Key findings
- The core five: Jira 38%, Selenium 35%, Playwright 34%, Postman 27%, Cypress 20%.
- A posting names 3 tools at the median, and 59% name three or more. A skills line of six to eight tools covers most ads.
- The list is not the same for every role. Jira leads for manual testers (54%), Selenium for automation engineers (61%), Jira again for lead and manager roles (47%).
- Level mostly moves two things. Jira falls from 46% of junior to 27% of senior postings, and Jenkins, Docker and GitHub Actions rise from 14% of junior postings to 23% of senior ones.
01The short list
We counted how often each tool appears in the stack of every public QA posting (3,863). Each tool counts once per posting.
The median posting names 3 tools from the 30 we track. 59% name three or more. A skills line with the eight tools that fit the role covers the vocabulary of most ads without turning into a keyword dump.
02By role
Which tools to put first depends on the title you apply to. Share of postings naming the tool, by role.
| Tool | Manual QA tester (n=1,379) | QA automation engineer (n=1,023) | SDET (n=358) | QA lead or manager (n=371) | Business or test analyst (n=264) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selenium | 30% | 61% | 28% | 32% | 31% |
| Playwright | 18% | 57% | 61% | 36% | 27% |
| Cypress | 12% | 42% | 13% | 20% | 13% |
| Postman | 40% | 20% | 13% | 13% | 29% |
| Python | 14% | 22% | 24% | 21% | 10% |
| Jira | 54% | 14% | 11% | 47% | 58% |
| TestRail | 19% | 3% | 2% | 22% | 19% |
| Jenkins | 6% | 10% | 13% | 13% | 5% |
- Manual QA tester: lead with Jira (54%), Postman (40%) and TestRail (19%), then name the framework you can read.
- QA automation engineer: lead with Selenium (61%), Playwright (57%) and Cypress (42%), then the language and CI.
- SDET: Playwright (61%), Selenium (28%), Python (24%), plus the words for how you test: API, containers, pipelines.
- Lead or manager: Jira (47%), TestRail (22%), and a framework to show you can review a suite.
03By level
Seniority changes which words carry weight. Share of postings naming the tool, by level.
| Tool | Junior (n=272) | Mid (n=2,200) | Senior (n=830) | Lead (n=561) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selenium | 31% | 36% | 36% | 32% |
| Playwright | 27% | 34% | 36% | 34% |
| Cypress | 17% | 21% | 21% | 21% |
| Postman | 29% | 29% | 27% | 17% |
| Python | 22% | 19% | 20% | 22% |
| Jira | 46% | 40% | 27% | 43% |
| TestRail | 18% | 13% | 7% | 20% |
| Jenkins | 6% | 7% | 12% | 11% |
| Docker | 8% | 8% | 11% | 4% |
The leading frameworks hardly move with level: Selenium is named in 31% to 36% of postings at every level. What changes is Jira (high for junior and lead, low for senior) and the pipeline words: Jenkins goes from 6% at junior to 12% at senior. For senior roles, show how you wired tests into a pipeline, not just which tool you used.
04By country
The best-known tool is not the same everywhere. Share of postings naming each tool, by country with 60 or more postings.
| Country | Selenium | Playwright | Cypress | Postman | Jira | Python | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 29% | 29% | 15% | 26% | 38% | 25% | 1,127 |
| India | 47% | 48% | 24% | 27% | 30% | 18% | 540 |
| Canada | 45% | 26% | 21% | 31% | 34% | 21% | 313 |
| Poland | 22% | 32% | 19% | 26% | 51% | 21% | 194 |
| United Kingdom | 34% | 35% | 26% | 20% | 41% | 19% | 172 |
| Philippines | 32% | 26% | 14% | 28% | 53% | 22% | 121 |
Canada leans on Selenium (45% against 26% for Playwright); India names Selenium and Playwright about equally (47% and 48%); Poland and the Philippines lean on Jira (51% and 53%). If you apply in several countries, rewrite the top of the CV for each market.
05By industry
Some industries use a tool that almost no one else names. If you target one, add its keyword. The table shows, per industry, the tool whose share is highest compared with all postings.
| Industry | Postings | Distinctive tool | Share here | Share overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaming | 427 | Unity Test Framework | 24% | 3% |
| Healthcare / MedTech | 337 | axe / WAVE | 6% | 3% |
| Cybersecurity | 290 | OWASP ZAP | 7% | 1% |
| Automotive | 109 | REST Assured | 21% | 7% |
06Quick answers
What should be included on a resume for a QA engineer?
A skills line with the 6 to 8 tools that fit the role, a one-line summary that names the product area, and for each job two or three bullets with a number: tests written, defects found, time saved in a release. The postings reward Jira, Selenium and Playwright, so make sure those words appear if you really used them.
What are the top 5 skills for a QA engineer?
By how often they are named: Jira, Selenium, Playwright, Postman and Cypress. Python (20%) is the only language we track. Test design, communication and domain knowledge sit outside a tool list and are tested in the interview.
Do I need to list every tool I have touched?
No. A tool you cannot talk about for five minutes costs more than it earns. Put the strong ones first and group the rest.
07How to write the CV
- Open three postings for the role you want and mark the tools they share.
- Write the skills line from that overlap, in the order of the posting. Add the programming language the posting names.
- Move the matching bullets up. Put the job where you used the tool the ad names above the job where you did not.
- Run it through the CV checker and fix what it flags.
- Keep one master CV and cut a short version for each application. Do not send the master.
If you want a recruiter to rewrite the top third of your CV against the ads we see every week, talk to PassRidge.
08Method and limits
Sample: 3,863 public postings harvested 20 Oct 2026 from employer career pages and public job feeds. Listings are postings, not people or confirmed openings: one role open in several cities counts several times (2,417 distinct titles across 3,863 postings). PassRidge talent-pipeline roles (149) are excluded from every statistic.
The stack field only knows 30 QA tools and Python. Java, C#, TypeScript, SQL, ISTQB and soft skills are not counted, and the real list in an ad is longer.
A tool is counted if the posting names it in the requirements or the description.
The method for roles, tools and pay is documented on our salary methodology page. Spot an error? Write to [email protected].
Go deeper
Sources
- PassRidge public listing snapshot, 20 Oct 2026