Lead, Quality

IGS Energy; Kentucky; Hybrid; USD 113,000 - 181,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Mental health support

Family planning support

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Job summary

IGS Energy is seeking a front‑office Quality Lead to own quality outcomes for CRM, C&I, and Web, leading a small team of QA analysts and QE engineers. The role blends hands‑on testing with people leadership and quality strategy, ensuring shared ownership of quality across sprint cycles, releases, and design discussions.

The successful candidate will partner with GPMs/PMs and engineering managers, oversee test ownership, and drive release quality across three product areas with a focus on

Qualifications

• Leads a QA/QE team and coaches career growth while aligning quality strategy with business goals.
• Knows how to partner with PMs/EMs and engineers to embed quality in sprint cycles and design discussions.
• Fluent in quality metrics, risk assessment, and automation tooling to reduce defects and improve release quality.

Responsibilities

• Lead regular 1:1s with QA analysts and QE engineers and oversee growth plans.
• Serve as quality point of contact for CRM, C&I, and Web; participate in sprint planning and acceptance criteria.
• Own sprint testing, functional test coverage, and release quality across covered teams.

Skills

People leadership

Quality assurance

QA/QE leadership

CI/CD

API testing

Stakeholder communication

Tools

Playwright

Zephyr Scale

Job description

Role Summary

The front-office Quality Lead owns quality outcomes for the CRM, C&I, and Web teams — leading a small group of QA analysts and QE engineers day to day, while acting as the single point of contact for quality within those teams' sprint cycles, releases, and design conversations. This is a hands‑on people‑leadership role: part coach and career‑manager for the team, part quality strategist for three product areas, and part operational owner for release quality on the teams covered. The role treats quality as a responsibility shared between QA and engineering, not something QA backstops alone — making that shared ownership real on each covered team, day to day, is core to the job. It reports to the Engineering Manager of Quality and is one of two Lead‑level roles rebuilding the layer between individual QA/QE contributors and quality leadership (the other, on the Commodity Market Ops side, is filled by an internal promotion already in motion).

Key Responsibilities

• People leadership — run a regular 1:1 cadence and THRIVE conversations with every QA analyst and QE engineer on the covered teams; hold a real career‑development picture for each person (not everyone wants formal goals, and that's legitimate) and delegate in ways that grow people rather than just offload work; coach, set growth plans, and manage performance day to day; take an active role in interviewing as the team grows; elevate people issues to the EM of Quality when they exceed the Lead's authority to resolve.
• Quality point of contact — be the go‑to person for quality within CRM, C&I, and Web: attend sprint planning and story refinement, write or review acceptance criteria, and surface risk before it reaches UAT rather than after.
• Build visible signals — escaped‑defect trends, coverage, recurring production issues — so quality health is evident before someone has to ask.
• Sprint & functional test ownership — own who is doing what: assign and coordinate sprint testing and functional test coverage across the covered teams. This is currently an open gap org‑wide (raised independently on the C&I side) and is one of the first things this role needs to close.
• Release quality ownership — own the release‑night quality gate rotation for front‑office releases: staffing it, running the go/no‑go call, and owning the escalation path when something's off.
• Automation & tooling — maintain and grow the automation already in place across the covered teams (Playwright‑based E2E, API/service‑layer tests, Zephyr Scale for test case and cycle management); take ownership of in‑flight tooling handoffs as they mature (e.g., release‑notes automation, team‑level test analysis tooling).
• Cross‑functional relationships — build real working relationships with the GPMs/PMs and engineering managers on each covered team, with a standing cadence (not just ad hoc) so priorities and risk move in both directions before they become surprises; be a partner in shaping what gets tested and when, not just an order‑taker; represent quality's voice at the team level — and through the Quality Leads Sync — so it doesn't only show up at the steering level.
• Reporting & follow‑through — keep the EM of Quality informed on quality risk, throughput, and team health on a regular cadence, with no surprises; know what's this role's to resolve day to day (coaching, prioritization, technical direction) versus what to elevate (formal performance actions, compensation, staffing); use the relationship with the EM as a thinking partner on hard calls, and drive open issues to a real conclusion rather than a status update.

What Success Looks Like — First 90 Days

• A 1:1 cadence is running with every QA analyst and QE engineer on CRM, C&I, and Web.
• Sprint testing and functional‑test ownership is explicit and understood on each covered team — no more “who's doing this?”.
• The release‑night rotation for front‑office releases is staffed and running smoothly.
• A working relationship is in place with each covered team's GPM/PM and engineering manager.
• The EM of Quality has a clear, current read on team health and risk across all three teams.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Has led or mentored a QA/QE team before, ideally inside a matrixed org where reporting lines and product‑team lines don't fully overlap.
• Comfortable operating both hands‑on (test design, automation, debugging a flaky pipeline) and as a people leader (coaching, growth conversations, performance management).
• Leads with curiosity and humility — willing to dig personally into a flaky pipeline or a hard defect, quick to say 'I don't know yet' and pull in the right person, and clear on when to dig in versus when to delegate.
• Strong stakeholder communicator — can translate technical/quality risk into terms a PM or engineering leader will act on.
• Think's in terms of risk and blast radius, not just test count — prioritizes coverage where it actually matters.
• Ramps quickly on complex, regulated business domains; energy/utility experience is a plus but not required.
• Fluent in modern QE practice — CI/CD pipelines, API/service‑layer testing, shift‑left habits — not a manual‑regression‑only background.

Work Authorization

Applicants must be authorized to work in the US on a full‑time basis. Unfortunately, a current or future need for sponsorship is not supported or available for this position.

Salary Range

Salary Range: $113,070.00 - $180,910.00 *This range reflects base pay only. Incentive earnings, like commissions or bonuses, are not included. This role is also eligible for an annual incentive plan based on company performance.

How We Support Your Wellbeing

• Healthcare Essentials: Comprehensive coverage including medical (plus free telehealth), dental, vision, and employer health savings account contributions.
• Mental Wellbeing: Robust support through Headspace and free mental healthcare visits for you and your dependents.
• Family Planning Support: Extensive assistance with Maven, paid family and caregiver leave, and fertility, adoption, and surrogacy services.
• Financial Readiness: Strong financial foundation with a 401(k) plan, company match, and access to financial wellbeing tools.
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off, tuition reimbursement, paid leaves, employee hardship fund, and a wide range of additional perks.

Equal Opportunity Employment

It is the policy of IGS Energy to ensure equal employment opportunity in accordance with all applicable federal and state regulations and guidelines. Employment discrimination against employees and applicants due to race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment), national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, and veteran status or other legally protected class under applicable law is prohibited. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application or interview process, please contact [e-mail].

IGS Energy is a purpose-driven energy retailer serving homes and businesses across the U.S. and Canada. Since 1989, we’ve been a trusted advisor — growing into one of the nation’s leading energy providers. We make navigating the complex energy landscape easier by delivering customized solutions to millions of customers. At this time, IGS Energy is hiring people in all U.S. states EXCEPT the following states: Alaska, California, District of Columbia, Hawaii, North Dakota, and Wyoming. If you live in a state where we are not hiring, but you are imminently moving to a state where we are, please apply. You will receive instructions once your application is submitted.