Quality Assurance Manager

Slate Auto•Troy, MI

About The Position

At Slate, we’re building safe, reliable vehicles that people can afford, personalize and love—and doing it here in the USA as part of our commitment to reindustrialization. The spirit of DIY and customization runs throughout every element of a Slate, because people should have control over how their trucks look, feel, and represent them. | WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR We are seeking a Quality Assurance Manager on our Digital Team to lead and grow Slate’s QA function as we bring high-quality products to market. This is a role of people-manager for someone who can establish strong quality practices, support team execution, and embed quality deeply across web, mobile, and mobile-to-vehicle systems. While the primary focus of this role is managerial—setting direction, mentoring team members, and ensuring consistent quality practices—the QAM is also expected to actively engage with teams during critical launch milestones, providing hands-on support, guidance, and problem-solving as needed in a fast-paced startup environment. Our digital products—web, mobile, and vehicle-adjacent experiences—are often the first and most frequent way customers interact with Slate. Quality is not something we “check at the end.” It is something we design, build, and protect together throughout the entire product lifecycle. We operate as a highly collaborative, communication-driven organization. Engineers, QA, Product, Design, and Operations work closely and transparently, sharing context early and often. We value leaders who explain their thinking, ask thoughtful questions, and create clarity in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience.
12+ years of experience in software quality assurance, with deep exposure to modern web and mobile systems.
8–10+ years leading QA initiatives, programs, or teams in fast-paced, highly collaborative environments.
Strong knowledge of QA methodologies, testing strategies, and quality metrics across the SDLC.
Prior hands-on experience with manual and automated testing, with the ability to review, critique, and guide technical approaches.
Familiarity with automation frameworks (e.g., Cypress, Playwright, Selenium, Appium) and their integration into CI/CD pipelines.
Experience with API testing, environment management (test, RC, prod), and release validation strategies.
Solid understanding of software internals, with the ability to debug issues using logs, traces, and diagnostics.
High emotional intelligence, empathy, and strong interpersonal skills, particularly in distributed team environments.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience in automotive, mobility, or embedded-adjacent domains is a plus, but not required.
Candidates should demonstrate the ability to quickly learn complex, safety-conscious systems.

Responsibilities

Quality Strategy & Systems Define, own, and continuously evolve Slate’s quality strategy across web, mobile, and vehicle-adjacent platforms, ensuring quality is embedded early and throughout the SDLC.
Establish testing strategies that reflect real customer workflows, system risk, and product complexity—including mobile-to-vehicle communication pathways.
Lead the thoughtful evaluation and application of AI-enabled quality practices, adopting tools and techniques that meaningfully improve test effectiveness, signal quality, and team efficiency.
Define quality standards, testing philosophies, and best practices, and clearly communicate the rationale behind them across teams.
Execution, Delivery & Risk Management Oversee test planning, test suites, and coverage to ensure critical customer and system paths are well understood and protected.
Guide the development and evolution of test automation frameworks and tooling, providing technical direction without being the primary implementer.
Actively partner with engineering teams during high-risk or high-visibility releases, rolling up sleeves as needed to support triage, decision-making, and execution.
Drive defect discovery, prioritization, and root-cause analysis through clear communication and cross-functional alignment.
Establish and track quality metrics that clearly communicate product health, risk, and release readiness to stakeholders.
Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner closely with Software Engineers, Product Managers, UX Designers, Customer Support, and Operations to align quality efforts with customer behavior, business priorities, and release timing.
Participate in design and architecture reviews and discussions to influence testability, system robustness, and long-term quality outcomes.
Champion quality-centric thinking, transparency, and shared ownership throughout CI/CD, release planning, and post-release learning.
People Leadership & Team Health Lead, mentor, and develop a team of QA engineers through regular 1:1s, coaching, feedback, and career development planning.
Own performance management processes, including goal setting, mid-year and annual reviews, and growth plans.
Foster a psychologically safe team environment that encourages experimentation, learning from failure, and continuous improvement.
Actively monitor team health within a distributed, remote-first environment—using strong emotional intelligence, empathy, and situational awareness to identify risks, burnout, or misalignment early.
Model and reinforce respectful collaboration, trust, and open communication across disciplines.
Communication, Documentation & Leadership Presence Author clear, well-structured strategy, design, and decision documents that articulate technical approaches, tradeoffs, and rationale.
Confidently present quality strategies, risks, and recommendations to senior leadership and, as needed, executive or board-level stakeholders.
Field questions, defend decisions, and adapt messaging appropriately for technical and non-technical audiences.