QA Automation Lead

About the Role :

As our QA & Automation Lead, you will be at the forefront of shaping and scaling our quality engineering function. Reporting directly to the CDO, you’ll take ownership of a talented team of 8–10 QA engineers across delivery units and responsible for maturing and scaling our quality assurance practices his is a strategic role that requires a blend of deep technical expertise, strong leadership, and a forward-thinking approach to quality.

A key mandate will be to lead the organization towards a highly automated, scalable, and efficient quality ecosystem that ensures zero-defect, high-performance releases. You’ll play a hands-on role in designing and implementing robust automation frameworks, while also mentoring and upskilling the QA team. Beyond tools and processes, you’ll champion a culture of quality-first thinking across engineering, product, and delivery teams — ensuring our sports and gaming products consistently deliver flawless, high-impact user experiences.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy: 

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of 8-10 QA engineers, setting clear goals and conducting performance reviews.
• Evolve and execute a comprehensive QA vision and automation strategy that aligns with our fast_x0002_paced product roadmap.
• Define and track key quality metrics and KRAs, providing regular reports and insights to senior leadership (CTO/CDO).
• Champion quality assurance best practices within our Agile/Scrum development process, ensuring quality is a shared responsibility. 

Automation & Technical Excellence:

• Architect and enhance our test automation frameworks across Web, Mobile, and API platforms using modern tools and technologies.
• Remain hands-on by contributing to the automation codebase, performing code reviews, and tackling complex testing challenges to lead by example.
• Drive the integration of automated testing into our CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins and GitHub to enable robust continuous testing.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of a comprehensive regression suite, optimizing for coverage and execution time.

Process & Quality Assurance:

• Own all QA documentation, including Test Strategies, Test Plans, and detailed test cases within tools like TestRail / JIRA / AIO
• Collaborate closely with customers, delivery managers, developers, and DevOps to ensure quality is embedded throughout the entire software development lifecycle.
• Manage defect tracking and triage processes using Jira, ensuring timely resolution of issues.
• Advocate for the best tools and technologies to improve team efficiency and product quality.
• Ensure E2E traceability with close collaboration with Product Owner & Delivery Managers.

Required Skills & Experience:

Experience:

• A total of 10+ years of progressive experience in Software Quality Assurance.
• A minimum of 3+ years in a leadership capacity, managing and mentoring QA engineers.
• Proven experience working directly with a variety of clients (small, medium, and large-scale).
• Experience in the sports, media, or gaming domain is a significant plus.

Technical Skills:

• Programming: Strong proficiency in one or more languages such as Java, Python, or JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Automation Frameworks: Extensive hands-on experience with automation tools like Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, or Appium.
• API Testing: Expertise in API automation and manual testing using tools like Postman and libraries like REST Assured.
• CI/CD: Solid understanding of CI/CD principles and practical experience with tools like Jenkins or GitHub
• Test Management: Proficiency with tools like Jira for bug tracking and TestRail / AIO for test case management.

Methodologies & Soft Skills:

• Deep expertise in Agile and Scrum methodologies.
• Exceptional leadership, coaching, and team-building skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• A strategic mindset with strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.