Quality Lead

Position: Quality Lead

Company: Confidential Health Plan

Location: Remote – Travel x2 every six months 2 days, meet in middle.

Employment Type: Temporary / Contract, with potential conversion to full-time employment (not guaranteed). Works PDT. 9AM through 4:00 PM PST.

Experience Required: 10+ years leading QA and testing for complex, multidisciplinary IT projects

Program Scope: 30+ interrelated projects

Primary Focus: Enterprise QA leadership, integrated testing strategy, program governance, project coordination, and release quality

Overview

• Executive presentation, designs dashboards, controls/governance scalable dashboards. Deep testing experience and testing strategy, No actual hands on testing all strategy and development to execute across, test end to end strategy document and work with teams test plans and roll up into program level end to end strategy. Cut over strategy planning. Make sure have a plan and approach before any testing.
• Client is seeking an experienced Quality Lead to establish a coordinated, transparent, and business-focused approach to quality assurance across a complex program involving more than 30 interrelated IT projects.
• The Quality Lead will bridge IT and business teams, ensuring that testing strategies validate both technical requirements and real-world operational scenarios. Rather than allowing IT and business testing activities to operate as separate tracks, this individual will bring together a consistent quality framework covering unit, functional, integration, end-to-end, performance, and user acceptance testing.
• The role combines strategic quality leadership with hands-on project coordination. The Quality Lead will work with QA managers, testing teams, development, business analysts, product owners, PMO Test Leads, UAT Test Leads, and business stakeholders to align testing approaches, identify risks, and improve program-wide quality outcomes.
• The successful candidate will refine existing test strategies, standardize quality measures, strengthen defect governance, establish consistent entry and exit criteria, and provide reliable quality assessments to support go/no-go decisions.
• This is a cross-functional leadership role requiring the ability to influence teams and stakeholders through established program governance, rather than necessarily exercising direct management authority over every testing team.

Purpose: Help ensure the successful delivery of a major, complex technology program by establishing a consistent approach to quality across more than 30 interconnected projects. Your leadership will connect technical testing outcomes to real business risks, operational readiness, and release decisions.

Objectives

1. Establish an Integrated Quality and Testing Strategy Across the Program. assess the existing quality and testing approaches across the program's 30+ interrelated projects and establish a coordinated testing strategy aligned with business and technical requirements. Bring together IT-led unit and integration testing, QA-led system and performance testing, PMO-supported end-to-end testing, and business-led UAT into a consistent program-level quality framework. Collaborate with QA managers, PMO Test Leads, UAT Test Leads, development teams, and business stakeholders to clarify responsibilities, coverage expectations, dependencies, and entry and exit criteria. Success will be measured by stakeholder acceptance of the integrated testing approach, documented ownership of major testing activities, and adoption of agreed quality standards across the applicable project teams.
2. Strengthen Program-Level Test Planning, Coordination, and Delivery Predictability. Within the first 60–120 days, establish a consistent process for coordinating testing activities, schedules, resources, dependencies, and milestone readiness across multiple projects and products. Work with project managers and testing leads to provide detailed schedule inputs using Microsoft Project and other approved planning tools while identifying cross-project conflicts and testing risks. Establish a consolidated view of test preparation, execution, defects, and critical milestones so that project teams can make timely adjustments. Success will be measured by improved visibility into testing schedules and dependencies, timely identification of priority risks, and achievement of agreed testing milestones.
3. Implement Consistent Quality Governance, Defect Management, and Release Readiness Standards. evaluate and refine existing quality gates, testing entry and exit criteria, defect management practices, and release readiness procedures across the program. Establish consistent expectations for defect severity, remediation ownership, retesting, quality evidence, and escalation through existing governance channels. Partner with business and UAT Test Leads to ensure that quality assessments include both technical validation and business acceptance before release recommendations are made. Success will be measured by adoption of agreed governance standards, improved visibility and disposition of critical defects, and documented quality assessments supporting key go/no-go decisions.
4. Establish Transparent Quality Metrics and Drive Continuous Improvement. develop a consistent program-level approach to quality reporting, risk assessment, and continuous improvement using existing testing and project management tools. Consolidate meaningful indicators such as testing progress, requirements coverage, defect severity and aging, retest results, unresolved risks, and readiness against agreed quality gates. Communicate quality health in business-relevant terms and guide QA teams in identifying recurring defects, process weaknesses, and opportunities to improve testing efficiency. Success will be measured by adoption of consistent quality dashboards, timely escalation of material risks, and demonstrated improvements against quality and testing performance measures agreed with program leadership.

