Senior QA Lead

Job Title: QA Lead
Location-Type: Hybrid, Oak Brook, IL (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday onsite)
Start Date: ASAP
Duration: Contract-to-Hire, 6 months
Compensation Range: $75-85/hr W2 
Benefits: Eligible for Health, Dental, Vision, and 401K
Visa Sponsorship: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

• This role is responsible for building the client's QA and UAT process from the ground up and leading all testing activities across an active e-commerce website rebranding initiative and a series of upcoming digital platform releases.

• Build, implement, and document the organization's internal QA process from scratch, establishing standards and structure where none currently exist.
• Partner closely with the project manager, developers, implementation partners, and business stakeholders to coordinate and drive all testing activities across release cycles.
• Review business requirements and use cases to develop comprehensive test plans, test cases, and testing scenarios for each release.
• Execute the implementation partner's existing test cases internally for the upcoming release and assess readiness to advance to the next testing environment.
• Lead and coordinate UAT, guiding business users through testing scenarios and ensuring issues are identified, documented, and resolved before go-live.
• Identify, document, and communicate defects, testing gaps, and recommendations to the appropriate project teams and stakeholders.
• Participate in requirements meetings for upcoming digital platform and website rebranding projects to incorporate QA planning early in the process.
• Help shape the longer-term QA strategy as the organization expands testing in-house across multiple digital initiatives.

• 8-10+ years of QA experience, including senior-level ownership of testing for software, websites, or digital platforms (flexibility on years for candidates who demonstrate equivalent expertise)
• Proven experience building, implementing, and documenting a QA and UAT process from the ground up, not just executing an existing one
• Experience translating business requirements and use cases into test plans, test cases, and scenarios across the full software development and release lifecycle
• Experience leading UAT with business stakeholders, including guiding users through testing and driving issue resolution
• Experience partnering with project managers, development teams, implementation partners, and cross-functional business stakeholders
• Strong communication skills with the confidence to assert expertise, challenge assumptions, push back when needed, and drive process adoption
• Ability to operate as a hands-on individual contributor while simultaneously building out broader QA structure and documentation

• E-commerce, website rebranding, or digital platform testing background
• Experience with test automation, AI-enabled testing, or tools such as TestRail or Selenium
• Experience with a headless CMS or composable front-end architecture (Contentstack, Alakai, or similar)
• Experience bringing QA processes in-house from an outsourced implementation partner
• Experience mentoring QA resources or building toward a QA team function
• Background in manufacturing or a similarly complex product-driven industry