Head of Quality

Experience Required

12-15

Location

Mumbai

Role Type

Full time

Position: Head of Quality

Overall Purpose

The Head of Quality is responsible for establishing and leading the quality assurance strategy and execution across the SaaS product lifecycle. This role ensures the delivery of a high-quality, reliable, and scalable product that meets customer expectations and business objectives. They champion a culture of quality throughout the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Vision

• Develop and implement a comprehensive quality strategy aligned with the company's overall goals and product roadmap.
• Define and track key quality metrics and KPIs (e.g., defect density, test coverage, customer satisfaction related to quality).
• Stay abreast of industry best practices, emerging technologies, and trends in quality assurance for SaaS products.
• Advocate for quality principles and practices across engineering, product, and other relevant teams.

Team Leadership and Development

• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing quality assurance team, including QA engineers, test automation specialists, and potentially performance and security testers.
• Foster a collaborative and growth-oriented environment within the QA team.
• Define roles and responsibilities, conduct performance reviews, and identify training and development needs.
• Effectively allocate resources to meet product demands and quality goals.

QA Process and Standards

• Establish and maintain clear and efficient QA processes, methodologies (e.g., Agile, Scrum, Waterfall), and standards.
• Develop and implement test plans, test cases, and test scripts for various testing types (functional, integration, regression, performance, security, usability).
• Ensure consistent application of QA processes across different product areas and teams.
• Implement and manage defect tracking and reporting systems.

Test Automation

• Drive the development and implementation of robust test automation frameworks to improve efficiency and test coverage.
• Evaluate and select appropriate automation tools and technologies.
• Ensure the maintainability and scalability of automation scripts.

Collaboration and Communication

• Work closely with product managers, engineers, designers, and other stakeholders throughout the development lifecycle to ensure quality is built-in from the beginning.
• Communicate effectively on quality-related matters, including test results, defect status, and risk assessments.
• Participate in sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives to provide quality insights.
• Act as a point of contact for quality-related inquiries and escalations.

Risk Management and Mitigation

• Identify and assess potential quality risks early in the development process.
• Develop and implement mitigation strategies to minimize the impact of identified risks.
• Analyze defect trends and identify root causes to prevent future issues.

Continuous Improvement

• Continuously evaluate and improve QA processes and methodologies based on feedback, data analysis, and industry best practices.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the QA team and the broader organization.
• Implement tools and techniques to enhance test efficiency and effectiveness.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Experience

• 15+ years of progressive experience in quality assurance, with at least 5-7 years in a leadership role within a SaaS environment.
• Proven track record of building and leading high-performing QA teams.
• Deep understanding of the SaaS development lifecycle and deployment models.
• Significant experience in developing and implementing test automation frameworks.
• Experience with various testing methodologies and tools.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of software testing principles, methodologies, and best practices.
• Proficiency in test automation tools and frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright).
• Familiarity with performance testing tools (e.g., JMeter, LoadRunner) and security testing concepts.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and integrating automated tests.
• Understanding of cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and their impact on quality assurance.
• Familiarity with database technologies and query languages.

Soft Skills

• Excellent leadership, communication (written and verbal), and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strategic thinking and the ability to translate business needs into quality strategies.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across different teams.
• Results-oriented with a strong focus on delivering high-quality products.
• Adaptability and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (Master's degree preferred).
• Relevant certifications (e.g., ISTQB, CSTE) are a plus.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for this Role

• Reduction in medium, critical, and high-severity production defects.
• Improvement in test coverage (unit, integration, end-to-end).
• Increase in automation test execution efficiency.
• Improvement in customer satisfaction scores related to product quality and reliability.
• Reduction in the time to release new features due to efficient testing processes.
• Team satisfaction and retention rates within the QA organization.

Reports To

CEO / COO