Subtasks

1. Assess Current Testing Practices and Program Quality Risks. review the existing testing strategies, project plans, quality standards, governance processes, and delivery dependencies across the program's interrelated projects. Meet with QA managers, PMO Test Leads, UAT Test Leads, business stakeholders, development teams, and project leadership to understand current responsibilities and testing gaps. Identify inconsistencies in test coverage, scheduling, defect management, reporting, and release readiness. Success will be measured by completion of a program quality assessment, identification of priority quality risks, and agreement on the areas requiring immediate alignment.
2. Define the Integrated Testing Model and Team Responsibilities. establish a coordinated approach to unit, functional, system integration, performance, end-to-end, and user acceptance testing. Work with the responsible IT, QA, PMO, and business testing leads to clarify testing ownership, dependencies, entry criteria, exit criteria, and expected evidence of completion. Ensure that technical test coverage and business operational scenarios are considered together rather than managed as disconnected testing activities. Success will be measured by acceptance of the integrated testing model, documented testing responsibilities, and approval of the initial program-level coverage and coordination approach.
3. Coordinate Testing Plans, Schedules, and Cross-Project Dependencies. review testing plans and milestone schedules across the program to identify conflicts, dependencies, resource constraints, and delivery risks. Provide testing-related schedule inputs to project managers using Microsoft Project and coordinate with project and testing leads to address timing or sequencing issues. Establish a repeatable process for tracking testing preparation, execution, and critical milestones across the relevant projects. Success will be measured by a consolidated view of testing dependencies, documented resolution or escalation of priority scheduling conflicts, and improved reliability of agreed testing milestones.
4. Standardize Defect Management and Quality Gate Criteria. evaluate existing defect management workflows and entry and exit criteria for QA, UAT, smoke testing, and other relevant testing phases. Partner with QA managers and business testing leads to clarify defect classification, remediation ownership, retesting expectations, and the evidence required for quality signoff. Integrate these practices into existing program governance and establish escalation procedures for significant unresolved quality risks. Success will be measured by consistent application of agreed defect and quality gate standards, improved transparency into critical defect status, and documented decisions on exceptions.
5. Establish Program-Wide Quality Reporting and Stakeholder Communication. develop or refine dashboards and reporting processes that provide a consistent view of testing progress, coverage, defect health, and release readiness. Use Jira, available test management systems, and established program reporting tools to consolidate quality information from participating teams. Translate technical testing results into business impacts, delivery risks, and recommended actions for program stakeholders.
6. Guide Release Readiness, Quality Decisions, and Team Improvement. coordinate quality assessments for major program milestones and provide evidence-based recommendations supporting release go/no-go decisions. Work with UAT Test Leads and business stakeholders to establish appropriate joint signoff practices while escalating unresolved risks through established governance channels. Mentor QA team members and guide improvements in test design, execution discipline, defect analysis, and quality practices across participating teams. Success will be measured by completion of agreed readiness assessments, documented disposition of material quality risks, and adoption of targeted improvements to testing and governance practices.

Requirements

• Program-Level QA Leadership: At least 10 years of experience leading QA and testing activities across complex, multidisciplinary IT projects.
• Integrated Testing Strategy: Demonstrated ability to coordinate unit, functional, integration, end-to-end, performance, and UAT activities across different teams and organizational functions.
• Cross-Project Coordination: Experience coordinating testing schedules, dependencies, and deliverables across multiple concurrent projects, products, or programs.
• QA and Project Leadership: Proven ability to combine quality assurance leadership with project management and delivery coordination responsibilities.
• Business and IT Alignment: Ability to translate technical quality issues into business risks and align testing with real-world operational requirements.
• Testing Governance: Experience establishing or refining test strategies, entry and exit criteria, quality gates, defect management processes, and release readiness standards.
• Quality Metrics and Reporting: Experience developing meaningful quality measures, reporting dashboards, risk assessments, and recommendations for release decisions.
• SDLC and Delivery Methodologies: Strong understanding of software development lifecycles and quality practices in Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid delivery environments.
• Testing Technical Breadth: Knowledge of unit testing, functional testing, system integration testing, UAT, end-to-end testing, performance testing, and related tools and practices.
• Defect and Release Management: Experience with defect tracking, remediation lifecycles, version control practices, software release processes, and testing-related quality controls.
• Project and Testing Tools: Proficiency with project scheduling tools, including Microsoft Project, and experience with Jira, test management systems, and defect tracking tools.
• Automation and DevOps Awareness: Familiarity with test automation frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and version control systems such as Git or SVN.
• Leadership and Communication: Strong stakeholder influence, cross-functional communication, mentoring, problem-solving, and ability to manage competing priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Certifications: ISTQB, PMP, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Six Sigma, or comparable relevant certifications.
• Regulated Industry Experience: Experience in healthcare, financial services, or another regulated industry.
• Test Automation: Knowledge of test automation tools and frameworks.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• The ideal candidate is a senior QA Program Lead, Enterprise Test Lead, Quality Assurance Lead, or Testing Program Manager who has successfully coordinated quality activities across a large portfolio of interrelated IT projects.
• This individual has experience leading testing strategy and governance across multiple teams rather than focusing exclusively on test case execution or the management of a single QA team.
• The strongest candidates will have worked in environments where IT testing, QA testing, end-to-end validation, and business UAT were managed by different groups. They should be able to explain how they brought those groups together, clarified ownership, improved test coverage, and established consistent quality and release readiness practices.
• The candidate must also demonstrate practical project leadership skills, including scheduling, dependency management, risk identification, cross-functional coordination, and communication with technical and business stakeholders.
• A particularly strong candidate will have supported a major enterprise transformation or complex program, established common testing standards, improved defect visibility, and provided credible quality recommendations at important release milestones.
• Healthcare or other regulated-industry experience would be valuable, but the central selection criterion should be demonstrated success leading integrated QA and testing across complex programs.
• The successful candidate should be comfortable influencing multiple testing organizations through collaboration and established governance rather than relying exclusively on direct management authority.

Long-Term Success: Establish a sustainable, coordinated approach to QA and testing that improves delivery predictability, strengthens business confidence in release readiness