Product QA Lead

You are more than a QA Lead. You’re a product-minded strategist who understands that quality begins in discovery, not just when development starts. You thrive on being part of the entire process; from shaping product decisions to identifying risks early, defining quality expectations, establishing a strong foundation for testability, risk mitigation, and quality assurance from day one. You have previous experience leading large scale teams and  building scalable QA practices that strengthen the product lifecycle end to end.  

We are looking for a leader to bridge the gap between initial product discovery and technical delivery. In this role, you will move beyond traditional test execution to ensure that quality is a proactive driver of business value. You will leverage a background in business analysis to translate complex enterprise objectives into effective quality frameworks and risk-based testing strategies that project our clients’ investments.

CORE COMPETENCIES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

Lead Quality in Product Discovery

• Participate in product discovery, solution workshops, and requirement refinement sessions. 
• Identify gaps, edge cases, and integration risks during discovery
• Define clear, testable acceptance criteria
• Drive impact analysis and risk assessment to enable effective release readiness planning. 

Define and Lead Product Testing Strategy

• Create high-level test strategy before execution begins
• Define coverage approach across UI, API, integration, and regression testing
• Identify performance, security, accessibility, and scalability requirements early
• Evaluate automation feasibility & define approach based on business impact

Establish Clear, Measurable Deliverables

• Own QA deliverables including test plans, coverage reports and sanity/regression tests.
• Create comprehensive risk assessments, release readiness checklists, non-functional validation plans including load testing, security and accessibility testing, UAT support materials, automation recommendations
• Provide QA effort estimates based on scope clarity, complexity, dependencies
• Translate PRDs and business requirements into clear, prioritized test plans. 

Partner with Product and Engineering Leadership

• Influence architectural decisions with testability and maintainability in mind.
• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and stakeholders.
• Provide structured handoff to QA execution teams before development begins.

Need another reason to hit the “apply” button? 

• Codal is a global agency with over 200 employees, and offices in the US, Canada, the UK, and India 
• We offer Medical, Life, Dental/Vision, and many more insurance types 
• Employer 401k match - 4% 
• Commuter Benefits
• We regularly host happy hours, dinners, excursions, and other company events to unwind after a hard day at work
• Office snacks and drinks + a fancy Bevi water machine with flavored water 
• A recreational group that regularly competes in city leagues for softball and volleyball 
• An office in the heart of downtown Chicago with a gym, food court, Walgreens, rooftop bar, outdoor sports court, and other amenities
• Working hybrid for in-person collaboration and sprint-planning days