Lead QA Engineer Hands-on Automation

Accion Labs; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Accion Labs in Irvine, CA is seeking an experienced Senior QA Automation Leader to drive enterprise test automation, shape quality strategy, and mentor a growing QA team. You will actively design and implement automation frameworks, collaborate with Development and Product, and ensure production-ready quality across APIs, UI, and backend tests.

The role emphasizes hands-on automation, leadership, and participation in Agile/Scrum ceremonies within a hybrid model ( onsite Tue-Thu ).

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Software Quality Assurance, Test Automation.
• 2+ years of experience leading QA teams or driving QA initiatives.
• Hands-on automation development with Java and/or Python.
• Strong experience with Selenium, Playwright, REST Assured, Postman, and API automation testing.
• Proven ability to design, develop, and maintain scalable test automation frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of enterprise-level test automation architecture and frameworks.
• Mentor and manage a team of QA engineers, ensuring high performance and growth.
• Own end-to-end quality strategy across functional, integration, E2E, performance, and automation testing.
• Lead technical discussions with Development to ensure testability and defect prevention.
• Develop test tools, beds, data mocks, and infrastructure to enable continuous testing.

Skills

QA Automation

Team Leadership

Java

Python

Selenium

Playwright

REST Assured

Postman

API Automation

CI/CD

Jenkins

Git

Docker

Kubernetes

Jira

BDD/TDD

Agile/Scrum

Root Cause Analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / IT / Engineering

Tools

Jira

TestNG

Cucumber

Appium

HP ALM

Maven

Gradle

Git

Job description

Location

Irvine, CA (Hybrid - 3 days onsite: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)

Experience

8+ years of experience in Software Quality Assurance and Test Automation.

2+ years of experience leading QA teams or driving QA initiatives.

Proven experience working as a hands-on automation engineer while leading technical efforts.

Required Skills

8+ years of experience in Software Quality Assurance, Test Automation, and Quality Engineering.

2+ years of experience leading QA teams while remaining actively involved in automation development.

Strong hands-on experience with automation testing using Java and/or Python.

Expertise in Selenium, Playwright, REST Assured, Postman, and API automation testing.

Proven experience designing, developing, and maintaining scalable test automation frameworks.

Strong understanding of UI, API, Integration, End-to-End, and Backend testing.

Experience with BDD/TDD frameworks, Agile/Scrum methodologies, and shift-left testing practices.

Hands-on experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Git, Maven, Gradle, or similar tools.

Experience working with cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure and container technologies including Docker and Kubernetes.

Proficiency with QA and defect management tools such as Jira, TestNG, Cucumber, Appium, and HP ALM.

Strong debugging, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis skills.

Ability to perform automation code reviews and drive quality engineering best practices.

Experience collaborating with Development, Product, and Operations teams to ensure high-quality software delivery.

Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills.

Demonstrated ability to balance technical leadership and hands-on contribution, with active involvement in automation design, development, and execution.

Key Job Functions / Requirements

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of enterprise-level test automation architecture and frameworks
• Supervise, mentor, and manage a team of QA engineers, ensuring high performance, skill growth, and accountability
• Own and drive end-to-end quality strategy, including functional, integration, E2E, performance, and automation testing
• Lead technical discussions and decision-making with Development teams to ensure testability, quality standards, and defect prevention
• Act as the primary QA point of contact for Production/Operations teams, driving: Production defect analysis and root cause identification, Feedback loop into QA and Development, Continuous improvement in production stability
• Develop test tools, test beds, data mock-ups, and other test infrastructure to enable continuous testing and integration
• Drive implementation of advanced automation practices in an Agile/Scrum environment (BDD/TDD, shift-left testing)
• Research tool capabilities and integrate with other technologies by coding interfaces, custom functions, and reusable components
• Work with multiple teams to drive continuous improvement initiatives and ensure successful adoption
• Conduct automation code reviews to ensure quality, scalability, and adherence to best practices
• Collaborate with Product and Development teams for requirement clarification, estimation, and test strategy design
• Establish and maintain a Behavior/Test-Driven Development culture
• Support refactoring of legacy code to improve testability and automation coverage
• Provide oversight on test infrastructure, environments, and test data management
• Own Release Automation & Deployment Automation across multiple environments
• Lead release readiness discussions and ensure quality gates are met before production deployments
• Collect and analyze test metrics, provide insights, and make recommendations to stakeholders
• Drive usage of monitoring tools, log aggregation, dashboards, and analytics to ensure operational excellence
• Provide technical guidance on automation, performance, scalability, security, and testing design
• Lead stakeholder communications, providing clear updates on quality status, risks, and mitigation plans
• Ensure strong collaboration across QA, Development, Product, and Production teams for seamless delivery

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent experience.