Quality Assurance Lead
First seen by Alion on Sep 10, 2026. DataBeat scores C on the Alion truth index.
Role Overview:
We are seeking an experienced and technically strong QA Lead (Manual & Automation) with 4+ years of hands-on experience to join our engineering team.
You will play a critical role in driving our quality assurance strategy, architecting scalable test automation frameworks, and executing high-impact manual exploratory testing.
In this role, you will collaborate closely with product management, development, DevOps, and security teams in a fast-paced Agile environment to establish robust testing standards, optimize regression feedback loops, and ensure high-quality, resilient software delivery.
What You'll Do:
QA Leadership & Quality Strategy:
- Lead end-to-end testing efforts across web, mobile, and API layers throughout the SDLC.
- Define test strategies, author comprehensive test plans, establish quality metrics/KPIs, and make data-driven release readiness decisions.
Test Automation Engineering:
- Design, build, and maintain enterprise-grade test automation frameworks for UI and API layers.
- Integrate automated suites into modern CI/CD pipelines to enable continuous testing and rapid feedback loops.
Manual & Exploratory Testing:
- Perform deep exploratory, functional, regression, edge-case, and smoke testing for complex microservices and feature rollouts.
- Ensure end-to-end user workflows function seamlessly across environments.
API & Integration Testing:
- Conduct thorough RESTful API testing, contract validation, and integration testing using tools like Postman, REST Assured, or Playwright API modules.
Defect Management & Root Cause Analysis:
- Identify, document, track, and triage bugs using Jira.
- Participate in release management, validate pre-production builds, perform post-deployment verification, and execute root cause analysis (RCA) on production incidents.
Security & Compliance Testing:
- Collaborate with DevSecOps to incorporate basic security testing standards, data privacy validation, and vulnerability checks into test plans, upholding enterprise data protection protocols.
Collaboration & Mentorship:
- Mentor junior QA engineers, conduct peer code and test case reviews, advocate for Shift-Left quality practices, and participate in sprint planning, backlog grooming, and architecture reviews.
Qualifications & Requirements:
- Experience: 4+ years of dedicated hands-on experience in Software Quality Assurance, with a proven track record in a senior or lead capacity.
- Automation Expertise: Strong hands-on experience building and scaling automation frameworks using tools such as Cypress, Playwright, Selenium, or Appium (in TypeScript/JavaScript, Python, or Java).
- Manual Testing & Strategy: Exceptional analytical skills for requirement analysis, test design, user journey mapping, and exploratory testing methodologies.
- API Testing: Proficient in API test design, payload validation, and toolsets like Postman, REST Assured, or Swagger.
- CI/CD & DevOps Integration: Solid experience integrating automated tests into continuous integration pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or GitLab CI).
- Database & SQL: Working knowledge of relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and running complex SQL queries for data verification and test setup.
- Agile & Process: Deep understanding of Agile/Scrum delivery models, sprint ceremonies, and quality governance.
Preferred Skills (Nice-to-Have):
- Certifications: ISTQB Advanced Level (Test Analyst / Test Manager) or AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.
- Performance Testing: Hands-on exposure to load and performance testing tools (JMeter, k6, or Locust).
- Security & Scanning: Familiarity with static security analysis tools (SonarQube) and basic web security concepts (OWASP Top 10).
- Data & Event Systems: Familiarity with testing event-driven architectures, caching, and message queues (Kafka, Redis, or RabbitMQ).
Information Security & ISO 27001 Compliance:
- Security is at the heart of everything we do.
- In this role, you will be strictly required to uphold our Information Security Management System (ISMS) policies in alignment with ISO/IEC 27001 standards.
- Responsibilities include safeguarding sensitive asset data, completing mandatory security awareness training, reporting potential security incidents or vulnerabilities immediately, and ensuring daily QA operations comply with rigorous data protection protocols.
Skills
Selenium, Cypress, API Testing, Automation Testing, Manual Testing, ISTQB, Information Security, Playwright Testing