QA Lead, Quality Engineering (The Architect of "It Just Works")

Ron Turley Associates LLC • Glendale, AZ

6d • $130,000 - $150,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The CTO at RTA is seeking a QA Lead, Quality Engineering to own quality across the entire engineering organization. This is a hands-on, architecture-level role focused on being a force multiplier, setting practices, building tooling, and raising the quality bar. The ideal candidate will influence through what they build and how they think, rather than through direct reports. The role involves being an internal consultant and a quiet revolutionary, ensuring every engineer, product manager, and QA analyst is empowered to ship software that 'just works'. The company's clients are fleet managers, parts clerks, and automotive technicians, and the work directly impacts safety.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or a related field (preferred — demonstrated mastery matters more).
• 7+ years in software quality / quality engineering, with a track record of setting practices and building tooling beyond your own desk.
• Hands-on automation experience (Cypress, Playwright, Selenium, or similar) and comfort in a real codebase.
• Demonstrated use of AI tools in a quality or engineering workflow — and a point of view on doing it responsibly.
• Strong grasp of CI/CD, test architecture, and agile delivery.
• Experience with JIRA, Confluence, and modern test management tooling.
• Proficient with Microsoft 365 products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint).
• Lives and breathes "shift left."
• Genuinely, deeply technical. Reads code, can pair with engineers on integration tests, reason about flaky pipelines, and architect test strategies.
• Fluent in modern AI for quality — and skeptical in the right places.
• Builds tooling, not just test cases.
• Owns practices across the org without owning people.
• Interfaces beautifully with Product and Engineering leaders.
• Is data-driven about quality.
• Has familiarity with Cypress, Playwright, or similar modern automation frameworks — and opinions about when to use which.
• Has extensive experience in software quality, particularly within SaaS, and has seen what great (and terrible) quality cultures look like up close.
• Passionate about serving others.
• Takes pride in the craft of quality and finds fulfillment in seeing the whole team ship better, not just in catching things themselves.
• Comfortable being part of a team that thrives on healthy conflict.
• Adaptable and open to feedback.
• Passionately cares about our clients by helping them be more successful.
• Thinks of themselves less, while not thinking less of themselves. Other-centric, compassionate, and self-assured.
• Willing to lift boxes, clean floors, and hold doors if that's what it takes to get something done, because no job is beneath them.
• Takes ownership and initiative.
• Loves to read, learn, grow, and stretch themselves.

Nice To Haves

• Bonus points for each book you've read by Patrick Lencioni!

Responsibilities

• Define the quality strategy for RTA's products and the practices that make it real across every delivery team.
• Champion shift-left everywhere: testable design reviews, definition-of-ready and definition-of-done that hold up, fast and trustworthy feedback in CI, and risk-based testing focused where it counts.
• Build and evolve the automation and AI tooling that lets a lean QA function punch far above its weight — including responsibly integrating AI agents and assistants into the testing lifecycle.
• Coach and uplevel engineers and QA analysts on quality practices, test design, and AI-assisted workflows — through example, pairing, and the occasional well-timed "what if we tried it this way?"
• Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to bake quality into planning, not bolt it on at the end.
• Watch the horizon. Quality tooling and AI are moving fast; you bring the best of it back and separate signal from hype.

Benefits

• 401(k) with 6% Safe Harbor match (100% vested day one)
• Flexible PTO model built on trust and manager-approved time off
• Cigna PPO and HSA medical plan options with company contributions ($780–$1,950 annually)
• Garner Health HRA program: up to $1,000 individual / $2,000 family reimbursement opportunity
• Wellness rewards up to $350 annually
• Virtual care and mental health support resources
• Company-sponsored benefits including dental, vision, EAP, life, STD, LTD, legal plan, and identity theft protection options
• Additional employee perks, wellness initiatives, and discount programs

What This Job Offers

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