Test Lead

Job Title: Test Lead
Location: Onsite, Indianapolis
Duration:6 Months
Experience Required: 8-10

Role Summary


The Test Lead is responsible for defining and driving the testing strategy for one or more product teams. This person leads a team of test engineers, owns the quality of releases, and partners with product, development, and operations to ensure software is delivered on time, meets requirements, and is reliable in production. The role combines hands-on technical expertise with people leadership and strategic planning.

Key Responsibilities


Test Strategy and Planning
• Define test strategy, test plans, and quality metrics aligned with project goals and release schedules
• Assess risk and prioritize testing efforts across functional, regression, integration, performance, and security testing
• Estimate testing effort and contribute to sprint and release planning


Team Leadership
• Lead, mentor, and coach a team of QA/test engineers; assign work and manage workload
• Conduct performance reviews, support career development, and participate in hiring
• Foster a culture of quality ownership across the engineering organization


Test Execution and Automation
• Oversee design and execution of manual and automated test cases
• Drive test automation strategy, framework selection, and CI/CD integration
• Review test coverage and continuously improve the efficiency and reliability of test suites


Collaboration
• Work closely with product owners, developers, DevOps, and business analysts to clarify requirements and acceptance criteria
• Communicate status, risks, and blockers to project managers and senior leadership
• Coordinate with vendors or offshore teams where applicable

Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience
• 6+ years of experience in software testing/QA, including 2+ years in a lead or senior role
• Strong knowledge of SDLC, STLC, and Agile/Scrum methodologies
• Experience with test management and defect tracking tools (e.g., Jira)
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to influence stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications
• ISTQB Advanced Level (Test Manager) or equivalent certification
• Experience testing cloud-based applications (AWS, Azure, GCP) and microservices

Key Competencies
• Leadership and mentoring
• Analytical and risk-based thinking
• Attention to detail and a quality mindset
• Strong organization and prioritization
• Problem-solving and adaptability
• Stakeholder management

Success Measures
• Reduction in escaped defects and production incidents
• Increased automation coverage and faster regression cycles
• On-time, high-quality releases
• Team engagement, growth, and retentio

Role Descriptions:

Key Responsibilities


Own the overall test strategy| test plan| estimates| schedule| scope| entry and exit criteria| and testing deliverables.Lead functional| integration| system| regression| user acceptance| and release validation activities across applications and interfaces.Engage with business users and client stakeholders to understand requirements| assess testability| clarify acceptance criteria| and identify risks early.Coordinate daily activities across onsite and offshore testing teams| allocate work| monitor progress| and remove delivery impediments.Review test scenarios| test cases| test data| requirements traceability| execution evidence| and defect documentation for completeness and quality.Manage the defect lifecycle| facilitate triage meetings| drive root-cause discussions| and ensure timely closure of critical defects.Publish accurate test status dashboards| quality metrics| risk and issue logs| and release readiness recommendations to stakeholders.Collaborate with development| business analysis| infrastructure| data| security| and release management teams throughout the delivery lifecycle.Identify automation opportunities and work with automation teams to improve regression coverage| execution efficiency| and quality controls.Ensure adherence to client processes| quality standards| documentation requirements| audit controls| and applicable regulatory or compliance expectations.Support production deployment| post-release validation| incident analysis| and continuous improvement initiatives.Mentor test team members| conduct reviews| share best practices| and promote accountability and a quality-first culture.

Essential Skills:

Key Responsibilities


Own the overall test strategy| test plan| estimates| schedule| scope| entry and exit criteria| and testing deliverables.Lead functional| integration| system| regression| user acceptance| and release validation activities across applications and interfaces.Engage with business users and client stakeholders to understand requirements| assess testability| clarify acceptance criteria| and identify risks early.Coordinate daily activities across onsite and offshore testing teams| allocate work| monitor progress| and remove delivery impediments.Review test scenarios| test cases| test data| requirements traceability| execution evidence| and defect documentation for completeness and quality.Manage the defect lifecycle| facilitate triage meetings| drive root-cause discussions| and ensure timely closure of critical defects.Publish accurate test status dashboards| quality metrics| risk and issue logs| and release readiness recommendations to stakeholders.Collaborate with development| business analysis| infrastructure| data| security| and release management teams throughout the delivery lifecycle.Identify automation opportunities and work with automation teams to improve regression coverage| execution efficiency| and quality controls.Ensure adherence to client processes| quality standards| documentation requirements| audit controls| and applicable regulatory or compliance expectations.Support production deployment| post-release validation| incident analysis| and continuous improvement initiatives.Mentor test team members| conduct reviews| share best practices| and promote accountability and a quality-first culture.
Desirable Skills:
Keyword:
Skills: HiTech : Automation Testing