Head - Quality Engineering

RAKBANK; Dubai; On-site; AED 558,000 - 837,000; Full time

Job summary

RAKBANK is seeking a Head - Quality Engineering to lead the QA transformation within the Financial Services sector in Dubai. The ideal candidate will have over 12 years of experience with a focus on automation and AI-assisted testing to modernize software quality processes.

This senior role requires expertise in defining QA strategy, mentoring teams, and ensuring compliance with the high-performance standards of a regulated banking environment.

Qualifications

• 12 years of experience in software quality engineering, test management, or quality assurance.
• Minimum of 5 years in a senior QA leadership role.
• Experience in banking, fintech, or regulated technology environments.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the enterprise QA strategy.
• Drive automation-first practices in QA.
• Establish a Quality Engineering Centre of Excellence.
• Monitor and report QA metrics and release readiness.

Skills

Quality engineering leadership

QA strategy

QA transformation

Automation-first testing

AI-assisted testing

SDLC quality governance

UAT governance

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or IT

Tools

Selenium

Cypress

Playwright

Appium

JMeter

Gatling

k6

Job description

Job Snapshot

Role: Head - Quality Engineering

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Industry: Financial Services

Function: Information Technology

Experience: 12 years software quality engineering experience

Job Type: Full-time

Overview

Head - Quality Engineering in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is a senior Financial Services technology leadership opportunity for an experienced QA transformation leader with strong expertise in automation-first testing, AI-driven quality engineering, CI/CD quality gates, test strategy, non-functional testing, UAT governance, and regulated banking release assurance. This role is ideal for a quality engineering executive who can modernize software testing, embed continuous quality across the SDLC, and lead an enterprise QA function that supports robust, secure, and compliant banking technology delivery.

Job Details

Country: United Arab Emirates

City: Dubai

Industry: Financial Services

Function: Information Technology

Salary: 50000-75000 ... Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer.

