QA Lead / Quality Engineering Manager

Upstream; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Upstream is seeking a QA Lead / Quality Engineering Manager for a fully remote role. You will own testing strategies, mentor a team of QA engineers, and embed automation and CI/CD‑driven testing across delivery streams.

The position blends strategy, coaching, and deep technical craft to drive quality and predictable releases. You will translate risk into business impact and lead agile testing practices across cross-functional squads, ensuring high-trust quality culture and data-informed

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• 8–12 years in software quality assurance with at least 4 years leading QA for multiple delivery streams.
• Hands-on mastery of test automation tools (Selenium, Playwright, Cypress).
• Experience with API testing (Postman, RestAssured) and performance testing (JMeter, k6).
• Strong CI/CD knowledge and modern DevOps practices for testing.
• Deep experience in agile/Scrum delivery environments.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall QA strategy for testing across multiple delivery streams.
• Lead, coach, and mentor a team of QA engineers and build a high-trust culture.
• Design and maintain test automation frameworks for UI, API, and performance.
• Embed quality gates into CI/CD pipelines to catch defects early.
• Shift quality left and drive continuous process improvement.
• Communicate release readiness using data like defect leakage and test coverage.
• Translate technical risk into business impact for stakeholders.
• Champion agile testing practices within cross-functional squads.

Skills

QA leadership

Automation engineering

CI/CD

Agile testing

Data-driven decisions

Communication

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Selenium

Playwright

Cypress

Postman

RestAssured

JMeter

k6

Job description

About The Role

We are looking for a QA Lead / Quality Engineering Manager to own and elevate testing across all of our delivery teams. You will set the quality strategy, build and mentor a team of testers, and embed automation, CI/CD-driven testing, and agile quality practices into how we ship. You will be the person who translates technical risk into clear business impact and who makes confident, data-informed release decisions.

This is a hands-on leadership role: equal parts strategy, coaching, and deep technical craft. It is fully remote.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the overall QA strategy for quality across multiple delivery streams, aligning testing strategy with product and business goals.
• Lead, coach, and mentor a team of QA engineers, building a collaborative, high-trust quality culture across delivery teams.
• Design and maintain test automation frameworks and expand automated coverage across UI, API, and performance layers.
• Embed quality gates into CI/CD pipelines so defects are caught early and releases stay predictable.
• Shift quality left, early in the SDLC — anticipate blockers, prevent defects at the source, and drive continuous process improvement.
• Make and communicate release readiness using data and metrics such as defect leakage, test coverage, and escape rate.
• Translate technical risk into clear business impact for stakeholders, developers, and clients.
• Champion agile testing practices within cross-functional squads and resolve conflicts smoothly.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience: 8 to 12 years in software quality assurance, with at least 4 years managing or leading QA for multiple delivery streams.
• Technical skills: Hands-on mastery of automation tools (Selenium, Playwright, Cypress), API testing (Postman, RestAssured), and performance tools (JMeter, k6).
• CI/CD: Strong working knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps practices for testing.
• Methodology: Deep experience within agile / Scrum delivery environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Industry-recognised credentials such as ISTQB Advanced/Expert, Agile Testing, or PMP.
• Experience leading QA for consultancy or multi-client delivery environments.
• Exposure to monday.com, Google Cloud, or HubSpot ecosystems is an advantage.

Essential Qualities

• Strategic vision: Sees the big picture of product quality and aligns testing strategy with business goals.
• Strong communication: Translates complex technical risks into clear business impact for stakeholders and developers.
• Proactive mindset: Anticipates blockers, prevents defects early in the SDLC, and drives continuous improvement.
• Leadership & empathy: Mentors testers, builds a collaborative culture with delivery teams, and resolves conflicts smoothly.
• Analytical thinking: Uses data and metrics (defect leakage, test coverage) to make smart release decisions.