Associate Director, Quality Engineering (12 Months contract)
Summary
Leads a QA team to design and implement automated testing strategies for banking software, databases, and APIs, using SQL, Azure ML, and CI/CD pipelines.
We are seeking an Associate Director, QA to lead and shape the automation testing strategy for our software applications, systems, and databases. This leadership role requires a strong technical background in software testing, SQL for database validation, and systems testing. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience managing and mentoring high-performing AQA teams, establishing quality assurance best practices, and driving end-to-end automation initiatives across complex software applications. This role combines both strategic leadership and hands-on technical expertise, focusing on ensuring that the quality of our products meets the highest standards.
Main Activities:
- Leadership & Team Management: Lead and manage the AQA team, including hiring, mentoring, and developing engineers. Foster a high-performing team culture focused on quality, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Automation Strategy: Define and implement the strategic vision for test automation across software applications, systems, and databases. Drive the adoption of automation best practices, methodologies, and frameworks across the organization.
- SQL Database Testing: Oversee the development and execution of SQL-based automated tests for database validation, ensuring data integrity, performance, and security across multiple databases
- Integration of AI and Machine Learning: Leverage Azure Machine Learning (ML) to develop predictive models for automated testing, improving test coverage, and identifying potential software issues before they arise.
- Software Testing Leadership: Guide the automation of testing for various types of software applications (desktop, APIs) and systems, ensuring full test coverage and system reliability.
- Continuous Improvement: Drive the improvement of automation frameworks, testing processes, and toolsets to increase efficiency, scalability, and maintainability of test automation efforts.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with product management, development, and DevOps teams to ensure that testing efforts align with business objectives and product delivery timelines.
- Test Planning and Execution: Establish and enforce standards for test planning, execution, and reporting. Ensure comprehensive test coverage across all layers of the application stack, from UI to backend systems and databases.
CI/CD Pipeline Integration: Oversee the integration of test automation into the CI/CD pipelines, ensuring automated tests run seamlessly as part of the build and deployment processes. - Performance & Load Testing: Manage performance testing efforts for both applications and databases to ensure that systems can scale and perform efficiently under load.
- Quality Assurance Metrics: Define, measure, and report on key quality metrics, including defect density, test coverage, and test execution status. Use these metrics to continuously refine and improve testing strategies.
- Risk & Issue Management: Proactively identify potential risks to product quality and take appropriate action to mitigate risks, resolve issues, and communicate findings to key stakeholders.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Regularly update senior management and cross-functional teams on test results, challenges, and improvements, ensuring transparency and alignment with business goals.
Skills/Knowledge Requirements:
- At least 10+ years of experience in AQA or software testing, with 5+ years in a leadership or management position. Proven experience overseeing test automation across software applications, systems, and databases.
- Advanced proficiency in SQL, with extensive experience in writing complex queries, validating database integrity, and performing data migration and ETL testing.
- Strong experience with Azure Purview, Power Automate, Azure DevOps, and Azure Machine Learning.
- In-depth experience with test automation tools and frameworks such as Selenium, JUnit, TestNG, Cypress, Appium, or similar tools. Strong background in developing and maintaining scalable test automation frameworks.
- Experience testing a broad range of software applications (web, desktop, mobile) and systems (APIs, databases) with a strong focus on ensuring both functional and data quality.
- Experience managing and conducting performance, load, and stress testing for both software applications and databases using tools such as JMeter, LoadRunner, or equivalent.
- Proven expertise in integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, Bamboo, or other CI/CD platforms.
- Strong leadership, organizational, and strategic thinking skills. Experience in leading large, distributed teams and guiding them through complex, multi-stage testing projects.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, with the ability to diagnose complex issues across software applications, systems, and databases.
- Solid experience in Agile environments, with a deep understanding of Agile testing principles and practices.
- Experience with test management tools (ex: JIRA) for tracking test cases, defects, and metrics.