Lead Quality Analyst (QA)

HeapTrace; Pune District; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 4,000,000; Full time

Job summary

HeapTrace is seeking an experienced QA Engineering Lead to own quality for critical modules and to mentor a team of 4-5 QA engineers in Pune. You will set testing strategy, drive automation, and collaborate with developers, product managers, and delivery stakeholders to ensure high-quality releases.

You will design comprehensive test strategies (functional, API, UI, regression, E2E), lead hands-on testing, and leverage AI-driven QA approaches to improve coverage and feedback cycles.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in Software Testing / Quality Assurance.
• 2+ years leading or mentoring a QA team.
• Hands-on with UI/API automation and test frameworks.
• Strong SDLC/Agile understanding.
• Experience with Playwright/Cypress/Selenium.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a QA team of 4-5.
• Plan and distribute work across sprints; balance workload and releases.
• Review test plans, test cases, and automation code; uphold quality.
• Run 1:1s, performance reviews, and support QA hiring.
• Own defect triage and CI/CD integration of automated tests.
• Drive AI-assisted QA practices and tool adoption.

Skills

Leadership

QA testing

SDLC/Agile

Stakeholder comms

Problem solving

Tools

Playwright

Cypress

Selenium

SQL

Git

CI/CD

Job description

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of 4-5 QA engineers, providing technical direction and career guidance
• Plan and distribute work across the team; balance workload against sprint and release commitments
• Review team members' test plans, test cases, and automation code; hold the line on quality standards
• Run 1:1s, contribute to performance reviews, and support hiring/interviewing for QA roles
• Act as the QA point of contact for developers, product managers, and delivery stakeholders
• Escalate and unblock issues for the team without slipping into micromanagement

Individual Contribution

• Own end-to-end quality for at least one critical module or product as a hands-on tester
• Design, develop, and execute comprehensive test strategies (Functional, API, UI, Regression,E2E)
• Perform hands-on API testing using tools like Postman / Playwright / similar
• Build and maintain automation frameworks (UI/API) that the rest of the team builds on
• Identify edge cases, hidden risks, and potential production issues proactively

Process & Quality Ownership

• Own the defect triage process and root cause analysis across the team's scope
• Contribute to and oversee CI/CD pipeline integration of automated test suites
• Drive continuous improvement in QA processes, test coverage, and release quality org-wide
• Report on team quality metrics, release readiness, and risk to leadership

AI-First Quality Engineering

• Leverage AI tools to accelerate test case creation, test data generation, and defect analysis for yourself and the team
• Use AI-assisted automation for smarter test coverage and faster feedback cycles
• Explore and implement AI-driven testing approaches (self-healing locators, visual validation, anomaly detection)
• Utilize AI for root cause analysis, log analysis, and predictive risk identification
• Continuously evaluate and roll out new AI tools across the team to improve QA efficiency
• Own the team's adoption of AI-driven QA workflows and agentic testing strategies

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in Software Testing / Quality Assurance
• 2+ years leading, mentoring, or informally guiding a QA team (formal title not required)
• Proven ability to balance hands-on IC delivery with people leadership
• Strong understanding of SDLC, STLC, and Agile methodologies
• Hands-on experience with automation tools (e.g., Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, etc.)
• Solid experience in API testing and backend validation
• Good understanding of databases and ability to write SQL queries
• Experience with bug tracking and test management tools
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools and version control (Git)
• Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving, and stakeholder communication skills

What We Value (Beyond Skills)

• High ownership mindset accountable for the team's quality output, not just your own
• Servant leadership ability to unblock and grow the team without micromanaging
• Strong logical thinking and ability to break down complex problems
• Curiosity to understand systems deeply, not just at surface level