Quality Assurance Team Lead

Penlink; Lincoln (NE); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Penlink is seeking a Quality Assurance Lead to unify and guide QA across all products. You will own test strategy, ensure release readiness, and collaborate with Product and Engineering to deliver high-quality software.

The role emphasizes leadership, process improvement, and delivering reliable solutions to clients. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in QA, 3+ years in leading teams, and a strong background in Agile environments.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of leading a team of employees and 5+ years in QA.
• Experience delivering high quality software testing processes.
• Familiarity with test case management software and issue tracking tools.
• Ability to think strategically about QA process improvements.
• Excellent written and verbal communications with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach the QA team on test strategy, test case design, execution, and best practices
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve QA processes, testing procedures, and release readiness standards
• Oversee software testing efforts including functional, regression, performance, scalability, reliability, and system testing
• Partner with Product and Engineering teams to understand feature scope, estimate testing efforts, and coordinate defect resolution
• Evaluate and recommend improvements to testing tools, processes, and buy-versus-build solutions
• Manage team resources, including hiring, performance management, and development of QA staff
• Drive release quality decisions by assessing testing results, team feedback, and overall system readiness
• Ensure testing environments, documentation, reporting, and communication of testing outcomes are accurate and maintained
• Identify usability and quality improvement opportunities and provide recommendations to Product and Engineering teams
• Support troubleshooting efforts by reproducing, validating, and resolving client-reported issues

Skills

QA Leadership

Agile/Scrum

Test Strategy

Communication

Release Readiness

Team Coaching

Education

BA in Computer Science

Tools

Microsoft Test Center

Jira

Job description

Penlink is a technology company bringing clarity to complex data for people who need it now. We partner with law enforcement agencies across the United States, offering a software solution to manage data and aid investigators solving crimes. It sounds like a lot of data and analytics, but really, it’s about improving the world and keeping safe the places we call home.

We focus on creating products that positively impact our communities and being "in the mission" and less about the laidback culture and amazing benefits - even though we offer those too. With our get it done attitude and focused mission we are growing at an unprecedented rate and are therefore seeking a Quality Assurance Lead that will be responsible for leading a unified Quality Assurance team across all products and be the ultimate decision maker if a release can be sent out to clients. The QA Lead will be responsible for ensuring that software bugs are identified, tracked and resolved. This person will play an integral role in the software development lifecycle ensuring that the highest quality product is being delivered to clients.

Your Responsibilities

• Lead and coach the QA team on test strategy, test case design, execution, and best practices
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve QA processes, testing procedures, and release readiness standards
• Oversee software testing efforts including functional, regression, performance, scalability, reliability, and system testing
• Partner with Product and Engineering teams to understand feature scope, estimate testing efforts, and coordinate defect resolution
• Evaluate and recommend improvements to testing tools, processes, and buy-versus-build solutions
• Manage team resources, including hiring, performance management, and development of QA staff
• Drive release quality decisions by assessing testing results, team feedback, and overall system readiness
• Ensure testing environments, documentation, reporting, and communication of testing outcomes are accurate and maintained
• Identify usability and quality improvement opportunities and provide recommendations to Product and Engineering teams
• Support troubleshooting efforts by reproducing, validating, and resolving client-reported issues

Requirements

• 3+ years of leading a team of employees and 5+ years of working in QA.
• Adept at leading teams using Agile, scrum methodologies.
• BA degree in Computer Science or related field preferred.
• Expertise and demonstrated delivery of high quality software testing process.
• Familiarity with test case management software (like Microsoft Test Center) and issue tracking tools.
• Detailed oriented, methodical, and organized in your thinking. Ability to think strategically regarding improvements to the quality assurance process.
• Excellent communications, both written and verbal, and able to communicate ideas concisely and clearly to the team and stakeholders in a professional manger.
• The drive to deliver and openness to new ideas and approaches.
• Maintain a positive, team-orientated attitude that inspires confidence and motivates employees to meet challenges head-on.
• Experience implementing best practices for testing and release.

This position currently follows a hybrid schedule that requires two days per week in our Lincoln, Nebraska, office. Onsite requirements may be adjusted based on business needs and company or departmental policy.