Our client, a professional services firm, is seeking a detail-oriented Quality Assurance Application Analyst to help ensure the quality, reliability, security, and performance of the firm’s enterprise applications. This role is responsible for planning and executing structured testing, validation, documentation, and release-readiness activities for application packaging, installations, upgrades, patches, integrations, and deployments across the firm’s desktop and endpoint environment.
Working closely with Desktop Engineering, business stakeholders, project managers, vendors, and support teams, the Quality Assurance Application Analyst will validate that applications function as intended, meet business requirements, and are released with minimal disruption to users.
Key Responsibilities
- Analyze business and technical requirements and translate them into comprehensive testing strategies, test plans, test cases, and acceptance criteria for application deployments, upgrades, and integrations.
- Perform installation, upgrade, compatibility, functional, regression, integration, smoke, and user acceptance testing for enterprise applications, application packages, and system integrations.
- Validate application packages, including MSI, MSIX, EXE, and IntuneWin32 packages, before release. Confirm silent installation and uninstallation behavior, configurations, shortcuts, licensing, and default settings.
- Test application installations, upgrades, and removals across standard operating system images, hardware models, and virtual desktop environments to ensure compatibility and a consistent end-user experience.
- Validate application compatibility with Windows feature updates, monthly security patches, browser updates, and Microsoft 365 updates; participate in pilot and ring-based deployment testing with the Desktop Engineering team.
- Identify, reproduce, document, prioritize, and track software defects through resolution using established defect-management processes.
- Investigate application issues involving functionality, configuration, installation, deployment, dependencies, permissions, integrations, and system behavior to support accurate defect resolution and release decisions.
- Conduct root-cause analysis and collaborate with Desktop Engineering, infrastructure, database, security, vendor, and business teams to resolve defects, deployment issues, and production-impacting application concerns.
- Validate application interfaces, database transactions, reports, and integrations to confirm data accuracy and system integrity following installations and upgrades.
- Develop and maintain test documentation, test environments, test data, defect records, application procedures, and release-validation documentation.
- Support user acceptance testing activities, including test preparation, execution, issue resolution, and stakeholder acceptance.
- Evaluate software releases, patches, upgrades, configuration changes, and enhancements for functional and operational impact in partnership with the Desktop Engineering team.
- Support application deployments through endpoint-management tools, such as Microsoft Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune, including pre-production validation, post-deployment smoke testing, and production verification.
- Monitor post-release application behavior and document corrective and preventive actions when production issues arise.
- Maintain test evidence, configuration records, release-validation procedures, workflows, and technical knowledge-base content.
- Recommend improvements to application functionality, packaging and deployment practices, testing processes, business workflows, and quality-assurance methodologies.
- Ensure application changes comply with organizational change-control, cybersecurity, documentation, and software quality standards.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Software Engineering, or a related field, plus two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in application analysis, software quality assurance, application testing, application packaging validation, deployment testing, or application support. An equivalent combination of education, training, certifications, and relevant professional experience may be substituted for the degree requirement.
- Minimum of three (3) years of application QA/testing or application analyst experience.
- Knowledge of software quality assurance methodologies, testing principles, release validation, and the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute installation, upgrade, compatibility, functional, regression, integration, and user acceptance test cases.
- Proficiency with defect-tracking and application lifecycle-management tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, ServiceNow, or equivalent platforms.
- Working knowledge of relational databases and SQL for data validation, reconciliation, and troubleshooting.
- Ability to troubleshoot application issues using installation, event, and application logs, error messages, database records, system reports, and other diagnostic information.
- Experience with Windows desktop operating systems, application installation technologies, and endpoint deployment tools such as Microsoft Configuration Manager (MECM/SCCM) and Microsoft Intune.
- Basic scripting exposure (e.g., PowerShell) for test support and log review preferred.
- Familiarity with REST APIs, web services, system interfaces, and enterprise application integrations.
- Experience documenting test plans, test cases, defects, requirements of traceability, test results, and application support procedures.
- Working knowledge of Agile/Scrum and traditional SDLC methodologies.
- Proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Excel, Word, Teams, and Outlook.
- Understanding of application security, user access controls, authentication, authorization, and change-management practices.
- Ability to independently learn and support enterprise software applications and associated business processes.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
- Demonstrated customer service and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to evaluate risk and recommend appropriate mitigation strategies.
Experience with the following preferred:
- SQL/database validation.
- API and integration testing.
- Automated testing tools.
- Endpoint-management and deployment tools, such as Microsoft Configuration Manager (MECM/SCCM) and Microsoft Intune.
- Application-packaging and installation technologies (e.g., MSI, MSIX, IntuneWin32).
- Windows 10/11 and virtual desktop environments (e.g., Citrix, Azure Virtual Desktop).
- Legal or professional-services applications (e.g., document management systems, document comparison tools, Microsoft Office add-ins).
- Defect-tracking systems, such as Jira or Azure DevOps.
- Agile/Scrum environments.
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
- ITIL/change-management processes.
Preferred Certifications
- ITIL 4 Foundation preferred.
- ISTQB Certified Tester preferred.
- Certified Software Tester (CSTE) preferred.
- Agile or Scrum certification preferred.
