Lead QA Engineer

About the job

Role Overview: We are seeking a seasoned Lead QA Engineer to drive quality initiatives across our SaaS product portfolio. This role demands a strategic thinker with hands-on expertise in test automation, a strong grasp of QA methodologies, and the ability to lead and mentor a distributed QA team. You will be instrumental in shaping our test strategy, enhancing automation frameworks, and ensuring seamless integration of quality practices into our CI/CD pipelines.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Test Leadership - Define and evolve the overall QA strategy, balancing automation, manual testing, and exploratory approaches to ensure product excellence.

• Automation Architecture & Oversight - Architect scalable and maintainable test automation frameworks. Guide the team in implementing robust automated test suites across UI, API, and backend layers.

• Team Mentorship & Collaboration - Lead and mentor QA engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and quality ownership. Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Development, and DevOps teams.

• Process Optimization - Identify gaps in existing QA processes and implement improvements to enhance efficiency, coverage, and reliability.

• Quality Metrics & Reporting - Define and track key quality metrics. Provide actionable insights to stakeholders through dashboards and regular updates.

• Release Readiness & Risk Assessment - Own the QA sign-off process. Assess release readiness and communicate risks effectively to leadership.

• Tooling & Innovation - Stay abreast of emerging QA tools and technologies. Evaluate and integrate new solutions to improve test effectiveness and speed.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. Equivalent work experience will also be considered. Advanced certifications in QA or test automation are a plus.

• Experience: 6+ years in QA, with at least 2 years in a lead or managerial capacity. Proven experience in leading QA efforts for SaaS products.

Technical Skills

• Expertise in test automation tools (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright)
• Strong programming skills in Java, Python, or JavaScript
• Experience with CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI)
• Proficiency in API testing tools (e.g., Postman, REST Assured)
• Familiarity with version control systems like Git
• Exposure to performance testing tools (e.g., JMeter, Gatling)
• Understanding of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Ability to work independently and lead distributed teams
• Passion for quality and continuous improvement