QA Lead, Quality Assurance - QA​/QC, IT QA Tester ​/ Automation

• Define, develop, and implement test strategies and test plans for complex applications and systems.
• Lead and mentor a QA team comprised of onshore and offshore engineers, ensuring alignment with project goals and deadlines.
• Oversee the full QA lifecycle including requirements analysis, test design, execution, defect management, and reporting.
• Establish and enforce QA processes, standards, and best practices to ensure consistent product quality.
• Drive adoption of automation testing frameworks and tools (with a focus on Ghost Inspector, CodeCeptJS, Playwright, typescript, postman or any modern tool), reducing manual effort and increasing coverage.
• Collaborate with product managers, developers, and stakeholders to integrate quality practices throughout the development cycle.
• Monitor QA progress, resource allocation, and risk management, delivering regular status updates to leadership.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives in testing methodologies, automation, and cross-team collaboration.

We are seeking an experienced QA Lead to drive quality assurance initiatives across our software development lifecycle. The ideal candidate will bring expertise in test strategy, test planning, and team leadership, with a proven track record of managing both onshore and offshore QA resources. This role requires strong hands-on skills in automation testing with any coding language, JavaScript, Typescript, or Java, as well as the ability to influence quality standards and practices at a strategic level.
Key Responsibilities

• Define, develop, and implement test strategies and test plans for complex applications and systems.
• Lead and mentor a QA team comprised of onshore and offshore engineers, ensuring alignment with project goals and deadlines.
• Oversee the full QA lifecycle including requirements analysis, test design, execution, defect management, and reporting.
• Establish and enforce QA processes, standards, and best practices to ensure consistent product quality.
• Drive adoption of automation testing frameworks and tools (with a focus on Ghost Inspector, CodeCeptJS, Playwright, typescript, postman or any modern tool), reducing manual effort and increasing coverage.
• Collaborate with product managers, developers, and stakeholders to integrate quality practices throughout the development cycle.
• Monitor QA progress, resource allocation, and risk management, delivering regular status updates to leadership.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives in testing methodologies, automation, and cross-team collaboration.

The first Music & Arts was located in a small house in Bethesda, MD and run by founder Benjamin O'Brien. When Music & Arts opened its doors in 1952, we offered printed music, music lessons, dance lessons, and art supplies. Ben decided shortly after opening his business that he wanted to focus on music to better serve his customers -- a decision that remains intact to this day.

Since the 1990's, Music & Arts has expanded nationwide through organic growth and a series of acquisitions and mergers with other music dealers. In 2005, Music & Arts joined forces with American Music to become the largest band and orchestra instrument retailer in the United States. Based in Frederick, MD, Music & Arts is now part of the Guitar Center enterprise and comprises 200+ retail stores, 120+ educational representatives, and 300+ affiliate locations.

To join our band you will need the following experience:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent work experience).
• 7+ years of QA experience in software testing, with at least 3+ years in a QA Lead role.
• 5 years of experience working on ecommerce web, Salesforce and mobile platforms. (ATG experience a plus)
• Proven experience managing onshore and offshore QA teams, driving performance and accountability.
• Strong knowledge of QA methodologies, test design techniques, and SDLC/Agile development practices.
• Hands-on experience with automation testing frameworks and tools
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and integrating automated tests into deployment processes.
• Strong communication, leadership, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, balancing multiple priorities while maintaining high standards of quality.

• Familiarity with performance and load testing.
• Working knowledge of AWS cloud and pipeline.

Why Guitar Center? Here's just some of the rewards:

For our employees who are musicians we offer the unique opportunity of gig leave--take time off to share your music with the world and return to your job after your tour! Guitar Center offers robust benefits and perks, including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K plus company match, mental health support, paid sick/holiday/vacation time, employee discount program, and tuition reimbursement options.

Pay Rate:$100,000 - $115,000/yr depending on background and experience.

The job posting is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any…