Lead Engineer - QA

Education & Experience 

• B.Tech / BE / MCA in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. 

• 6-8 years of experience in software engineering with a strong focus on quality engineering, test automation, and enterprise application testing. 

• Solid hands-on experience in Java, with the ability to contribute beyond test automation when required. 

Key Responsibilities & Essential Skills 

• Lead quality engineering activities for one or more product areas, ensuring high standards of quality across the delivery lifecycle. 

• Collaborate with product owners, business analysts, architects, and development leaders to understand business requirements, system design, and quality expectations. 

• Provide technical leadership in Java-based test automation and supporting frameworks. 

• Extensive hands-on experience with REST Assured for API automation and Playwright using TypeScript and/or Java. 

• Own and evolve the test automation strategy, frameworks, standards, and best practices in alignment with application architecture and roadmap. 

• Review requirements, user stories, and technical designs to identify test scenarios, edge cases, and quality risks early in the lifecycle. 

• Design, review, and ensure effective execution of automated and manual test cases covering functional, regression, integration, and end-to-end scenarios. 

• Lead sprint-level quality activities including story readiness, test coverage, regression analysis, and release validations. 

• Guide and mentor team members in identifying regression scenarios and converting them into reliable and maintainable automation. 

• Perform and oversee SDLC activities such as requirement analysis, impact analysis, test planning, and effort estimation. 

• Ensure effective defect management, including clear defect reporting, prioritization, root cause analysis, and validation of fixes. 

• Partner closely with development teams to improve testability, code quality, and overall engineering outcomes. 

• Support User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and provide technical guidance in analyzing complex issues reported by business or production support teams. 

• Participate in production support activities on a rotation basis when required, including incident analysis, root cause identification, and coordination with relevant teams. 

• Demonstrate flexibility to occasionally align with US business hours to support releases, stakeholder interactions, and critical production needs. 

• Ensure compliance with organizational quality standards, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices. 

• Prepare and present test metrics, quality KPIs, and release readiness reports to stakeholders. 

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across quality processes, tools, and methodologies. 

• Mentor and coach engineers across levels, promoting strong quality and engineering practices. 

• Take ownership of delivery outcomes and proactively identify risks, dependencies, and improvement opportunities. 

• Provide regular and effective status updates on progress, risks, and overall quality posture at the program or release level. 

Nice to Have 

• Strong analytical, debugging, and problem-solving skills with a system-level thinking approach. 

• Effective communication and stakeholder management skills. 

• Experience leading quality efforts in large, complex Agile delivery environments. 

• Prior exposure to insurance or other highly regulated enterprise domains. 

• Relevant certifications such as ISTQB (Foundation or Advanced) or SAFe Agile certifications.