Quality Engineering Lead

ECPI University•Virginia Beach, VA

About The Position

The Quality Engineering Lead is responsible for leading the transformation to a modern quality model, embedding quality across the software lifecycle through shift-left testing, automation, and enforceable quality standards. This role balances execution and strategy while establishing best practices, standards, and governance to support long-term growth to establish a federated quality model across delivery teams. The ideal candidate is self-driven, pragmatic, detail-oriented, and capable of building lightweight but effective QA processes in a collaborative environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
5+ years of experience in software QA
Experience building or maturing QA processes
Strong understanding of modern quality engineering practices (automation, CI/CD, shift-left)
Experience defining quality strategy in complex system environments
Experience with enterprise systems (ERP, SaaS platforms, integrations, and data platforms)
Experience with automated testing frameworks (e.g., Playwright, Selenium, etc.)
Experience with API and integration testing
Understanding of SDLC and Agile methodologies
Strong analytical and investigative skills
Excellent communication and stakeholder coordination skills
Highly independent and self-motivated

Nice To Haves

Experience implementing QA in growing or transforming organizations
Familiarity with CI/CD tools
2+ years in a lead or senior QA role
ISTQB or equivalent certification

Responsibilities

Quality Transformation & Enablement: Lead transition to quality engineering practices, Mentor developers and BAs on writing testable requirements & unit/integration test expectations, Drive adoption of developer-owned testing (unit, integration, contract testing), Promote testability in system design and architecture, Embed quality ownership within delivery teams, Establish “definition of done” inclusive of quality gates, Coach teams on risk-based and lean testing approaches.
Test Strategy & Oversight: Design and implement a scalable QA framework tailored to organizational needs, Define QA standards, processes, templates, and governance practices, Develop testing strategies across unit, integration, system, regression, and UAT support, Define testing strategies across: integrated systems (APIs, middleware, SaaS platforms), data pipelines and transformations and downstream reporting impacts, Establish data validation frameworks (reconciliation, completeness, accuracy), Ensure end-to-end test coverage across system boundaries, Define release readiness criteria and quality gates, Establish entry/exit criteria for each testing phase, Introduce testability standards for requirements, Apply lean testing principles: eliminate redundant testing; prioritize high-risk areas; and optimize test coverage vs effort, Continuously evaluate ROI of testing activities, Introduce best practices in risk-based testing and test coverage.
Test Planning & Execution: Ensure appropriate test design and coverage aligned to risk and business criticality, Oversee defect lifecycle and quality signal integrity, Identify, document, and track defects through resolution, Define and enforce automated-first testing strategy, Ensure appropriate coverage at unit, API, and integration layers, Minimize manual regression through automation and risk-based testing.
Test Automation: Establish and expand automated test coverage, Select and implement appropriate automation tools and frameworks, Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines where applicable, Define automation standards and maintain test suites, Drive toward automation-first testing model, Ensure critical paths are fully automated, Continuously reduce manual regression footprint.
Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement: Escalate quality risks proactively to leadership, Communicate testing progress, risks, and quality metrics to stakeholders, Own and drive UAT planning and execution, Hold teams accountable for meeting quality standards, Challenge incomplete or untestable requirements, Enforce adherence to QA and release standards, Act as final quality authority for release readiness, including the ability to block releases that do not meet defined criteria.
Quality Governance & Standards: Owns and enforces enterprise quality standards, Establishes mandatory quality gates for all releases, Establishes audit/compliance mechanisms, Conducts periodic quality audits across teams, Define controls for validating data integrity across environments (test vs production), Owns release quality sign-off.
Continuous Improvement: Introduce metrics and KPIs to measure quality and testing effectiveness, Conduct root cause analysis on defects and recommend improvements, Promote a quality-first mindset across teams, Keep QA processes lightweight while maintaining discipline and rigor.