Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
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The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer is responsible for overseeing the activities of the junior quality assurance personnel. He leads the junior department in producing test documents, leading testing procedures, and ensuring the successful deployment of software/product solutions, leading to consumer satisfaction and the subsequent success of the business.
The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer is required to be hands-on in testing and methodical problem solving regarding the business’s software/product. He leads the development of functionality, regression, and testing solutions as well as the development of test plans for both existent and new software/products.
Along with key members of the quality assurance department, the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer acts as the glue that holds the engineering and product development teams together, collaboratively working together throughout the life cycle of the software/product.
Objectives and Responsibilities of the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
Quality Assurance Measures: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer leads junior quality assurance teams in the creation of quality assurance measures across the business. He is tasked with developing test plans, test cases, and test documentation. The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer is also tasked with developing and enhancing both manual and automated tests and he creates a zero-tolerance culture for bugs and defects in the software/products that the business offers.
In this capacity, the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer also actively takes part in the discovery and design phases of new software/product feature development and promotes continuous testing in an attempt to guarantee an error free final product. He identifies any potential quality issues in both these new and already existent software/products and reports these to the relevant development managers.
The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer ensures that validated deliverables always meet functional, design specifications and requirements of the software/products, and keeps relevant management informed on the status of testing processes, raising issues when necessary.
Testing: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer regularly executes software/product tests and records the results during release cycles. He is also responsible for the identification of test requirements from defined specifications, mapping test case requirements, and designing test coverage plans. He also reviews functional and design specifications in order to ensure that there is a full understanding of individual deliverables.
In this capacity, the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer further develops document and maintains functional test cases as well as all other test assets, for example, data validation scripts and test data. He is in charge of evaluating and executing both manual and automated test cases and reports for test results. The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer is also tasked with the regular update of test plans, systems, integration, and functional test cases to be used by the department.
Analytics: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer also has analytical responsibilities where he conducts regular analysis of software/product requirements and produces test estimations. In this position, the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer identifies and reports any bugs and defects in the business’s software/products.
He also plays an active role in the business’s database testing inclusive of validating stored procedures and functions. The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer is also responsible for developing, maintaining, and executing usability tests and automation testing tools. He further designs quality assurance methodologies and test approaches for use by the department.
Collaboration: The role is also a collaborative one and the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer works with software/product developers in driving issue resolution. In this collaboration, he also performs root-cause analysis of software/product issues in order to isolate issues and develop solutions that prevent recurrence.
He also works with software/product development teams in ensuring that high quality and timely releases of software/products into market are realized. The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer works with the senior quality assurance team in designing and maintaining automation frameworks for the functional, regression, and automation testing of software/products.
The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer will also engage consumers in order to understand their needs and also to gain a better understanding of software/product functional issues.
Knowledge: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer maintains knowledge of the industry best practices, introducing the most suitable practices to the business.
Other Duties: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer also preforms other duties as he deems fit for the proper execution of his duties and duties as assigned by the Head of Quality Assurance, Director Engineering, Chief Technology Officer, or the Employer.
Required Qualifications of the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
Education: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer has to have a bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in Computer Science, Math, Statistics, Business Development, Product Management, or any other related field. An equivalent of the same in practical experience is also acceptable for the position.
Experience: A candidate for this position will have had at least 5 years of working experience in a quality assurance position within a business in a fast-paced and constantly evolving market. He will also have had experience in database testing in SQL inclusive of experience in the design and manipulation of test data and the validation of stored testing procedures.
He will additionally have had experience testing web applications using both manual and automated test methods and further experience developing those automated testing tools. A suitable candidate will demonstrate experience in the collection of test requirements, creation of test systems, integration test cases, and documentation of test results.
Communication Skills: Communication skills, both in written and verbal form are imperative for the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer but listening skills are also just as important for this position. The role of Senior Quality Assurance Engineer is a highly interactive one and he constantly deals with software/product development teams in the determination of software issues and the resolution of those issues.
Clear communication will greatly determine the effectiveness with which those solutions are adhered to and effected. Communication skills will also be necessary for the Senior Quality Assurance Engineer in conveying sensitive information and instructions to junior quality assurance personnel, which will also determine their efficacy and performance in the execution of their duties.
The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer will also regularly interact with the business’s consumers where communication skills and listening skills combined will ensure that he gathers accurate information that will serve as useful insights in software/product issue identification, testing, and resolution.
Ms Office: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer must be highly proficient in the use Ms Word, Ms Excel, and PowerPoint, which are all necessary in the creation of both visually and verbally engaging analysis reports and presentations for quality assurance leadership and relevant software/product development teams.
Analytical Skills: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer must demonstrate a passion for research and analysis and possess exceptional troubleshooting skills. He will have a demonstrable knowledge of SQL and an ability to query and manipulate data. The candidate will also have had experience in testing HTML and JavaScript and will have an exceptionally deep understanding of quality assurance processes and methodologies.
The candidate will additionally have experience working with various QA tools inclusive of bug and defect tracking systems. A suitable candidate will also have a keen understanding of one or more programming languages and strong working knowledge Java and Python scripting languages.
Interpersonal Skills: The Senior Quality Assurance Engineer will be a result-oriented individual, be helpful and consumer-oriented, be procedural and meticulous, be a team-builder and team player, and have an ability to work on multiple projects and meet tight deadlines.
This candidate will also be a self-motivated and proactive individual requiring minimal supervision, work comfortably in a cross-functional setting and in a constantly evolving environment, and demonstrate the ability to stay calm in stressful and uncertain times, inspiring the same in his team.
People Skills: A Senior Quality Assurance Engineer plays a highly interactive role where he will need to have an ability to relate well with others, forming strong and lasting connections with collaborating personnel, quality assurance leadership, and the business’s consumers.
He will be a likable and relatable people person, which will make it much easier for product development managers to adhere to his directives and for consumers to be inclined to preserving their business with the organization.
