Lead QA Engineer

Lead QA Engineer (Hands-on Automation).

Hybrid mode - 3 days onsite a week - Irvine, CA.

Mandatory Skills - BeagleTest, Hands-on scripting (Java/Python), Selenium/Playwright & API Automation, Test Automation Architecture & Framework Design, CI/CD, DevOps & Agile QA Practices

Duration - 12+ months, long-term

Experience

8+ years of experience in Software Quality Assurance and Test Automation.

2+ years of experience leading QA teams or driving QA initiatives.

Proven experience working as a hands-on automation engineer while leading technical efforts.

Required Skills

Strong experience in automation requirement gathering and solution design

Demonstrated expertise in full-stack quality assurance and test engineering

Experience in architecting test automation solutions for enterprise applications (web, SOA, ETL, backend)

Strong leadership and supervisory skills with the ability to manage teams and drive cross-functional alignment

Proven experience in leading discussions with Development and Production teams, including defect triage and release decisions

Proficiency with open-source automation tools:  Selenium, Playwright, Cucumber, REST Assured, Postman, SOAP UI

Expertise in automation frameworks: Keyword-driven, Data-driven, Hybrid, BDD, TDD

Programming skills: Java, Python, C#, Groovy

Strong experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices: Jenkins, Docker, Maven, Gradle

Hands-on experience with cloud platforms and monitoring tools: AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, Grafana, Kibana, Elasticsearch

Expertise in QA tools: Selenium WebDriver, Jira, TestNG, Appium, HP ALM, JBehave

Strong ability to: Manage sprint-based testing cycles, Drive automation maturity and scalability, Quickly learn new technologies and drive innovation, Deep understanding of Agile QA methodologies and best practices

Key Job Functions / Requirements

Lead the design, development, and implementation of enterprise-level test automation architecture and frameworks

Supervise, mentor, and manage a team of QA engineers, ensuring high performance, skill growth, and accountability

Own and drive end-to-end quality strategy, including functional, integration, E2E, performance, and automation testing

Lead technical discussions and decision-making with Development teams to ensure testability, quality standards, and defect prevention

Act as the primary QA point of contact for Production/Operations teams, driving: Production defect analysis and root cause identification, Feedback loop into QA and Development, Continuous improvement in production stability

Develop test tools, test beds, data mock-ups, and other test infrastructure to enable continuous testing and integration

Drive implementation of advanced automation practices in an Agile/Scrum environment (BDD/TDD, shift-left testing)

Research tool capabilities and integrate with other technologies by coding interfaces, custom functions, and reusable components

Work with multiple teams to drive continuous improvement initiatives and ensure successful adoption

Conduct automation code reviews to ensure quality, scalability, and adherence to best practices

Collaborate with Product and Development teams for requirement clarification, estimation, and test strategy design

Establish and maintain a Behavior/Test-Driven Development culture

Support refactoring of legacy code to improve testability and automation coverage

Provide oversight on test infrastructure, environments, and test data management

Own Release Automation & Deployment Automation across multiple environments

Lead release readiness discussions and ensure quality gates are met before production deployments

Collect and analyze test metrics, provide insights, and make recommendations to stakeholders

Drive usage of monitoring tools, log aggregation, dashboards, and analytics to ensure operational excellence

Provide technical guidance on automation, performance, scalability, security, and testing design

Lead stakeholder communications, providing clear updates on quality status, risks, and mitigation plans

Ensure strong collaboration across QA, Development, Product, and Production teams for seamless delivery