QA-COE

QA CoE is responsible for driving enterprise-wide quality engineering transformation with a strong emphasis on test automation strategy, tool standardization, and CI/CD integration. This role leads the Quality Assurance Center of Excellence, ensuring scalable automation frameworks, optimal tool usage, and consistent quality practices across portfolios.

The role combines program governance, technical depth in automation tools, and strategic leadership to deliver faster, predictable, and high-quality releases.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute enterprise QA and automation strategy aligned with business and engineering goals
• Establish standardized automation frameworks, reusable components, and coding standards
• Govern tool usage to maximize ROI and minimize duplication across teams
• Define automation KPIs such as coverage, stability, execution time, and defect leakage
• Manage QA programs across multiple products and engineering teams
• Drive release readiness through automation insights and quality risk analysis
• Track tool adoption, automation maturity, and execution efficiency at portfolio level
• Ensure delivery adherence across Agile, SAFe, and hybrid models
• Embed Shift-Left testing, test-driven quality, and API-first validation
• Enable CI/CD-driven continuous testing and release gating
• Promote AI-assisted testing, self-healing automation, and test optimization practices
• Reduce manual regression through automation-first models

Automation & Tool Expertise (Core Focus)

• Provide hands-on leadership and architectural guidance across automation tools including:

UI Automation

• Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, TestCafe

API & Service Automation

• RestAssured, Postman/Newman, Karate, SOAP UI

Performance & Reliability Testing

• JMeter, Gatling, LoadRunner, k6

Test Management & QA Platforms

• Azure Test Plans, Jira + Xray/Zephyr, TestRail

CI/CD & DevOps Integration (nice to have)

• Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI
• Integrate automated tests into build and release pipelines
• Drive parallel execution, cross-browser/device testing, and cloud test execution
• Champion usage of containerization (Docker) and cloud grids (BrowserStack, Sauce Labs)

Automation skills

• Deep knowledge of automation framework design patterns
• Strong hands-on experience with at least 23 automation tool stacks
• Solid understanding of SDKs, APIs, microservices, and event-driven architectures
• Experience with cloud-native and container-based test execution
• Familiarity with code repositories, branching strategies, and code reviews
• Understanding of performance, security, and accessibility testing automation

Success Metrics

• Achieved automation coverage and stability targets
• Reduced regression cycle time and release defects
• Standardized tool usage across teams
• Improved CI/CD pipeline quality gates
• Measurable reduction in cost of quality

Stakeholder & People Leadership

• Act as a senior automation and QA advisor to Engineering, DevOps, and Product leaders
• Mentor QA architects, automation leads, and engineering managers
• Define automation learning paths, labs, and certification programs
• Manage automation vendors, niche tool partners, and CoE engagements

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelors degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
• Masters degree or MBA is a plus
• Experience in regulated industries (BFSI, Healthcare, Insurance, Telecom)

Experience

• 1016+ years in Software Testing / Quality Engineering
• 5+ years leading QA programs or Centers of Excellence
• Proven experience driving enterprise-level test automation transformation
• Experience managing large distributed QA teams and vendors