Lead Manual QA Engineer

Ciklum

About The Position

Ciklum is looking for a Lead Manual QA Engineer to join our team full-time in the US or located in a time zone that supports a working schedule of 11 am to 8 pm ET. We are a custom product engineering company that supports both multinational organizations and scaling startups to solve their most complex business challenges. With a global team of over 4,000 highly skilled developers, consultants, analysts and product owners, we engineer technology that redefines industries and shapes the way people live. About the role: As a Lead Manual QA Engineer, you'll join the QA leadership team within a 300+ member SAFe program and partner closely with the QA Head in driving QA strategy and execution. This role serves as the primary US-based QA leader and acts as backup for the QA Head. This role requires working 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM ET, regardless of location. The Lead Quality Assurance works closely with cross-functional and globally distributed teams to ensure consistent quality practices, enable continuous improvement, and support high-quality delivery across technical platforms. While this role does not include direct management of QA resources, it requires strong leadership presence, independent decision-making, and the ability to effectively engage with partner teams and senior leaders. In urgent after-hours situations, the Lead Quality Assurance may be required to step in as a hands-on tester to ensure delivery continuity and protect platform quality.

Requirements

Support the QA Head in defining, refining, and enforcing QA strategies, standards, and best practices across the SAFe program
Ensure consistent application of quality processes across Scrum teams, including functional, regression, automation, performance, and integration testing
Identify quality risks early and drive effective mitigation strategies
Collaborate with RTEs, Product Managers, Product Owners, and Scrum Masters to integrate quality into PI planning and team ceremonies
Track and communicate testing progress, risks, dependencies, and quality metrics to stakeholders
Assist in resource planning and workload distribution across QA teams
Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and process optimization within the SAFe environment
Develop and maintain dashboards and KPIs to measure product health, defect trends, and testing effectiveness
Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to improve product quality and delivery predictability
Collaborate with QA Leads to understand team development needs and support the ongoing reinforcement of a quality-first mindset
Coordinate defect triage activities and facilitate cross-functional discussions
Support release readiness assessments and ensure quality gates are met before deployment
Establishes process of Requirements Analysis and Requirements Traceability Matrix creation
Administrates Test Management and Bug Tracking tools

Nice To Haves

Software Testing:
Experience in using CI/CD tools (Git commands) and debugging proxy tools (Fiddler, CharlesProxy, etc)
Mobile projects: Master proficiency in Mobile Testing best practices, Mobile Testing Types, Mobile App Distribution Tools, and Mobile Test Strategy development
Automation projects: Master proficiency in Introduction of Automation test approach, Test cases for Automation creation, Automation Test Reports analysis, Automation metrics gathering
Cloud projects: Master proficiency in test data migration and Queues testing process establishment

Responsibilities

Software Testing:
Proven background in designing and developing test strategies using best practices and patterns
Experience with setting up test plan for small, big, multi-stream commercial projects
High proficiency in testing documentation creation and any testing type execution
Technologies and Tools:
Experience in most of the testing standard tools for testing (API, Proxy, Mobile, Automation, Bug Tracking, Test Management, Queues, etc.) and database administration (SQL, NoSQL)
SDLC:
Master proficiency in Agile Methodologies, able to drive and improve any activity according to selected methodology (such as daily meetings, planning, estimation, retrospective, etc.)
Experience in any Agile artifact implementation (e.g. SCRUM board, Burndown Chart, etc.)
In-depth proficiency in the estimation of activities related to testing
Support the QA Head in defining, refining, and enforcing QA strategies, standards, and best practices across the SAFe program
Ensure consistent application of quality processes across Scrum teams, including functional, regression, automation, performance, and integration testing
Identify quality risks early and drive effective mitigation strategies
Collaborate with RTEs, Product Managers, Product Owners, and Scrum Masters to integrate quality into PI planning and team ceremonies
Track and communicate testing progress, risks, dependencies, and quality metrics to stakeholders
Assist in resource planning and workload distribution across QA teams
Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and process optimization within the SAFe environment
Develop and maintain dashboards and KPIs to measure product health, defect trends, and testing effectiveness
Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to improve product quality and delivery predictability
Collaborate with QA Leads to understand team development needs and support the ongoing reinforcement of a quality-first mindset
Coordinate defect triage activities and facilitate cross-functional discussions
Support release readiness assessments and ensure quality gates are met before deployment
Establishes process of Requirements Analysis and Requirements Traceability Matrix creation
Administrates Test Management and Bug Tracking tools

Benefits

Strong community: Work alongside top professionals in a friendly, open-door environment
Growth focus: Take on large-scale projects with a global impact and expand your expertise
Tailored learning: Boost your skills with internal events (meetups, conferences, workshops), Udemy access, language courses, and company-paid certifications
Endless opportunities: Explore diverse domains through internal mobility, finding the best fit to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies
Care: Healthcare, Basic Life Insurance, Short and Long-term disability insurance according to the Company’s Benefit Plans

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