Senior Manager, Quality Assurance

West Coast University, Inc. • Irvine, CA

50d

About The Position

Reporting to the VP, Application Development in a multi-faceted, multi-location academic setting, the Senior Manager, Quality Assurance leads the QA strategy and execution across American Career College (ACC), West Coast University (WCU), and Administration value streams. Leads the end‑to‑end QA function across American Career College (ACC), West Coast University (WCU), and Administration in a multi‑campus, multi‑system academic environment. You will build and scale a blended onshore-offshore QA organization that safeguards quality for AI‑enabled experiences, modern web applications, and enterprise integrations spanning student, academic, and administrative value streams. This role is both strategic and hands‑on as you will set the QA vision and standards, implement automation and CI/CD quality gates, establish AI safety and evaluation practices, and deliver measurable improvements in reliability, accessibility, performance, and cost‑to‑serve. You will partner closely with product owners, engineering leaders, academic stakeholders, data/AI teams, Security and Compliance, and external vendors to turn institutional priorities into release‑ready outcomes. Success looks like predictable delivery across multiple concurrent initiatives, transparent quality metrics, Responsible AI guardrails in production, and a high‑performing, inclusive QA team operating effectively across time zones.

Requirements

• Bachelor degree in computer science, information systems, electronics engineering, voice/data communications, public/business administration, or a related field required; Master's degree preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive QA experience, including 3+ years managing teams and running QA across multiple concurrent initiatives/value streams.
• Hands-on expertise with Web stacks: React/TypeScript & Azure Services.
• Test automation: Playwright or Cypress; SpecFlow/NUnit/xUnit; Postman/Newman; contract testing with Pact.
• CI/CD and environments: Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions; familiarity with IaC.
• Demonstrated QA leadership for AI, including safety and evaluation practices.
• Experience leading onshore-offshore QA delivery and managing vendors/partners.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills; ability to influence executives, academic leaders, and technical teams.
• Working knowledge of FERPA, accessibility (WCAG 2.2), and secure test data practices.
• Demonstrates a high level of understanding of enterprise architecture discipline. Has in-depth knowledge of current and planned Information Technology systems portfolio.
• Demonstrates a high level of business knowledge.
• Ability to manage and work effectively in a highly ethnic and culturally diverse student and associate community.
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal. Must be able to communicate technical matters into messages that can be broadly understood across the organization.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Ability to self-direct, self-pace, multi-task, and function well under pressure of deadlines and conflicting priorities.
• Willingness to work a flexible schedule.
• Ability to travel/drive locally on a weekly, daily and/or on an as needed basis.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with CampusVue, Salesforce CRM, Oracle HCM and Great Plains preferred.
• Previous experience with higher education strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Quality Strategy & Governance
• AI/LLM Quality & Safety
• Test Automation & Tooling
• Performance, Reliability, & Observability
• Accessibility, Privacy, & Security
• People Leadership & Onshore-Offshore Delivery
• Vendor & Partner Management
• Portfolio, Value Streams, & Stakeholder Communication

Benefits

• Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, 401(k) match, paid time off, holidays, parental leave, tuition reimbursement, adoption assistance, health savings accounts, employee discounts, commuter benefits, and company paid life, AD&D and LTD insurance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Educational Services
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees