Manager, QA Automation

Knitwell Group • Pataskala, OH

1d • Remote

About The Position

The Manager, QA Automation leads manual and automation quality engineering teams and works with team members and business owners to create, review, and execute test plans and scenarios that ensure software release quality. The role leads testing projects of varying sizes and supports Digital Product Team sprint releases across systems and applications, including financial programs. It participates in product development to ensure software meets business objectives, promoting shift-left testing through automation, CI/CD, and Agile and Scrum practices, while delivering projects on time and within budget.

The manager leads automation and AI-enabled Quality Engineering teams, driving quality excellence, engineering productivity, and continuous improvement across sprints and projects. The role defines AI-driven test automation strategy and develops scalable, reusable automation frameworks for web UI, mobile, API, backend, integration, and end-to-end testing across Retail and Digital Commerce platforms. It integrates automated testing, AI-assisted execution, and quality gates into CI/CD pipelines; promotes AI tools and QA agents across the software development lifecycle; and evaluates emerging testing platforms through proofs of concept.

The position partners with Product Owners, Developers, Business Analysts, DevOps, and Engineering teams to improve requirements and story readiness, identify automation opportunities, and embed quality throughout development. It establishes QA strategies, processes, risk-based practices, and standards; tracks quality and productivity KPIs; and mentors and trains engineers in modern testing, AI-assisted development, prompt engineering, and QA agent use. The position is remote, with occasional travel to a company office potentially required. Preference is given to candidates near the Etna, Ohio office. Off-hours support may be required for project work or production emergencies.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of Software Quality Engineering experience, including manual, automation, and AI-driven testing, primarily in Digital Commerce and Retail Systems.
• 7+ years of managerial experience leading QA and Automation Engineering teams, driving quality transformation, AI adoption, and engineering productivity.
• 7+ years of hands-on automation experience designing and implementing UI, API, and end-to-end frameworks with Selenium, Playwright, JUnit, TestNG, BrowserStack, Sauce Labs, or equivalent tools, including e-commerce web, backend, mobile, and point-of-sale OS and device automation.
• Hands-on experience implementing AI-driven test automation, including AI-assisted test generation, intelligent test execution, self-healing automation, test data generation, and automated defect analysis.
• Experience building, configuring, or using AI-powered QA agents for story readiness, test planning, test case generation, test execution, defect analysis, and automated QA reporting.
• Practical experience with Generative AI and Agentic AI tools such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or equivalent, including prompt engineering and AI-assisted automation development.
• Proficiency in at least one programming language: Python, Java, or JavaScript.
• Strong knowledge of Retail/eCommerce technologies such as SFCC, OMS, WMS, POS, Oracle, SAP, and CRM.
• Expertise in functional, integration, regression, performance, accessibility, nonfunctional, and risk-based testing.
• Experience integrating testing with CI/CD using Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI.
• Experience leading Agile/Scrum QA delivery, distributed vendor teams, automation strategy, quality metrics, release readiness, and mentoring engineers in modern Quality Engineering practices.
• Ability to work independently or in a team environment and meet project deliverables on time.
• Must be flexible and available to provide off-hours support for project work or production emergencies.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with LLM integration, AI agent orchestration, and multi-agent workflows, including integration with Jira, test management tools, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience validating AI-powered applications and autonomous agents, including response accuracy, hallucination detection, guardrails, security, and reliability.
• Expertise in POS, iPad, or handheld automation.
• Relevant QA, Generative AI, or AI Engineering certifications.
• Software quality assurance certifications.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage manual, automation, and AI-enabled Quality Engineering teams, driving quality excellence, engineering productivity, and continuous improvement.
• Define and execute an AI-driven test automation strategy using Generative AI, intelligent automation, and modern testing frameworks.
• Lead the design, development, and maintenance of scalable, reusable automation frameworks for web UI, mobile, API, backend, integration, and end-to-end testing across Retail and Digital Commerce platforms.
• Integrate automated testing, AI-assisted test execution, and quality gates into CI/CD pipelines.
• Drive adoption of AI platforms such as Claude Code and GitHub Copilot to automate repetitive QA work, accelerate script development, and incorporate AI into sprint and project lifecycles.
• Lead the design, development, implementation, and adoption of AI-powered QA agents for story readiness, test planning, test case generation, test execution, defect analysis, test data management, and reporting.
• Partner with Product Owners, Developers, Business Analysts, DevOps, and Engineering teams to analyze requirements, improve story readiness, identify automation opportunities, and embed quality throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Evaluate emerging AI testing platforms, automation technologies, and agentic solutions; lead proofs of concept and scale successful implementations.
• Define and monitor KPIs for automation coverage, test execution efficiency, defect leakage, AI agent adoption, manual effort reduction, sprint velocity, and AI-related productivity gains.
• Mentor and train manual and automation engineers in modern testing practices, AI-assisted development, prompt engineering, and QA agent use.
• Establish and continuously improve enterprise QA processes, test strategies, methodologies, test plans, risk-based testing practices, and quality standards.
• Design, develop, and maintain automation frameworks and test scripts using current automation testing tools and platforms.
• Lead innovation and adoption of testing platforms and solutions.
• Train and mentor team members in automation testing best practices.
• Monitor and report on automation testing progress and performance.
• Lead Agile/Scrum QA delivery, release readiness, quality metrics, automation strategy, and distributed vendor teams.
• Provide off-hours support for project work or production emergencies as needed.

Benefits

• Merchandise discount at select KnitWell Group brands, subject to each brand’s discount policies.
• Support for individual development and opportunities for career mobility within the family of brands.
• Local volunteer opportunities, annual donation and volunteer match for eligible nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic activities supporting communities.
• Medical insurance.
• Dental insurance.
• Vision insurance.
• 401(k).
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Paid time off and holidays.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager