Manual testing

7 skills every QA engineer needs in 2026

Testland

Testland

— 4 min read

The QA role looked very different five years ago. Running test cases manually, documenting bugs in spreadsheets, and waiting until the end of a sprint to test features — that was the job for many testers.

Not anymore. The profession has shifted from test execution toward quality engineering and test strategy. QA engineers who adapt will thrive. Those who don't will find fewer opportunities.

Here are seven skills that matter most right now.

Key facts

  • 76% of QA professionals use AI-powered tools in testing, according to Katalon's State of Software Quality Report 2025
  • 82% of testers see AI as critical to the future of testing (as of January 2025)
  • Engineers spent 30-40% of their time on test maintenance before AI automation, per Uber Engineering
  • Only 11% of QA teams have reached optimized maturity with advanced automation
  • Python and JavaScript dominate test automation job postings

1. AI and machine learning literacy

This is no longer optional. Every major testing tool now includes AI features — test generation, self-healing locators, intelligent test selection, failure analysis. QA engineers who understand how these tools work will use them effectively. Those who don't will struggle to keep up.

According to Katalon's State of Software Quality Report 2025, 76% of QA professionals already use AI-powered tools in their testing activities. Yet only 11% of teams have reached optimized QA maturity with advanced automation. That gap between AI availability and effective adoption means opportunity for those willing to learn.

What "AI literacy" actually means:

  • Understanding how LLM-based test generators work and their limitations
  • Knowing when AI-generated tests need human review
  • Using AI copilots effectively for test code
  • Evaluating AI testing tools beyond the marketing hype
  • Recognizing when AI suggestions are wrong

Nobody expects QA engineers to train machine learning models. But understanding how to work with AI tools — and when not to trust them — is now a baseline skill.

2. Python or JavaScript programming

Manual testing isn't disappearing, but the ratio of manual to automated work keeps shifting. Most job postings for QA roles now require programming skills.

Python and JavaScript dominate the automation space for good reasons:

Python works well for API testing, data validation, and backend automation. Its readability makes test code easier to maintain. The pytest ecosystem offers excellent tooling. Most AI/ML tools also use Python, which helps when integrating with AI testing features.

JavaScript/TypeScript is essential for frontend testing. Cypress, Playwright, and most browser automation tools use JavaScript natively. If the application under test is built with React, Vue, or Angular, knowing JavaScript helps QA engineers understand what they're testing.

Pick one and get comfortable. Then add the other. Job postings increasingly ask for both.

# Python with pytest - clean and readable
def test_user_can_login(api_client):
    response = api_client.post("/login", json={
        "email": "test@example.com",
        "password": "secure123"
    })
    assert response.status_code == 200
    assert "token" in response.json()

3. Modern test automation frameworks

Selenium still runs in production at thousands of companies. But new projects increasingly choose Playwright or Cypress instead.

Playwright has gained significant momentum. Its auto-waiting eliminates most timing-related flaky tests. The trace viewer makes debugging failures straightforward. Microsoft backs the project, and cloud testing platforms now support it equally with Selenium.

Cypress offers a developer-friendly experience for JavaScript applications. The time-travel debugging and automatic waiting make tests more reliable than traditional Selenium approaches.

Selenium remains valuable for enterprise environments with existing infrastructure. Knowing Selenium isn't a negative — it's still the most widely deployed framework. But learning at least one modern alternative opens more doors.

The pattern: learn the concepts (locators, waits, assertions, page objects) rather than memorizing one framework's API. Those concepts transfer across tools.

4. API testing proficiency

UI tests are slow, brittle, and expensive to maintain. API tests run fast, stay stable, and catch most backend bugs before they reach the interface.

Every QA engineer should be comfortable with:

  • Sending requests with tools like Postman or REST Assured
  • Validating JSON responses and status codes
  • Understanding authentication flows (OAuth, JWT, API keys)
  • Writing automated API test suites
  • Contract testing basics with tools like Pact

API testing skills often matter more than adding another UI automation framework to the resume. A solid API test suite catches issues faster and costs less to maintain than equivalent UI coverage.

// Playwright API testing example
test('user creation returns valid response', async ({ request }) => {
  const response = await request.post('/api/users', {
    data: { name: 'Test User', email: 'test@example.com' }
  });

  expect(response.status()).toBe(201);
  const user = await response.json();
  expect(user.id).toBeDefined();
});

5. CI/CD pipeline knowledge

Tests that don't run automatically provide limited value. Modern QA engineers need to understand how their tests fit into the deployment pipeline.

At Shopify, the test infrastructure team reduced CI times from 45 minutes to 18 minutes while running over 170,000 tests (Shopify Engineering). That kind of optimization requires understanding both the tests and the pipeline.

Skills that matter here:

  • Configuring test jobs in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins
  • Understanding parallel test execution
  • Managing test environments and test data
  • Reading pipeline logs and debugging failures
  • Optimizing test selection to reduce build times

QA engineers who can set up and maintain their own test pipelines bring more value than those who hand off test code and hope someone else runs it.

6. Security testing fundamentals

Security testing used to be a specialist role. Now it's becoming part of standard QA responsibilities — at least at a basic level.

Understanding the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities helps QA engineers catch common security issues during regular testing:

  • SQL injection in form inputs
  • Cross-site scripting (XSS) in user-generated content
  • Broken authentication and session management
  • Sensitive data exposure in API responses

QA engineers don't need to become penetration testers. But recognizing obvious security holes during functional testing adds significant value. Tools like OWASP ZAP can automate basic security scans as part of the test pipeline.

7. Communication and collaboration

Technical skills get interviews. Communication skills get promotions.

QA engineers work across teams — developers, product managers, designers, DevOps. The ability to explain a bug clearly, advocate for quality without being adversarial, and translate technical issues for non-technical stakeholders matters as much as any framework knowledge.

Specific communication skills that help:

  • Writing bug reports that developers can reproduce
  • Explaining test coverage gaps to product managers
  • Collaborating on testability during feature design
  • Presenting test results and quality metrics
  • Giving constructive feedback on code reviews

The shift-left testing movement means QA engineers participate earlier in development. That requires working closely with developers on test strategy, not just finding bugs after features are built.

Where to start

Seven skills is a lot. Prioritize based on current gaps:

  • No programming experience? Start with Python. The syntax is approachable and the testing ecosystem is mature.
  • Only know manual testing? Pick up Playwright or Cypress. Modern frameworks are easier to learn than Selenium was.
  • Solid automation skills? Add AI tool experience. Every major platform now offers AI features worth understanding.
  • Strong technically but struggling with impact? Focus on communication. Learn to explain why quality matters in business terms.

The QA role keeps evolving. The engineers who stay curious and keep learning will find plenty of opportunities. Those waiting for the industry to settle down will be waiting a long time.

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