Strategic Automation, Framework and Governance Lead QA

Job Description
Strategic Automation, Framework and Governance Lead QA

Must Have Technical/Functional Skills
10+ years of experience in Quality Assurance and Software Testing, with a minimum of 5 years in an Automation Architect or Enterprise QA Strategist role.
Deep expertise designing, implementing, and maintaining end-to-end automation frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, REST-assured, etc.).
Proven expertise in integrating automation within modern CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps) to enable Continuous Testing.
Demonstrated history of leading large-scale organizational change to adopt new quality practices across diverse technology stacks and business units.
Exceptional leadership, influence, and communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical strategy to both engineers and executive leadership.

Roles & Responsibilities
We are seeking a highly experienced transformational Strategic Automation, Framework and Governance Lead QA that can  define, champion, and drive the organization''s quality and test automation strategy across multiple Lines of Business (LOBs). This role is critical for steering the organization from its current state (Ground 0) toward a mature, automated, and quality-first mindset. The successful candidate will be a technical authority, a strategic leader, and a change agent responsible for establishing enterprise-wide governance, architecture standards, and clear quality reporting.

Key Responsibilities
1. Enterprise Automation Strategy & Architecture (The Technical Core)
Define Automation Strategy: Develop and own the multi-year strategy and roadmap for test automation, including frameworks, tools, environments, and integration with the DevOps pipeline (CI/CD).
Architecture & Standards: Design and implement a robust, scalable, and standardized Enterprise Test Automation Framework that supports various application types (API, Web, Mobile, Data) and technologies used across all LOBs.
Tool Standardization: Evaluate, recommend, and drive the adoption of centralized, best-in-class QA and automation tools (e.g., Test Management, Performance, Security Testing).
Continuous Testing: Architect the integration of automated tests and quality gates directly into the CI/CD pipelines (Continuous Testing) to ensure quality shifts left into the development cycle.
Performance Engineering: Provide architectural guidance on non-functional testing, including strategy for high-volume performance and load testing.
 
2. QA Governance & Policy Enforcement (The Strategic Foundation)
Establish Governance Model: Define the organizational QA Governance Model, including standardized processes, artifacts, templates, and best practices (e.g., defect lifecycle, test case design, risk-based testing methodology).
Quality Gates: Define mandatory Quality Gates and exit criteria for all major development phases (e.g., system integration, UAT, production readiness).
Audit & Compliance: Establish a framework for auditing LOBs to ensure adherence to enterprise QA standards, driving consistency and mitigating risk.
Mentorship & Enablement: Lead training, workshops, and work with centers of excellence (CoE) to uplift the automation skills of existing QA, Dev, and SDET teams across the organization.

3. Quality Reporting & Measurement (The Data-Driven Approach)
KPI Definition: Define a nd manage the critical enterprise-wide Quality Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs), such as Defect Escape Rate, Automation Coverage, and Test Execution Efficiency.
Executive Reporting: Design and implement centralized Quality Dashboards that provide transparent, actionable, and visually clear quality status reports to senior leadership and LOB executives.
Metrics Analysis: Analyze quality metrics to identify systemic weaknesses in the SDLC/CI/CD process, making data-driven recommendations for targeted process improvements.
 
4. Organizational Steering & Change Management (The Transformational Driver)
Cultural Leadership: Act as the evangelist and primary change agent to drive the organization from a manual testing mindset (Ground 0) to a modern, automated, and shared "Quality First" culture.
Stakeholder Management: Collaborate and influence LOB CIOs, Development VPs, QA Directors, and Product Owners to secure buy-in and resource alignment for the automation and governance strategy.
Standardization vs. Autonomy: Skillfully balance the need for organizational standardization with the autonomy requirements of individual LOBs, ensuring governance is enabling, not obstructing, development velocity.