QA Manager (C2) - QA

EXL; India; On-site; INR 1,400,000 - 2,200,000; Full time

Job summary

EXL is seeking a Senior Manager – Quality Engineering & Test Automation to lead enterprise-wide QA initiatives across multiple programs, products, and client engagements. The role requires deep expertise in QA governance, test automation, UAT management, performance testing, and AI-driven testing practices.

The ideal candidate will define quality strategy, manage high-performing QA teams, drive automation transformation, ensure delivery excellence, and advise clients and senior leadership.

Qualifications

• Experience defining QA strategy and governance.
• Ability to lead large-scale QA and automation initiatives.
• Proven track record in UAT and performance testing.

Responsibilities

• Define enterprise QA strategies, standards, and metrics.
• Lead end-to-end testing across multiple programs and client engagements.
• Drive automation roadmap and CI/CD integration.

Skills

QA governance

Test Automation

Leadership

Stakeholder Management

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering/CS

Tools

JIRA

Azure DevOps

Postman

ReadyAPI

Job description

Description

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Senior Manager – Quality Engineering & Test Automation to lead enterprise-wide quality assurance initiatives across multiple programs, products, and client engagements. The role demands strong expertise in QA governance, test automation, quality engineering, UAT management, performance testing, and AI-driven testing practices.

The ideal candidate will be responsible for defining quality strategy, managing high-performing QA teams, driving automation transformation, ensuring delivery excellence, and serving as a trusted advisor to clients and senior leadership. This individual will play a key role in establishing modern quality engineering practices leveraging Automation, CI/CD, Performance Engineering, GenAI, and Shift-Left Testing approaches.

Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

Quality Strategy & Governance

• Define and implement enterprise-level QA strategies, standards, frameworks, and best practices.
• Establish quality governance models, KPIs, metrics, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms.
• Drive adoption of Quality Engineering and Shift-Left testing practices across programs.
• Review and approve test strategies, test plans, estimation models, and release quality assessments.
• Monitor defect leakage trends and lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with organizational quality policies and audit requirements.

Test Management & Delivery Leadership

• Lead end-to-end testing activities across multiple projects and programs.
• Manage SIT, UAT, Regression, Performance, and Production Validation testing.
• Drive test planning, execution, risk management, and defect governance.
• Monitor project health, quality risks, schedules, and mitigation plans.
• Support release planning, go-live readiness reviews, and production deployments.
• Ensure adherence to entry and exit criteria across testing phases.
• Manage project quality, schedule, budget, and resource utilization.

Test Automation & Engineering Excellence

• Define automation roadmap and enterprise automation strategy.
• Architect and implement scalable automation frameworks from scratch.
• Lead automation initiatives using:
  • Playwright
  • Selenium
  • Cypress
  • ReadyAPI
  • TestComplete
  • Robotic Process Automation tools
• Establish automation standards, reusable frameworks, and coding best practices.
• Integrate automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or equivalent platforms.
• Drive automated API, UI, integration, regression, and end-to-end testing.
• Implement scheduling, parallel execution, and execution optimization strategies.

Performance Engineering

• Lead performance engineering initiatives across applications and platforms.
• Define performance testing strategies and success criteria.
• Drive performance testing execution using:
  • LoadRunner
  • JMeter
  • BlazeMeter or equivalent tools
• Analyze bottlenecks and recommend performance optimization solutions.
• Perform capacity planning and scalability assessments.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Governance

• Define UAT strategy, timelines, governance model, and success criteria.
• Manage UAT planning, environment readiness, and test data preparation.
• Coordinate business users and stakeholders during UAT execution.
• Facilitate defect triage and escalation management.
• Track UAT progress, risks, defect trends, and quality metrics.
• Drive continuous improvement of UAT processes and stakeholder engagement models.

Stakeholder & Client Management

• Serve as the primary quality leader for clients, business stakeholders, and leadership teams.
• Present executive-level quality dashboards, risk assessments, and delivery updates.
• Partner with Product Owners, Business Teams, Architects, and Engineering Leaders.
• Drive customer satisfaction through proactive quality management.
• Provide strategic recommendations for quality improvement and operational efficiencies.

Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead and mentor QA Leads, Automation Architects, Test Engineers, and Performance Engineers.
• Drive workforce planning, capacity forecasting, and resource allocation.
• Conduct performance reviews, coaching, and career development discussions.
• Build competency development plans and technical learning pathways.
• Conduct internal training and enablement programs for automation, performance testing, and AI-led testing practices.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Quality Engineering & Test Data Management

• Ensure complete requirement traceability and test coverage.
• Drive defect prevention and continuous quality improvement initiatives.
• Define test data management strategies using synthetic data generation and automation tools.
• Support database, ETL, migration, and data validation testing initiatives.
• Establish quality gates throughout the SDLC and DevOps lifecycle.

Mandatory Skills

Test Automation

• Selenium (Java/Python)
• Playwright
• Cypress
• API Automation Testing
• Framework Development from Scratch
• Test Automation Architecture

CI/CD & DevOps

• Jenkins
• Azure DevOps
• Git
• CI/CD Pipeline Integration
• Automated Quality Gates

Quality Engineering

• Agile Testing
• Quality Governance
• Test Strategy Development
• Risk-Based Testing
• Defect Management & RCA
• Test Metrics & Reporting

Tools

• JIRA
• Azure DevOps
• Postman
• ReadyAPI
• Test Management Platforms

Leadership & Consulting Skills

• Stakeholder Management
• Client Engagement
• Team Leadership
• Delivery Governance
• Executive Communication
• Resource & Capacity Planning

Nice to Have

• AI & GenAI Testing and AI-Assisted Automation
• Knowledge of ETL, Data Migration, and Database Testing.
• Exposure to Synthetic Test Data generation tools.
• Knowledge of Cloud Testing and Observability platforms.
• Experience establishing Testing COEs or Quality Transformation programs.
• Hands-on experience with Agentic AI testing tools.
• ISTQB Advanced, CTAL, Performance Testing, Automation Testing, or equivalent certifications.

Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• ISTQB Advanced/Test Manager Certification preferred.
• Agentic AI/GenAI Certifications.
• Hands-on experience with Azure DevOps, Jira, and Quality Management tools.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Test Automation Coverage %
• On-Time Test Delivery
• Release Quality Metrics
• Team Utilization & Productivity
• Audit and Compliance Adherence