engineers who work nights leave quickly, and keeping the same people on your team matters more to us than a longer overlap.
Can we try you before we commit?
For eligible managed specialists, yes: up to 14 calendar days or 80 logged working hours, whichever comes first. Stop within it and eligible trial hours are free; continue and they're billed at the agreed rate. Unpaid trial work stays ours. Project work and other roles get a paid pilot with scope, acceptance criteria, duration and fee agreed first.
What if we want to stop?
Cancellation, notice and any renewal terms are written into your proposal or statement of work before you accept it. If an engagement ends early, we hand over completed, paid-for work and list any unfinished work separately. For an eligible specialist trial, you can stop within the trial window and pay nothing for eligible trial hours.
How we handle claims, credentials and your data: group credentials, dated ratings, how case figures are signed off, client permissions and data handling.
How we vet
How we vet a QA engineer
and what to ask them.
Bug counts reward trivial reports and arguments about severity. We vet against our own delivery standards before anyone is proposed. In your interview, these tests show whether a candidate goes to the risk first.
| What to test | What to ask | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Risk first | Hand them sign-up or checkout from your product and ask how they would test it in half an hour. | They start at the top of the form and work down, without asking who the users are. |
| Bug reports | Ask for a bug report they are proud of, and read it. | A developer could not reproduce it first time from the steps, environment and expected result. |
| Flaky tests | How they deal with a flaky automated test. | Rerunning it until it passes. The right answer is to find the cause or set the test aside. |
| Release sign-off | What their go or no-go call before a release contains. | A verdict with no list of what is covered, what is known and open, and the reasoning. |
| When they start | At which point they want to see a ticket. | Only once a finished build arrives. They belong in backlog review, asking what happens when input is empty, duplicated or in the wrong format. |
No trial on this role. Where there is no existing test suite, the first fortnight covers the riskiest flows before automation starts.
Questions
Frequently
asked.
The QA engineer comes from our Vinove group engineering team. You interview them before anything is signed. PixelCrayons scopes the role, writes the one proposal and is your contact throughout. You sign with PixelCrayons, and we answer for every commitment on this page for as long as the work runs.
We typically reply within four business hours. Once we have a complete brief, we confirm when your proposal will arrive. You interview the QA engineer before anything is signed. Eligible work can typically start two to three business days after scope, payment and required access are confirmed. Without an existing test suite, the riskiest flows get covered before automation starts.
It starts with an NDA, then code and environment access. Next the engineer reviews your current test coverage and writes up what they found. You agree the first month's priorities before anything changes. From week one they join your stand-ups and backlog reviews. So onboarding happens within your sprint, not beside it.
You get a written report each week. It covers what was tested, what broke and what's waiting for a retest. Every defect is logged with steps a developer can reproduce first time. Before each release, you get a written go or no-go call. It lists what's covered, what's known and open, and the reasons for the advice. Agencies placing a tester on client work get it in their own templates.
One is the normal starting point. A single QA engineer covers most products, splitting time between exploratory testing and automated tests. A second person, such as an automation specialist, joins when the scope justifies it. The monthly resize works both ways. We'd rather start with one tester on your riskiest flows than sell a team you don't need.
Yes. These QA engineers work alongside your developers in the same sprint. They use your code, your CI, your bug tracker and your stand-ups. Testing keeps pace with the sprint, instead of arriving as a queue of tickets days before release.
Tell us early, and we put forward another tester. That is a normal part of the engagement. The new tester gets the test cases, known issues and coverage notes. So the switch costs days, not a restart. If you need a one-off coverage review rather than an ongoing engineer, we'll point you there.
Interview your QA engineer
before you sign anything.
Tell PixelCrayons about the product and the gap. We scope the role and stay your point of contact throughout. We supply the QA engineer under one written proposal. Then you meet the actual QA engineer before anything is signed. If you really need a one-off coverage review rather than an ongoing person, we'll say so on the first call.
Reply within four business hours (typical) · Interview before signing · Scale monthly
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