Principal Software Quality Specialist

Aspen Technology, Inc.; Bedford (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 137,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision insurance

Retirement benefits

Bonus or variable incentive pay

Job summary

Aspen Technology, Inc. in Massachusetts is seeking a senior quality engineering leader to drive technical software quality and engineering excellence across the entire product lifecycle.

You will ensure quality is built into development through modern practices, defect prevention, and data‑driven insights in an Agile/SAFe delivery model. You will define scalable testing strategies, expand test automation, and align architecture, test strategy, and quality outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field required.
• 8–10+ years in Software Quality, QA, or SDET leadership.
• Experience in Agile/SAFe environments, ART level preferred.
• Hands-on experience with test automation, CI/CD, and quality gates.
• Strong analytical, communication, and influence skills.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive modern quality engineering practices across the SDLC.
• Partner with engineering teams to improve test coverage and quality.
• Establish scalable test automation frameworks and release validation.
• Embed quality criteria into user stories, acceptance criteria, and Definition of Done.
• Lead adoption of quality standards across distributed teams.

Skills

SDET leadership

Agile/SAFe

Test automation

CI/CD pipelines

Quality metrics

Stakeholder influence

Azure DevOps

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

Azure DevOps

Testing frameworks

Job description

The driving force behind our success has always been the people of AspenTech. What drives us, is our aspiration, our desire and ambition to keep pushing the envelope, overcoming any hurdle, challenging the status quo to continually find a better way. You will experience these qualities of passion, pride and aspiration in many ways - from a rich set of career development programs to support of community service projects to social events that foster fun and relationship building across our global community.

The Role

This role drives technical software quality and engineering excellence across the product lifecycle. You will ensure quality is built into development through modern engineering practices, defect prevention, and data-driven insights-all within an Agile/SAFe delivery model.

Technical Quality Engineering Leadership

• Define and drive modern quality engineering practices across the SDLC, including shift-left testing, test automation, and continuous validation.
• Partner with engineering teams to improve unit, integration, API, and end-to-end test coverage.
• Establish scalable strategies for test automation frameworks, CI/CD quality gates, and release validation.
• Ensure strong alignment between architecture, test strategy, and quality outcomes.
• Promote best practices in code quality, testability, observability, and resiliency.
• Drive adoption of quality engineering standards across distributed teams.

Quality Embedded in Agile / SAFe Delivery

• Ensure quality practices are fully integrated into Agile and SAFe workflows, including backlog refinement, sprint execution, and PI planning.
• Embed quality criteria into user stories, acceptance criteria, and Definition of Done
• Align quality priorities with business value, customer impact, and delivery commitments.
• Enable teams to apply risk-based testing and validation within fast-paced Agile cycles.
• Support consistent application of quality standards across ARTs without slowing delivery velocity.

Process Optimization & Continuous Improvement

• Identify bottlenecks in development and testing workflows and implement lean, high impact improvements.
• Drive continuous improvement cycles using retrospectives and Inspect & Adapt forums.
• Improve flow efficiency, cycle time, and release predictability without compromising quality rigor.

Change Leadership & Quality Culture

• Champion a quality-first engineering mindset across teams
• Lead adoption of modern quality practices through coaching, training, and influence.
• Collaborate across Product, Engineering, and Leadership to align quality with business outcomes.
• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement.

What You'll Need

• Bachelors degree required in a relevant technical field.
• 8-10+ years in Software Quality, Quality Engineering, or SDET leadership roles
• Experience working in Agile/SAFe environments (ART-level preferred)
• Strong hands-on experience in: Test automation frameworks and strategies, CI/CD pipelines and quality gates
• Proven ability to drive engineering-led quality improvements at scale.
• Deep understanding of SDLC, modern QA practices, and risk-based testing
• Experience with Azure DevOps, or equivalent toolsets
• Strong analytical, communication, and influencing skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• SAFe experience or certification
• Familiarity with observability or monitoring tools
• Exposure to AI-driven quality engineering
• Working knowledge of ISO/QMS

The salary range for this role is $109,600.00 - $137,000.00. This range represents what we in good faith believe is the range possible for base compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range based on several factors. This range may be modified in the future. This role is also eligible for bonus or variable incentive pay. Additionally, we offer a comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, charitable giveback day, medical/dental/vision insurance, and retirement benefits to eligible employees.

Benefits

• Paid time off
• Charitable giveback day
• Medical/dental/vision insurance
• Retirement benefits to eligible employees
• Eligible for bonus or variable incentive pay