Head of Quality Engineering

Redwolf + Rosch; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Redwolf + Rosch is seeking a Head of Quality Engineering for Defence Software & Systems in Adelaide (on-site). The role leads the overall strategy for quality engineering, digital verification, reusable platforms, and practice across complex defence capabilities.

Reporting to the Chief Delivery Officer, you will drive test automation, simulation, emulation, and automated evidence generation as a seamless digital thread, and mentor embedded quality engineering leaders to elevate cross‑functional

Qualifications

• Transformation Leadership: Proven experience building or modernising a Quality Engineering, verification, or test automation capability within complex engineering environments.

Responsibilities

• Define the Quality Engineering strategy, digital verification architecture, standards and maturity roadmap.
• Own and evolve reusable capabilities for test automation, simulation, emulation, and automated evidence generation.
• Partner with Systems Engineering to trace requirements and verification intent to automated tests and release evidence.
• Recruit, coach and grow embedded Product Quality Engineering Leads and specialists across product teams.
• Collaborate with Software, Systems, DevSecOps, Cyber and Delivery leaders to improve testability and release confidence.
• Elevate non-functional quality (performance, resilience, security, safety, capacity, interoperability) as core engineering concerns.

Job description

Head of Quality Engineering -Defence Software & Systems

• Hendon, SA (On-site focus)
• Full Time
• $150K - $190K+ Super (Base salary commensurate with experience)

Working within a leading sovereign Australian defence software and systems engineering company, we are seeking a Head of Quality Engineering.

Reporting directly to the Chief Delivery Officer, you will own the overall strategy, digital verification architecture, reusable platforms and professional practice that transform how product quality and confidence are engineered and demonstrated across complex defence capabilities.

In this executive engineering leadership role, you will treat the verification platform as a product—driving test automation, simulation, emulation, and automated evidence generation into a seamless digital thread.

Key Responsibilities

• Capability Strategy & Architecture: Define the organisational Quality Engineering strategy, digital verification architecture, standards, and maturity roadmap.
• Verification Platform as a Product: Own and evolve reusable capability for test automation, scenario execution, simulation, emulation, fault injection, CI orchestration, and automated evidence generation.
• The Digital Verification Thread: Partner with Systems Engineering to trace requirements, system behaviors, and verification intent directly through to automated test execution and objective release evidence.
• Engineering & Practice Leadership: Recruit, coach, and grow embedded Product Quality Engineering Leads and specialists, establishing an active community of practice across product teams.
• Lifecycle Integration: Partner with Software, Systems, DevSecOps, Cyber, and Delivery leaders to improve system testability, early feedback, shift-left testing, and release confidence.
• Non-Functional Quality Focus: Elevate performance, resilience, security, safety, capacity, and interoperability verification into first-class engineering concerns.

About You

• Transformation Leadership: Proven experience building or modernising a Quality Engineering, verification, or test automation capability within complex engineering environments.
• Technical Depth: Deep expertise in CI-integrated automation frameworks, API/contract testing, simulation- or emulator-driven verification, and automated evidence services.
• Systems & Digital Engineering Mindset: Ability to reason from structured requirements down to verification architecture and evidence, balancing automation with targeted human evaluation.
• Pragmatic Leadership: Ability to set quality standards, make sensible trade-offs, and align engineers, product leads, and executive stakeholders.
• Clearance Eligibility: Australian Citizenship is mandatory (ability to obtain and maintain an Australian Government Security Clearance is essential).

Highly Regarded

• Experience in Defence, aerospace, rail, medical, industrial or regulated high-consequence domains.
• Familiarity with on-premises, air-gapped or classified secure delivery environments.