Gender: Any Candidate Nationality: Any

Job Type: Full-time

Role Context

The Head - Quality Engineering will act as RAKBANK's enterprise quality authority, responsible for transforming QA from manual, end-of-cycle testing into a modern quality engineering function built around automation, AI-assisted testing, shift-left practices, CI/CD integration, non-functional assurance, and release quality governance. The role will work closely with Digital, Engineering, Platform, DevOps, Cyber Security, Product, and Business teams to ensure releases meet the reliability, performance, security, compliance, and customer experience standards expected in a regulated banking environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and lead the enterprise QA strategy across banking technology platforms, digital channels, engineering squads, and business delivery teams.
• Drive the shift toward automation-first and AI-assisted software quality engineering.
• Establish and lead a Quality Engineering Centre of Excellence to standardize tools, frameworks, processes, and best practices.
• Embed quality across the full software development lifecycle through shift-left testing, continuous testing, and squad-level ownership.
• Define and govern CI/CD quality gates to ensure releases meet agreed acceptance, security, performance, and compliance standards.
• Own the test automation strategy across UI, API, data, integration, and regression testing layers.
• Track automation coverage, test effectiveness, cycle time reduction, ROI, defect leakage, and release quality outcomes.
• Implement AI-driven testing practices such as self-healing automation, intelligent test prioritization, defect triage, and risk-based testing.
• Lead non-functional testing across performance, resilience, scalability, security, API contract testing, and service reliability.
• Govern test environments, test data management, synthetic data usage, data masking, and PII protection.
• Oversee UAT governance and ensure business testing is structured, traceable, controlled, and aligned with release objectives.
• Own release quality sign-off and support go or no-go decisions for critical banking releases.
• Define, monitor, and report QA metrics including defect leakage, automation coverage, test cycle time, escaped defects, incident rates, and release readiness.
• Build and lead the QA function with a clear operating model, team structure, capability framework, and delivery accountability.
• Mentor QA managers, automation engineers, performance engineers, test leads, and quality specialists.
• Partner with Agile squads to improve sprint-level quality, acceptance criteria, test planning, and defect prevention.
• Work with DevOps and engineering teams to integrate testing into build pipelines and deployment workflows.
• Ensure QA practices support regulatory expectations, audit readiness, risk controls, and secure banking delivery.
• Evaluate and introduce emerging QA technologies, tools, AI testing platforms, and automation frameworks where they add measurable value.
• Provide executive reporting on quality trends, release risks, defect patterns, automation progress, and improvement initiatives.
• Promote a quality-first engineering culture across technology delivery teams.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 12 years of experience in software quality engineering, test management, or quality assurance.
• Minimum 5 years in a senior QA leadership role such as Head of QA, Director of QA, Head of Quality Engineering, or equivalent.
• Experience in banking, fintech, financial services, or another regulated technology environment.
• Proven track record of leading QA transformation from manual testing to automation-led quality engineering.
• Strong understanding of SDLC, Agile delivery, DevOps, CI/CD practices, and integrated quality controls.
• Experience establishing QA strategy, governance, metrics, automation frameworks, and release quality standards.
• Hands‑on knowledge of automation tools such as Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Appium, or similar frameworks.
• Strong understanding of API testing, data testing, integration testing, regression testing, and continuous testing.
• Experience with performance and resilience testing tools such as JMeter, Gatling, k6, or equivalent.
• Exposure to AI-driven testing tools, self-healing automation, intelligent test selection, and defect analytics.
• Strong knowledge of test data management, synthetic data generation, PII masking, and data governance.
• Experience governing UAT, test environments, release sign-off, and go or no-go decision processes.
• ISTQB Advanced Test Manager certification is preferred.
• ISTQB Expert level certification or equivalent professional QA certification is an advantage.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence executives, delivery leaders, product owners, and engineering teams.
• Excellent communication, reporting, mentoring, and leadership skills.
• Ability to build high‑performing teams and drive capability development across enterprise QA.
• Strong risk awareness, governance mindset, and commitment to quality in regulated banking delivery.

Skills Set

• Quality engineering leadership
• QA strategy
• QA transformation
• Automation-first testing
• AI-assisted testing
• Quality Engineering Centre of Excellence
• SDLC quality governance
• Shift-left testing
• Continuous testing
• Agile delivery
• CI/CD quality gates
• Test automation strategy
• UI test automation
• API test automation
• Data layer testing
• Selenium
• Cypress
• Playwright
• Appium
• Performance testing
• Resilience testing
• JMeter
• Gatling
• k6
• API contract testing
• Security testing governance
• UAT governance
• Release quality sign-off
• Go or no-go decisions
• Test environment governance
• Test data management
• Synthetic data
• PII masking
• Data governance
• Defect leakage tracking
• Automation coverage
• Test cycle time
• Incident rate analysis
• AI-driven testing
• Self-healing automation
• Intelligent test prioritization
• Defect triage
• Banking technology
• Financial services QA
• Stakeholder management
• Executive reporting
• Team leadership
• Capability building

Why Join Us

This opportunity is ideal for a Head - Quality Engineering seeking a high-impact technology leadership role in Dubai's Financial Services sector. The position offers the chance to lead enterprise QA transformation, build an automation-first quality function, introduce AI-driven testing practices, and strengthen release assurance for critical banking platforms. It is a strong fit for a quality leader who wants to combine engineering excellence, governance, automation, resilience, and team development within a respected UAE bank.

About the Company

RAKBANK is a leading UAE banking institution serving personal, SME, commercial, corporate, and wealth management customers through a broad range of financial products, digital banking services, and client-focused solutions. The bank is committed to innovation, governance, operational resilience, customer service, and sustainable growth. Through its digital, engineering, platform, data, automation, and transformation initiatives, RAKBANK continues to strengthen modern financial services and deliver secure, reliable, and customer-focused banking experiences across the United Arab Emirates.