QA SME/Architect -Annuity Policy Administration Systems

QA SME/Architect - Annuity Policy Administration SystemsLocation: Tennessee - Holmdel, NJ OR Bethlehem, PA OR Open for remote with travel needsW2 Contract Role with C2C open only for H1 CandidatesQA Lead/SME-Annuity Policy Administration Systems (ALIP OR FAST OR any other Annuity Policy Admin products)This role is a senior, client-facing leadership role responsible for defining, governing, and driving end-to-end quality assurance for clients Annuity Transformation initiatives. This role owns the overall quality vision, test architecture, and execution governance, ensuring that complex annuity business scenarios, financial accuracy, and regulatory requirements are fully validated across the ALIP ecosystem. Acting as the single QA authority onsite, the role partners closely with Guardian Life business, IT, actuarial, and compliance stakeholders while leading offshore QA teams to deliver predictable, high-quality outcomes for large-scale modernization programs.Roles & ResponsibilitiesDefine and own the end-to-end QA strategy and test architecture for ALIP-based Annuity transformation programs.Establish quality standards, governance models, and best practices aligned with Guardian Life enterprise QA and risk frameworks.Serve as the onsite QA face-off lead, managing stakeholder expectations across business, IT, actuarial, compliance, and PMO teams.Provide domain leadership for Annuities, including Fixed and Variable Annuities, riders, payouts, surrenders, fees, and annuitization scenarios.Validate ALIP product configuration, rules, transactions, and integrations from a quality and business correctness standpoint.Own and review Master Test Plans, Phase-wise Test Strategies, and Release Readiness criteria.Govern test execution across SIT, E2E, Regression, UAT support, Parallel Runs, and Dress Rehearsals.Ensure strong requirements-to-test traceability and proactive defect prevention.Lead defect triage, root cause analysis, and risk mitigation for high-severity and cross-system issues.Define and drive automation strategy for ALIP, focusing on API, service-level, and regression automation.Establish test data management and data validation strategies for complex annuity contracts and financial scenarios.Ensure accuracy of financial calculations, accounting feeds, and downstream reporting validations.Lead and mentor offshore QA teams, enabling effective handoffs, standards adherence, and delivery excellence.Provide executive-level quality metrics and dashboards, highlighting risk, coverage, defect trends, and readiness.Support regulatory audits, compliance reviews, and production readiness assessments with robust QA artifacts.Drive continuous improvement initiatives, including shift-left testing, risk-based testing, and Agile/Scaled Agile QE adoption.Act as a quality transformation partner, reducing cost of quality while improving speed, reliability, and customer outcomes.