About Planning Center

Planning Center, established in 2006, has grown to support over 80,000 churches worldwide. As an independent company, we pride ourselves on being debt-free with no outside investors. Churches use our tools to communicate and connect with their congregations, organize information, and coordinate events. We’re committed to building great products that solve real problems using web and mobile products.

Our team enjoys the flexibility of remote work, utilizing tools like Asana, Slack, Notion, and Zoom for collaboration. We gather quarterly at our main office in Carlsbad, CA, fostering our work relationships.

About the Work

The QA Tester role supports product teams by performing manual testing and working alongside developers, PMs, and EMs to ensure quality throughout the development lifecycle. The QA Tester partners with these teams to identify potential issues, provide feedback, and maintain a collaborative approach to product quality. This role is a vital part of the product team, with the charge to speak into and raise the level of quality. Responsibilities include, but aren't limited to:

• Organizing and managing Beta testing groups for web software or mobile apps
• Collaborating with the product team on the rollout strategy of software, accounting for different customer segments
• Collaborating with team members to define test objectives and write testing plans
• Executing tests and updating the testing suite as needed
• Using tools to ensure compliance with accessibility standards
• Investigating bug reports and adding context before passing them to developers
• Identifying patterns in bugs to prevent future bugs and update testing plans
• Reviewing Product Pitches - evaluating product pitches from a quality perspective
• Attending meetings with Product Managers (PM) and Engineering Managers (EM) to understand the SDLC and the best ways to support the team
• Communicating effectively with team members

Who We Look For

The best fits for any role on the Planning Center team are people embodying our Core Values:

•  Engage with Humility - We actively participate with openness and receptiveness. We are ready to listen, learn, and speak thoughtfully and kindly—regardless of skill level, expertise, or place on the org chart.
•  Invest in our team - We give our time and energy to our team’s success—improving collaboration with effective communication, making space for diverse perspectives, sharing knowledge, and asking questions.
•  Do Our Best Work - We aspire to do our best possible work—continually looking for ways to improve the quality of our individual output and contribute to our team's overall success and growth.
•  Focus on Customer Impact - We advocate for our customer’s best interests in our decision-making—we can trace the goal of every project back to creating positive value for our customers.
•  Think Holistically, Work Iteratively - We focus on taking practical steps towards our goals with an awareness of the broader context—thinking big, working small.

We believe the strongest teams comprise people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, and we are committed to cultivating that diversity here at Planning Center. We're building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do your best work.

The Hiring Process

During the hiring process, you’ll have a chance to interact with several team members. We strongly encourage you to bring any questions to anybody you interact with. You’re interviewing us as much as we’re interviewing you.

Applications will be accepted until January 22, 2025 9AM PST.

Below is an outline of our hiring process.

• Step one: Apply with a resume and cover letter. Your cover letter should speak directly to your interest in this position and why you want to work at Planning Center. You should also share a time when you used a piece of technology that left you feeling frustrated. We want to hear what made it frustrating and how you would have improved it. Be specific about what didn't work well and why it mattered to you.
  
  (A word of caution for those using AI cover letters: When compared to the hundreds of other candidates who did the exact same thing, it becomes painfully obvious who took the AI first draft. If you're going to use these tools, we ask that you use them well. Please give our recruiter something a bit more human to read.)
• Step two: Zoom Interview with our Talent Acquisition Specialist to get to know you better.
• Step three: A technical interview with a few people from the QA team.
• Step four: Team Interview with a few people from the QA team.
• Step five: Pending all goes well, an offer will be extended, and you get to consider if we're a good fit for you.

Note for Internal Applicants:

As an internal candidate, please be aware that some steps in the interview process may vary slightly to better align with your existing familiarity with our organization. Rest assured, we aim to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation while maintaining a positive candidate experience.

Requirements

For Employment

• Full-time resident in the United States
• Eligible to work in the United States

For the Work

• One (1) to two (2) years of experience in software testing
• Knowledge of various phases of SDLC and how QA fits into it
• Eagerness to learn new tools, technologies, and testing techniques
• Prior experience in test planning and execution (preferred)
• ISTQB-CTFL Certification is not required, but it is preferred
• Experience with bug tracking and version control systems
• Experience in conducting Beta testing and managing rollout strategies.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to work independently and manage tasks

Benefits

We love our team. It’s one of the core pillars we work off of every day, which is why we take care of you as best we can. Here are a few highlights, but you can find all our benefits here.

Get paid: We pay competitive salaries, contribute to your 401k, provide a charitable giving match of up to $2,000 a year, have a generous allowance for continued education, and offer a co-working stipend. The annual salary range for this position is $80,000 – $117,000.

Be healthy: Generous paid sick time and vacation time, $200 a month for physical fitness and mental health, 95% medical & 100% dental premium health coverage.

Get out: Paid Fridays off in the summer, every other Friday off the rest of the year, a month-long sabbatical every five years, one week off between Christmas & New Year, one week off a year to serve with a non-profit, and two weeks paid vacation a year increasing to three over time.