Senior Quality Assurance Consultant

Senior Consultant – Quality Assurance (Program-Level)

We are seeking an experienced Senior Consultant – Quality Assurance to lead and champion overall quality assurance for a large, complex program that is already in flight and consists of approximately 15 parallel work-streams. Each work-stream is responsible for executing its own QA activities; however, this role is accountable for program-level QA strategy, governance, consistency, and execution quality, including both manual and automated testing approaches.

The Senior QA Consultant will oversee and guide workstream QA efforts, ensure adherence to standards, and lead cross-cutting QA phases such as End-to-End (E2E) Testing, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Performance Testing, Automated Testing, and Operational Readiness. This role requires strong QA leadership, experience with automated testing frameworks, and the ability to drive execution through common frameworks, templates, tooling, and clear communication across technical and business teams.

• Own and champion the overall QA strategy for the program, including manual and automated testing approaches.
• Ensure QA activities across all work-streams are consistent, comprehensive, and aligned to program objectives.
• Act as the central point of accountability for program-level quality outcomes.
• Coach and guide work-stream leads, QA analysts, and QA engineers to improve test coverage, automation effectiveness, and overall quality.

• Define and maintain the program-level QA strategy, test approach, and quality standards.
• Establish QA governance, entry/exit criteria, and quality gates across test phases.
• Develop and manage QA plans, schedules, and dependencies across work streams.
• Drive adoption of standardized QA templates, frameworks, and best practices.

• Define the overall automated testing strategy, including regression, smoke, and integration testing.
• Align automation frameworks, tooling, and execution standards across work streams.
• Oversee automation coverage, execution results, and maintenance approach.
• Ensure automated tests are integrated into CI/CD or scheduled execution where applicable.

• Plan and lead End-to-End (E2E) Testing, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), automated regression testing, performance testing, and operational readiness activities.
• Coordinate with work-stream leads on scope, data, environments, automation coverage, and resources.
• Ensure test scenarios reflect real-world business processes and integrations.

• Define and manage the defect reporting, triage, and resolution process.
• Ensure consistent defect logging, prioritization, and lifecycle management.
• Track and report QA KPIs including defect trends, automation coverage, execution results, and quality risks.

• Drive effective use of JIRA, Zephyr, Excel, and related QA tools.
• Standardize dashboards and reporting for program-wide visibility.
• Communicate QA status, risks, and recommendations to leadership and stakeholders.

• 10+ years of experience in Quality Assurance, Test Management, or QA leadership roles.
• Proven experience leading QA at a program or portfolio level across multiple work streams.
• Strong experience with automated testing strategies and frameworks.
• Hands‑on experience planning and executing E2E testing and UAT.
• Proficiency with JIRA, Zephyr, Excel, and similar tools.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Experience supporting large enterprise transformation or ERP programs.
• Experience working in complex, multi‑system integration environments.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and test automation integration.

Mid‑Senior level

Full‑time

Information Technology

Retail

Chicago, IL