Lead QA Engineer

About Drone Deploy

Drone Deploy powers field teams with robotics and AI. As the only reality capture platform that combines robotic automation, AI agents, and a truly unified system, Drone Deploy allows critical industries to operate with speed and confidence.

From construction and energy to agriculture, the world’s largest companies use Drone Deploy to simplify field operations, improve safety, and make smarter decisions, faster. By combining aerial drones, 360 and fixed cameras, ground robots and proprietary AI, we’re bringing the power of automation and visual intelligence to all stakeholders, from the field to the boardroom.

At Drone Deploy, we thrive in a mostly remote‑first culture rooted in innovation and impact. We’ve been recognized as a Best Place to Work in the SF Bay Area and named one of America’s Great Places to Work—but what truly sets us apart is the experience you gain: solving real‑world challenges with cutting‑edge technology, surrounded by teammates who are as passionate as they are supportive.

Our team is bold, mission‑driven, and building something that matters. We foster a culture where a variety of perspectives drive smart decisions, and where growth—both personal and professional—is part of the journey. Whether it’s flexible schedules, family‑friendly benefits, or our strong track record of internal promotions, we invest in people as much as we do in product. If you’re looking to be part of something ambitious, authentic, and transformative, you’ll find your place at Drone Deploy.

As Lead QA Engineer at Drone Deploy, you will drive the evolution of our quality practice across multiple engineering teams, shaping how we deliver reliable, high-impact digital twin solutions for industries like construction, energy, and agriculture. Reporting to the Director of Engineering, you will embed with teams—starting with Ground Mobile—to identify systemic quality patterns, define and own key metrics, and partner with engineering to modernize our approach to quality.

Your work will directly influence the effectiveness and velocity of 70+ engineers, ensuring our platform’s reliability and customer trust as we scale. This is a high‑impact, cross‑team role for a strategic quality architect who thrives on solving complex, organization‑wide challenges and elevating the QA function from reactive testing to proactive quality enablement.

• Work Model: 100% remote (work from home), with the expectation to embed with teams virtually and participate in collaborative sessions across US time zones.
• Time Zone Expectations: Operate with at least 5 hours of overlap between Pacific and Eastern time zones to maximize collaboration with distributed teams.
• Travel: Domestic travel, 1–2 times per year for company offsites or team events.
• Team Context: You will start by embedding with the Ground Mobile team (6 engineers, 2 QA, EM, PM), then rotate to other teams as needed to address quality challenges and spread best practices.

• Evolve and execute the quality strategy across multiple engineering teams, shaping QA’s role throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Define and refine planning processes and quality gates to ensure requirements translate into robust, risk‑based test coverage before code ships.
• Shape and advocate for modern testing approaches (exploratory, automation, monitoring), embedding quality thinking into development workflows.
• Own and operationalize quality metrics (e.g., ESC/MAU, bugs per week, regressions, change failure rate), using data to identify systemic patterns, hotspots, and guide quality investments.
• Analyze incidents, bugs, and post‑mortems to uncover root causes and drive prevention strategies, not just symptom fixes.
• Create actionable reporting and dashboards that provide visibility to engineering leadership and inform organizational priorities.
• Mentor and coach QA engineers, setting high standards for their role and supporting their growth from reactive testers to strategic quality partners.
• Partner with engineering teams to modernize test automation, enable continuous delivery, and accelerate safe, confident releases.
• Champion the adoption of AI and…