Test Lead – Data Testing

Cognizant; Zürich; On-site; CHF 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognizant in Zurich, Switzerland, is seeking a Test Lead - Data Testing on a 12 months contract to design, build, and maintain automation for data-related testing onsite in Zürich. You will strengthen regression testing, improve coverage, and accelerate data platform releases.

The role requires leading end-to-end test management for data transformation programs, deep knowledge of data platforms, SQL validation, and experience linking tests with CI/CD pipelines.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading end-to-end test management for large-scale data transformation, migration, or enterprise platform modernization programs.
• Strong understanding of data platforms and enterprise data concepts (data warehouses, data lakes, ETL/ELT, data models, governance).
• Experience with SQL and querying large datasets to validate data accuracy and integrity.

Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end test strategy, test plan, scope, approach, entry/exit criteria, and quality gates across teams.
• Lead test planning, estimation, scheduling, and coordination of SIT, E2E, Regression, and UAT activities across cross-functional teams.
• Design, build, and maintain an automation framework for regression testing of data platforms and pipelines.
• Develop automated test cases covering data ingestion, transformation, validation, and reconciliation scenarios.
• Execute and maintain automated test execution cycles, integrating with CI/CD pipelines.
• Identify gaps in existing test coverage and design automated checks to close them.
• Collaborate with data engineers, QA, and business teams to translate data flows into test scenarios.
• Troubleshoot test failures, differentiate data defects from test/environment issues.
• Document test frameworks, test cases, and results clearly.
• Continuously improve automation coverage, execution speed, and reliability.

Skills

Test leadership

End-to-end testing

Data platforms

SQL querying

CI/CD integration

Analytical thinking

Data quality focus

Tools

Selenium

Pytest

dbt tests

Great Expectations

Job description

Test Lead - Data Testing

12 months contract

Onsite in Zurich, Switzerland

About the Role

We are looking for Test Lead to design, build, and maintain automation frameworks focused on data-related testing. The successful candidates will play a key role in strengthening our regression testing capability, improving test coverage, and increasing the speed and reliability of our data platform releases.

Key Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end test strategy, test plan, scope, approach, entry/exit criteria, and quality gates across
• Lead test planning, estimation, scheduling, and coordination of SIT, E2E, Regression, and UAT activities across cross-functional teams
• Design, build, and maintain an automation framework for regression testing of data platforms and pipelines
• Develop automated test cases covering data ingestion, transformation, validation, and reconciliation scenarios
• Execute and maintain automated test execution cycles, integrating with CI/CD pipelines
• Identify gaps in existing test coverage and proactively design automated checks to close them
• Collaborate with data engineers, QA, and business teams to understand data flows and translate them into robust test scenarios
• Troubleshoot test failures, distinguishing between genuine data/application defects and test/environment issues
• Document test frameworks, test cases, and results in a clear, maintainable way
• Continuously improve automation coverage, execution speed, and reliability

Required Skills & Experience

• Proven experience leading end-to-end test management for large-scale data transformation, migration, or enterprise platform modernization programs
• Strong, demonstrable understanding of data platforms and enterprise data - data warehouses, data lakes, ETL/ELT pipelines, data models, and data governance concepts
• Experience with SQL and querying large/enterprise datasets to validate data accuracy and integrity
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools and integrating automated tests into deployment pipelines
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with attention to data quality and detail

Preferred / Nice-to-Have

• Experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Azure Synapse, or similar)
• Hands-on experience building test automation frameworks (e.g., for regression testing) rather than only executing pre-built scripts
• Experience with automated test case design and automated test execution, ideally in data-centric environments
• Proficiency in at least one programming/scripting language commonly used in test automation (e.g., Python, Java, or similar)
• Experience with test automation/ETL testing tools (e.g., Selenium, pytest, dbt tests, Great Expectations, or similar)
• Exposure to financial services or enterprise data environments
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum delivery teams

Candidate Profile / Culture Fit

• Deep understanding of data - genuinely curious about how enterprise data platforms work, not just how to test them
• Fast learner, adaptable mindset - able to quickly get up to speed within our fast-paced, quick-learning culture
• Self-starter who can work with ambiguity and evolving requirements
• Strong communicator, able to work closely with both technical (data engineering) and non-technical stakeholders