Enterprise Quality Assurance Manager/Team Leader

GESA CREDIT UNION•Richland, WA

1d•$97,070 - $161,783•Onsite

About The Position

The Enterprise Quality Assurance Team Leader provides hands-on leadership for enterprise testing, quality governance, and operational process improvement initiatives across the organization. Under the direction of the Program Manager/Team Leader, this role leads a group of quality assurance (QA) professionals while serving as a senior technical contributor on strategic projects and complex cross-functional initiatives. The incumbent establishes and advances enterprise QA standards, testing frameworks, quality controls, and process improvement practices that improve delivery outcomes, reduce operational risk, and strengthen compliance across business and technology functions. This role will coach team members and partners across the organization in test planning, defect management, root cause analysis, process measurement, and data-driven decision-making. Success in this role requires strong technical depth, coaching/mentoring junior Team Members, the ability to influence without authority, and a disciplined approach to continuous improvement, quality engineering, and strategically aligned enterprise change execution.

Requirements

Ability to design and execute test cases, test plans, user acceptance campaigns spanning the full range of testing types (e.g. unit, integration, functional, acceptance, end-to-end).
Ability to multi-task and work separate projects in a fast-paced and dynamic environment under extremely tight timelines
Strong analytical, quantitative, and information sourcing skills; including the ability to write queries using SQL for reporting, analytics, requirements generation, and KPI evaluation
A capable independent contributor, as well as a team player with the ability to participate on multi-disciplinary teams supporting initiatives for strategic improvements
Continuously developing skills to adapt to technological change in a growing credit union environment.
Adept at managing communications both vertically and horizontally across the organization, as well as with vendors
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills with the ability to document findings, summarize risks, communicate recommendations, and influence decision-making
Demonstrated ability to maintain professional judgment, discretion, integrity, and diplomacy while working with cross-functional teams, leaders, and external partners
Ability to innovate, solve problems, and exercise sound judgment when performing duties and working with members and staff
Expertise in Quality Assurance, including process, software testing, and data quality analysis
Team-focused, collaborative, and empowering while performing duties and working with others
Ability to lead and motivate others (direct reports, peers, and leaders)
Knowledge of Agile Software Development methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, etc.), the Software Development Lifecycle, Project Management Lifecycle, and associated testing concepts and implementations
Excellent listening skills and customer service attributes
Accountable for results
Ability to lead and motivate others (direct reports, peers, and leaders)
Required proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 applications and Software Development/testing tools (e.g., Azure Dev Ops, Jira/Confluence) and process/engineering diagraming tools (e.g., Microsoft Visio, LucidChart)
Familiarity with data reporting methodologies and related tools (e.g., Tableau, PowerBI)
Experience (use or testing) Financial Institution Core Banking platform, as well as one or more types of Loan Origination Systems (e.g., consumer, commercial, or mortgage) preferred
Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in Information Systems, Computer Science, Quality Assurance/Engineering, or related field. Additional related experience equivalent to educational requirements considered
Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in enterprise quality assurance, software testing, quality engineering, process improvement, or related technical roles; financial services experience preferred
Minimum of three (3) years of experience leading teams, mentoring technical professionals, or progressive delegated leadership responsibility
Familiarity with ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119 or equivalent software testing standards required
Advanced knowledge of software and system development lifecycle (SDLC) and Project Management lifecycle required

Nice To Haves

International Software Testing Quality Board (ISTQB) Certified Tester Foundation Level preferred

Responsibilities

Lead Enterprise Project QA testing and process improvement efforts for medium to large initiatives in partnership with Project Managers, Product Owners, technology teams, and business stakeholders
Collaborate with cross-functional teams throughout the project lifecycle to define requirements, develop and execute testing strategies, provide guidance to business unit testers to validate system functionality, and ensure deliverables meet established quality standards
Work closely with project team members to identify and report defects, monitor incident reports and defect resolution efforts, verify fixes in a detailed, efficient, and timely manner while tracking results/outcomes
Leverage and grow a network of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) across the organization to promote the QA processes through active participation on project teams
Maintain and promote a member- and relationship-centered perspective
Collaborate with Business Analysts to validate root cause assumptions via testing and data analysis
Review system documentation to ensure technical accuracy, compliance, and completeness
Establish new and promote existing governance standards for approved process improvements and change control
Must demonstrate a tolerance for ambiguity when making decisions and executing work
Demonstrate empathy by understanding the needs of the end user and seeking out problems they may encounter
Identify and communicate risks and issues to Project Managers, team leaders, and project stakeholders that may require changes to project plans and/or scope
Review existing reports, database structures, and create/run queries to verify quality assurance assumptions
Collaborate with the Program Manager/Team Leader to manage team workload, deliver performance assessments and participate in interview panels to shape the future of the organization
Mentor and advise less experienced Quality Assurance Analysts
Perform data gathering, root cause analysis and performance trending to develop appropriate QA process controls and QA team policy changes
Analyze current QA governance, processes, and metrics to recommend cross-organization improvements and updated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) following change management best practices
Lead process improvement and re-engineering efforts to enhance cross-organizational operational efficiency by collaborating with subject matter experts to assess progress and trends, develop recommendations and reports, prioritize and implement critical changes, identify fiscal and staffing resource needs, and maintain supporting process and performance documentation
Ensure alignment of QA processes, procedures, and tools with regulatory and organizational compliance requirements
Participate in Data Governance Team providing coaching to Data Owners and briefing on establishing quality KPIs