QA and Release Manager

Servicepath

2d•Remote

About The Position

servicePath is seeking an experienced QA & Release Manager to own the quality and release lifecycle across our CPQ product and client implementations. This is a senior leadership role focused on strategy, governance, and team enablement in a fast-paced CI/CD environment using the AXIS delivery methodology. The successful candidate will lead an empowered, distributed team and will be responsible for setting direction, building capability, and ensuring high-quality releases at scale. Strong communication skills and the ability to operate across global teams are essential. IMPORTANT: This role leads through delegation and ownership, however the resource will also need to perform day-to-day testing, deployments, or execution tasks while also enable, govern, and develop a structured QA & Release function. At servicePath™, we seek candidates who are eager to enhance performance by leveraging tools and technologies like AI. Our goal is to streamline tasks, increase efficiency, and maximize productivity, making work more manageable while driving organizational success.

Requirements

7+ years commercial experience in software testing and QA, including SaaS and/or scaling startups
3+ years in a QA Manager / Release Manager / similar leadership role managing multi-person distributed teams
Proven experience leading empowered teams — setting direction, delegating ownership, developing people
Demonstrable experience planning and leading major version upgrades for enterprise clients across UAT and Production environments — including upgrade roadmap, cutover, rollback, and post-upgrade validation
Hands-on experience executing UAT and production deployments, gathering client requirements, and authoring client-specific test plans
Proven experience owning release management end-to-end (Test, UAT, Production) across multiple parallel client streams or product lines
Solid experience with ITIL processes for Release, Change, and Configuration Management, and QA
Strong technical background in software development (.NET / C# preferred) — able to read code and engage credibly with engineers
Familiarity with Git branching strategies (release, feature, custom client, hotfix, integration) and how they map to environments
Experience with TeamCity, Octopus Deploy, and Bitbucket — or equivalent CI/CD tooling
Experience in Agile, DevOps, or continuous-flow environments with frequent releases
Hands-on and directive experience with automated testing — Cypress, Playwright, Selenium, or similar
Understanding of API testing and validation (REST, contract testing, Postman or equivalent)
SQL literacy for investigative support and governance
Proficient with Jira, Confluence, Xray, and Trello
Experience implementing risk management strategies, conducting post-release reviews, and driving continuous improvement
Direct client-facing experience — comfortable with senior escalations and governance-level communications
Demonstrable track record of reducing production defects, improving coverage, and delivering measurable quality improvements through a team
Experience using AI tools (generative AI, copilots, log-analysis assistants, LLM-based debugging) and leading AI adoption across a QA team
Excellent written and verbal communication; able to chair senior meetings
Relevant degree and/or certifications (Computer Science, Engineering; ITIL, ISTQB, or equivalent)

Nice To Haves

Experience with CPQ, configure-price-quote, pricing, or quote-to-cash platforms
Exposure to enterprise integrations (Salesforce / Dynamics CRM / SAP / ERP)
.NET / C# / React ecosystem familiarity
ITIL v4 Foundation or higher certification
ISTQB Advanced Level or equivalent QA certification
Experience integrating infrastructure and middleware upgrades into release cycles

Responsibilities

Define QA & Release strategy, team structure, and tooling investment.
Develop and coach direct reports. Drive ownership culture.
Lead hiring and capacity planning at team level.
Conduct 1:1s and performance reviews.
Define QA standards, entry/exit criteria, and risk-based prioritisation.
Own QA metrics (coverage, defect trends, cycle time, automation ROI).
Report weekly on release status and risk. Lead root-cause analysis.
Drive CSI across Release Services.
Own release lifecycle across product and client streams.
Define cadence and branching.
Sign off on production releases.
Own hotfix strategy.
Ensure two-board model (AXIS Deliverables + Bug) is functioning.
Enforce ITIL-aligned Release, Change, and Configuration Management. Own SLA adherence.
Plan and lead major client upgrades from one product version to another across both UAT and Production.
Own the upgrade roadmap per client, coordinate cross-functional dependencies (engineering, infrastructure, implementation, client stakeholders), define cutover and rollback plans, run the upgrade execution, and validate post-upgrade health.
Perform UAT and production deployments alongside the team.
Gather requirements directly from clients when needed.
Write and review client-specific test plans.
Step into execution wherever cover, capacity, or quality demand it.
Act as senior QA escalation point for clients.
Engage directly in client-facing requirements, planning, and release communications alongside the Release QA Analyst and Senior Release QA Engineer.
Represent QA in senior client calls when scale, risk, or seniority demand it.
Define capability roadmap.
Identify skill gaps and fund training. Develop Test Leads as people managers, Senior Release QA Engineer as technical authority, Release QA Analyst as client-facing analyst.
Drive AI and Xray adoption. Run skills analysis and succession planning.
Collaborate with Head of Engineering Delivery, Engineering Manager, Squad Leads, Product, Customer Success, and Implementation.
Participate in AXIS Gate reviews at leadership level.
Chair the weekly QA coordination group.
Identify, assess, and mitigate release and quality risks before they materialise.
Maintain QA/release documentation on Confluence.
Enforce processes through team discipline.
Conduct post-release reviews at team level.
Escalation only — step in for complex client issues or multi-system incidents.
Mentor the team on L2 techniques (AI tools, log analysis).
Define automation direction and investment priorities. Ensure CI/CD integration.
Own automation ROI reporting. Delegate hands-on development to Automation team and Senior Release QA Engineer.