Lead automation qa engineer

We are seeking a seasoned Lead Automation QA Engineer to head our QA team and drive automation-first quality practices across our global product development lifecycle. This role is ideal for someone with proven experience in automation frameworks, process governance, team management, and agile delivery.As the QA leader, you will own the testing strategy, guide senior and junior QA engineers, and work closely with product, development, and Dev Ops teams to deliver reliable, scalable, and high performing applications across multiple environments, geographies, and mobile platforms.Availability during Central Standard Time (CST) working hours is a must.Key Responsibilities

• Define and lead QA strategy, automation vision, and process frameworks across the organization.
• Manage and mentor a team of QA engineers (junior, senior, and automation specialists), ensuring best practices in automation and testing.
• Architect enterprise-level automation solutions using Webdriver IO, Type Script, Cucumber, Jenkins, Git Lab, npm.
• Standardize automation frameworks across projects to maximize reusability and efficiency.
• Collaborate with Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Developers, and Dev Ops toensure quality is embedded at every stage of the SDLC.
• Drive CI / CD integration of automation pipelines with Git Lab and Jenkins.
• Lead QA planning, execution, and reporting using Zephyr integrated with JIRA.
• Oversee test execution across multi-environment setups (Dev, Staging,Pre-production, Canada, Mexico, and mobile platforms).
• Establish test governance, defect triage processes, and release sign-offprocedures.
• Drive usage of Kibana logs for proactive monitoring and troubleshooting.
• Oversee and improve testing for SAP E-commerce back office applications.
• Foster a culture of quality, automation-first mindset, and agile collaboration.
• Represent QA in leadership discussions and provide quality metrics anddashboards to stakeholders.Required Skills & Experience
• 10+ years of QA experience, with at least 6+ years in automation testing and 3+ years in team leadership / management.
• Deep expertise in Webdriver IO / Playwright, Type Script, Cucumber, Jenkins, npm, Git LabCI / CD.
• Proven experience in setting up and scaling QA automation frameworks for enterprise applications.
• Strong background in SAP E-commerce back office testing.
• Proficiency with test management tools (Zephyr) and defect tracking (JIRA).
• Experience with Kibana logs analysis and production issue triaging.
• Strong exposure to multi-environment, cross-region, and mobile platform testing.
• In-depth understanding of Scrum / Agile delivery models and test governance.
• Excellent leadership, mentoring, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to create and present QA metrics, dashboards, and quality KPIs for leadership review.Good to Have
• Knowledge of performance, scalability, and security testing frameworks.
• Familiarity with cloud-native QA practices (AWS, GCP, or Azure environments).
• Exposure to AI-driven testing or predictive analytics in QA.What We Offer
• Ownership of QA leadership across enterprise platforms.
• Opportunity to build and scale QA teams and processes globally.
• Work on cutting-edge Saa S and e-commerce platforms.
• Leadership role in a Scrum Agile-driven product company.
• Continuous learning through advanced certifications and global collaboration.