QA Lead Engineer/QA Manager

Summary: The QA Lead Engineer/QA Manager role involves overseeing quality assurance processes within a utilities client on a 6-month contract basis. The position requires the development and implementation of QA strategies, management of testing activities, and collaboration with various stakeholders to ensure product quality. The role is hybrid, allowing for a mix of on-site and remote work. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading testing projects and ensuring adherence to quality standards throughout the software development lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, implement and maintain comprehensive QA strategies, test plans and test cases aligned with product goals and project timelines.
• Define and establish quality metrics and reporting mechanisms to track and communicate testing progress, results and overall product quality.
• Identify and implement appropriate testing frameworks and tools to optimise the QA process.
• Contribute to risk assessment and mitigation strategies from a quality perspective.
• Oversee the execution of testing, whether that be internal or external, including functional, integration, regression, performance and security testing.
• Analyse test results, identify defects and work closely with developments teams to ensure timely resolution.
• Utilise and manage bug tracking systems effectively.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of automated test suites where appropriate.
• Collaborate effectively with delivery leads, developers, product owners, and other stakeholders throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Communicate clearly and concisely on testing progress, risk and issues to team management and stakeholders.
• Participate in sprint planning, daily stand-up meetings, retrospectives and other team activities providing valuable quality insights.
• Continuously evaluate and promote a culture of quality and continuous improvement within the team.
• Recommend and stay up-to date with the latest testing methodologies, tools and techniques.
• Proactively identify and implement process improvements to enhance the quality and efficiency of testing activities.

Key Skills:

• Strong understanding of software development lifecycles and agile methodologies.
• Solid experience with various testing techniques and methodologies.
• Strong planning and organisation skills.
• Strong communication, interpersonal and collaboration skills. Being able to effectively communicate to stakeholders and third parties is a must.
• Solid experience of leading and managing testing projects.
• Hands on experience of using test management tools.
• Hands on experience with bug tracking systems.
• Familiarity with automation testing tools and frameworks. (For example, Ranorex Studio, Postman, Playwright, Selenium and NUnit/JUnit/MSTest.)
• Experience of using Azure DevOps is preferable but not essential.
• Experience with Agile development methodologies. (For example, Scrum and Kanban.)
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and integration of testing within these pipelines.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong attention to detail and a strong work ethic.
• Experience in Energy Trading and Risk Management preferable.
• AI testing experience preferable.

Salary (Rate): £600/day

City: Perth

Country: UK

Working Arrangements: hybrid

IR35 Status: inside IR35

Seniority Level: undetermined

Industry: IT