QA Test Lead

What You'll Do 

Team Leadership & Management 

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of manual QA testers, providing day-to-day direction, task assignment, and performance oversight 
• Coordinate tester workloads to ensure adequate manual test coverage across all testing phases and project timelines 
• Conduct regular team check-ins to review progress, remove blockers, and maintain testing velocity 
• Onboard and train new QA team members on manual testing standards, tools, and processes 
• Serve as the primary escalation point for testers encountering complex or high-priority defects 

Manual Testing Oversight & Execution 

• Ensure that Component Integration Testing (CIT) and System Integration Testing (SIT) have occurred and results are documented before moving code to the UAT environment; all testing is performed manually 
• Review and approve manual test plans, test cases, and test scripts created by the QA team to ensure completeness and accuracy 
• Ensure all manual test scripts and use cases are linked to the traceability matrix to guarantee full requirement coverage 
• Oversee the scheduling and manual execution of test scripts at regular intervals to support continuous integration and delivery 
• Establish and maintain controlled test environments, ensuring test beds are conditioned and accounts are prepped and aged in various workflow stages 
• Oversee manual Regression, Security, Compatibility, Data Conversion, and Stress testing activities performed by the team 
• Ensure testing results are approved prior to implementation and that outstanding defects are clearly communicated to stakeholders 

Defect Management & Workaround Accountability 

• Serve as the accountable owner for recommending workarounds for lower severity defects approved to move to production 
• Evaluate open defects at the close of each manual testing cycle to triage severity, assess production risk, and determine workaround feasibility 
• Document all recommended workarounds with clear instructions, impacted user profiles, and business process steps affected 
• Collaborate with development, business analysts, and project managers to obtain formal approval of workarounds prior to production deployment 
• Communicate approved workarounds to end users, training teams, and stakeholders to ensure awareness and readiness 
• Track workaround status post-deployment and ensure permanent fixes are prioritized and manually retested in subsequent releases 
• Monitor, prioritize, and track all defects throughout the development lifecycle and ensure timely resolution or accepted deferral 
• Oversee manual retesting of resolved defects to confirm thorough resolution before sign-off 

Reporting & Documentation 

• Provide input during planning and estimation phases to ensure all manual testing activities are appropriately scoped and resourced 
• Prepare and present testing status reports, defect summaries, and go/no-go recommendations to project leadership 
• Gather and organize documentation required for CMS-mandated UAT reporting 
• Maintain accurate records of manual test results, defect logs, workaround approvals, and sign-off documentation throughout the project lifecycle 

What You'll Need 

Required: 

• Five (5) plus years of expertise and/or relevant experience in manual Quality Assurance testing, with at least two (2) years in a team lead or supervisory capacity 
• Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field 
• Five (5) plus years of expertise and/or relevant experience in creating and manually executing test plans, cases, and detailed scripts 
• Demonstrated experience triaging defects, assessing production risk, and developing and documenting workarounds for lower severity issues 
• Strong communication skills with the ability to present manual testing findings, workaround recommendations, and go/no-go decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders 
• Experience working within or alongside CMS-regulated projects or government health IT environments preferred