Role Summary
The Associate Director Testing will provide strategic and hands-on leadership to drive quality, efficiency, and continuous improvement across multiple product lines. This role is responsible for defining and executing end-to-end QA and testing strategies, embedding quality throughout the SDLC, and building high-performing testing teams. The ideal candidate brings deep technical expertise in modern testing practices, strong people leadership, and a product-focused mindset to ensure reliable, scalable, and high-quality software releases.
Roles & Responsibilities
- Define and own the end-to-end QA and Testing strategy, roadmap, and operating model across products and features
- Embed quality early in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in partnership with Product, Engineering, and Architecture teams
- Champion best-in-class testing practices including test automation, regression, performance, and security testing
- Design, scale, and maintain robust and resilient test automation frameworks and tooling
- Establish and enforce quality gates, standards, and release readiness criteria for all product releases
- Oversee defect management processes, Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and corrective actions to reduce production issues
- Drive adoption of new tools and technologies to improve test coverage and efficiency
- Define, track, and present quality metrics and dashboards to senior leadership and stakeholders
- Act as the primary point of contact for all QA-related initiatives, ensuring transparency and cross-functional alignment
- Manage resource planning, utilization, and vendor partnerships
- Lead, mentor, and develop QA Managers, Test Leads, and Engineers to build a high-performing testing organization
- Conduct performance reviews, define KPIs, and drive long-term talent development within the Testing function
- Foster a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, collaboration, and accountability
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
- Master's degree is preferred
Experience
- 15+ years of progressive experience in Software Quality Assurance and Testing
- 35+ years of experience in senior leadership roles managing multiple teams and product portfolios
- Proven experience building and scaling QA practices within a product-based IT organization
- Hands-on experience supporting mobile application development and testing environments
- Experience working in regulated industries (e.g., Healthcare) is a strong advantage
Skills
- Strong expertise in test automation frameworks and tools (Selenium with Java, Playwright, Appium)
- Deep knowledge of QA methodologies including Agile, Scrum, DevOps, and CI/CD
- Experience with cloud platforms (Azure preferred), microservices architecture, and API testing
- Hands-on exposure to performance and load testing tools (JMeter, LoadRunner)
- Working knowledge of security testing concepts and tools
- Excellent leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities
- Ability to thrive in fast-paced, evolving product environments
- High ownership, accountability, and results-driven mindset
