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When freight trains run safely and on time, you probably do not think about the software behind them. At railcube, people like Tuba make sure that software behaves exactly as it should, long before it ever reaches a driver’s phone or a planner’s screen.
Tuba works as a QA engineer on our mobile and portal applications in the Rotterdam office. She joined railcube a little over three years ago, shortly after moving from Türkiye to the Netherlands. Railcube is her first Dutch employer and the place where she learned both the rail freight domain and what it means to work in a product team that ships software used by operators across Europe and beyond.
“I am one of the people who make your life easier, I check everything in the application to make sure it works properly before anyone else uses it.”
What Tuba actually does all week
On paper, Tuba is a QA engineer for the mobile and portal applications. In practice, that means she sits close to our developers in Team Green and the product owner and acts as an independent safety net before any change goes to customers.
Her week has a clear rhythm:
- Daily stand-ups and refinement sessions with her team
- Reviewing new features and bug fixes
- Designing and updating test cases
- Running regression tests on both mobile and portal
- Checking how new features interact with what already exists
“I decide how I test, which areas need deeper testing and how to structure test cases,” she explains. “When something is not ready for release, I raise the risk or escalate the issue.” I have this freedom..”
To people who work in IT, she explains her role simply: she is the person who checks everything before it reaches real users. For friends and family who are less technical, she uses examples. “I tell them to think about the apps they use every day, like banking or social media. I say, 'I am one of the people who makes those apps easy to use and less frustrating.'”
Being the traffic light for releases
Working in rail means working in a safety-critical environment. Our platform covers planning, operations, safety, HR and finance for rail operators in 24 countries, so bugs can have a real impact on daily operations.
Tuba's role clearly demonstrates the significant responsibility associated with ensuring safety in rail operations.
“The most demanding part of my job is making decisions,” she says. “I take part in the process of deciding whether a feature or fix should be released to the client. Our job is kind of a traffic light that says, 'Stop, do not release like this.'”
She remembers a moment that brought this responsibility into sharp focus. Shortly before a release, she located a critical issue that caused the application to crash repeatedly.
“I checked the application before release, and there was a massive problem. The application crashed again and again. I found it, the team solved it, and we released without any issue. I thought, 'If we had released like that and I missed this, all daily operations would stop.' This is why my work matters.”
It is also the kind of bug she likes to catch most.
“I like to crash the application myself. If I catch a crash before the client does, it makes my day perfect.”
For Tuba, a release only feels successful when it is quiet afterwards.
“A release feels successful to me when everything works smoothly in real use and we do not get escalated issues in the week after release.”
To keep quality high while the team moves quickly, she relies on clear test planning, well-structured test cases, regular regression testing, and close communication with the developers. “You need constant attention to how features interact with each other,” she adds.
Learning a new industry and a new country
Before joining railcube, Tuba worked remotely as a backend tester for a UK company. Before that, she was a chemist. When she arrived in the Netherlands, railcube became both her first Dutch employer and her introduction to the rail freight world.
“What I learned here that I did not expect is the railway industry itself. Before joining, I had no idea about the railway industry. Now I know many technical details about trains and how daily operations work,” she says. “I also really understand now what teamwork is. The company really shows this culture.”
The Rotterdam office, being both international and deeply rooted in Dutch working culture, also aided her in acclimating to her new surroundings.
“Railcube is my first company in the Netherlands, and it has helped me learn a lot about Dutch culture and how to work there. The company gave me the freedom and support I needed to find and use all of my skills. The freedom and support I got helped me reach my full potential and take full responsibility for quality.”
Tuba was the first woman in the development team in the Rotterdam office and came in with a different cultural background. She never felt out of place.
“I never felt different. They trusted me and have always been so friendly. Because of the behaviour of the company, I am not distracted by anything. I can just focus on my job easily. This advantage is really precious for me.”
Team Green: supportive, curious and friendly
Tuba works in Team Green, one of our product teams. If she has to describe her team in three words, she does not hesitate: “supportive, curious and friendly.”
“We support each other closely as a team, and our communication is very strong. We regularly discuss ways to improve the application in an open and friendly manner," she says. “As a team, we have developed excellent self-management and are able to organize and manage our work in a positive and effective way,”
What makes the day-to-day enjoyable is not only the work itself but also the small rituals they share.
“When we're all in the office, I like to start each daily stand-up with a fun, light question for my team. Usually, it's about something that happens in everyday life. The answers are often funny and help us start the day off on a good note,” she explains. “We are not just developers and engineers; we are people too. I really like this friendly and people-centred place to work."
Outside meetings and releases, you will often observe Tuba taking care of something else that grows: the office plants. At home, she spends her spare time much the same way: taking care of plants, cooking, travelling, and spending time with friends.
Who will feel at home here
If a friend was thinking about joining railcube, what would she tell them honestly?
"Railcube is a place where you are entrusted with real responsibility,” she explains. “The company provides the freedom to approach your work in an excellent way, and your ideas are genuinely valued. Everyone takes your contributions seriously.”
Regarding her team, she envisions a colleague who is positively persistent, proactive, and eager to learn.
“Someone curious, comfortable working in a collaborative environment, and open for discussion. My team makes working together simple and pleasant.”
She also wants to correct a common misunderstanding about her profession.
“The biggest misconception about QA is that we only look for bugs. In reality, we help build better products by thinking like the user, anticipating risks and improving quality at every step.”
For candidates who like complex problems, responsibility and direct impact on real operations, Tuba’s story is a clear message: at railcube you are more than a ticket resolver. You are a trusted part of the product that keeps freight moving safely and efficiently across the rail network.
