QA Engineering Lead: AI-Driven Quality & Strategy

SmartRecruiters, Inc.; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Applaudo is seeking a Quality Engineering leader to build scalable QA practices across large-scale web and mobile ecosystems. You will drive testing innovation, establish governance, and mentor a ~15-person QA organization including client-side resources.

Lead AI-powered testing initiatives and advance quality throughout the software lifecycle. The role requires strong stakeholder management, strategic thinking, and deep expertise in quality engineering, automation, and modern testing

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in Quality Engineering, QA, or Test Automation.
• 5+ years leading QA teams.
• Proven experience defining quality strategies and QA governance frameworks.
• Experience with AI-driven testing or quality automation initiatives.
• Advanced English proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the Quality Engineering strategy across a portfolio of web and mobile products.
• Establish quality standards, governance frameworks, testing processes, and engineering best practices.
• Lead and mentor a QA organization of approximately 15 team members, including both internal and client-side resources.
• Foster a quality-first culture focused on collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Drive the implementation and adoption of AI-powered testing practices and Agentic AI solutions.
• Identify opportunities to improve testing efficiency, automation coverage, and overall product quality.
• Oversee test planning, execution, automation, regression testing, and release validation across multiple product teams.
• Monitor quality metrics, testing effectiveness, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Product, Delivery, and business stakeholders to align quality objectives with organizational goals.
• Proactively identify quality risks and drive mitigation strategies throughout the SDLC.

Skills

Quality Engineering leadership

QA governance

Test automation

AI-driven testing

Advanced English

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field

Job description

Applaudo is seeking a Quality Engineering leader to build scalable QA practices across large-scale web and mobile ecosystems. You will drive testing innovation, establish governance, and mentor a ~15-person QA organization including client-side resources.

Lead AI-powered testing initiatives and advance quality throughout the software lifecycle. The role requires strong stakeholder management, strategic thinking, and deep expertise in quality engineering, automation, and modern testing