Senior Automation Engineer

Senior QA Lead

Location: Houston, TX (Remote, US; Houston-based candidates preferred) | Reports To: Director of Product | Contract-to-Hire

Overview

Our client is seeking a Senior QA Lead to build the quality function for its pharmacy management software: an end-to-end platform for compounding pharmacies covering e-prescribing, production and batching, labeling, inventory and billing, now being rebuilt on a modern, API-ready SaaS foundation and moving to the cloud. This is a build-and-lead role: you'll set the QA strategy, build test automation, mentor a junior QA, and have the runway to grow into leading the QA function. This role starts as a contract-to-hire engagement with the intent to convert to full-time.

Responsibilities

• Own the QA strategy: how quality is planned, tested, automated and measured, tied to the modernization roadmap
• Define a phased approach: stabilize, automate the highest-risk workflows first, then expand coverage as the platform moves to the cloud
• Select, build and maintain automated UI, API and regression suites that run in the delivery pipeline
• Own release quality: the evidence, sign-off discipline and go/no-go rigor behind every release
• Plan and execute testing across core workflows: e-prescribing, prescription processing, production and batching, labeling, inventory, billing and accounts receivable, and integrations (POS, IVR, QuickBooks, payments)
• Test a .NET / WinForms application using DevExpress UI components and data-heavy grids, backed by PostgreSQL, including performance, logging and traceability
• Partner with the external development team: review sprint deliverables, agree on test evidence and documentation, and raise quality concerns early and with evidence
• Test two systems through the transition: keep the current product stable while the new version is built, including data migration, parallel workflows and peripherals such as scales and balances
• Protect patient data: HIPAA-aware testing, compliant test data, and no protected health information in defects, logs, screenshots or test artifacts
• Test in the regulatory context compounding pharmacies operate in, including USP 795/797 workflows, audit logs and reporting, and prescription types (controlled, office use, OTC)
• Turn support-ticket and escaped-defect patterns into regression coverage
• Define and track quality KPIs: escaped defects, automation coverage, regression cycle time and release predictability
• Work in two-week sprints with daily stand-ups and run QA visibly in Azure DevOps, with traceability from acceptance criteria to release evidence
• Mentor the junior QA and partner with the Business Analyst so acceptance criteria are testable before development starts

Required Qualifications

• 5-7 years in software quality assurance, including senior or lead-level ownership of QA for a product or platform
• Demonstrated experience building test automation in a SaaS environment, including framework selection, build-out and maintenance
• Hands-on experience with modern automation frameworks (Playwright, Selenium, Cypress or similar) and API testing
• Experience testing workflow-heavy, transactional systems where accuracy and auditability matter
• Strong Agile experience (Scrum, SAFe or similar), including test planning within sprints and release cycles
• Experience mentoring or leading other QA team members

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in healthcare, pharmacy or another regulated industry
• Background with pharmacy management systems (PMS), EMR, ERP or similar workflow-heavy platforms
• Experience testing a platform through modernization or a move to the cloud
• Performance, reliability or integration testing across third-party systems (payments, POS, e-prescribing)
• Testing .NET desktop (WinForms) applications, DevExpress or similar component-heavy UIs, or PostgreSQL-backed systems
• Test management and defect tracking in Azure DevOps or a similar tool
• Working with external development vendors, including reviewing deliverables and documentation
• Working knowledge of HIPAA as it applies to testing, test data, logging and defect reporting
• Familiarity with pharmacy claims/billing standards (e.g., NCPDP) or healthcare interoperability standards
• Use of AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude) for test design, data and documentation

Pay rate: $62/hr. This is a 6-month contract-to-hire position, remote in the US (Houston, TX preferred).