Lead IT QA Analyst

Position summary The Lead IT QA Analyst is responsible for leading quality assurance testing activities for assigned technology projects, system changes, enhancements, upgrades, integrations, and releases. This role exercises judgment and discretion in evaluating testing scope, analyzing business and technical requirements, developing and executing test plans, identifying quality risks, reviewing testing results, assessing defects and defect trends, recommending next steps, and supporting release readiness.

Theis role partners with developers, vendors, IT teams, project teams, business stakeholders, and other resources to coordinate testing activities, support issue resolution, and promote consistent QA testing practices. Additionally it provides project-level guidance to QA analysts, project team members, and business testers on test execution, defect documentation, retesting expectations, QA documentation, and testing practices, while supporting practical improvements to QA tools, templates, processes, and documentation.

Job duties and responsibilities Lead QA testing activities for assigned technology projects, system changes, enhancements, upgrades, integrations, and releases, exercising judgment and discretion to evaluate testing scope, quality risks, defects, and release readiness. Develop and execute QA test plans, test cases, and test scripts based on business and technical requirements to validate the functionality, usability, performance, and reliability of technology applications, systems, enhancements, upgrades, and releases.

Evaluate business and technical requirements, user workflows, project documentation, and acceptance criteria to identify testing needs, coverage gaps, testing risks, and quality considerations. Perform manual and automated testing to identify defects, validate expected results, and support overall quality of assigned technology solutions. Lead regression testing activities to verify that system changes, enhancements, fixes, upgrades, integrations, or releases have not adversely affected existing functionality, business processes, or user workflows.

Identify, document, prioritize, and track software defects, testing issues, and quality concerns, partnering with developers, vendors, IT teams, project managers, and stakeholders to support timely resolution and retesting. Analyze and report test results, defect trends, testing risks, quality concerns, and release readiness considerations, providing findings, recommendations, and next steps to project teams and stakeholders. Serve as the QA representative for assigned projects, testing work sessions, release planning discussions, stakeholder updates, and project meetings, providing testing status, feedback, risks, recommendations, and readiness updates.

Coordinate QA testing activities across developers, vendors, IT teams, project teams, business stakeholders, and other resources to support testing timelines, issue resolution, retesting, and release readiness. Provide QA guidance, coaching and mentoring, to QA analysts and project team members by reviewing testing deliverables, sharing best practices, and promoting consistent application of QA methodologies and standards. Lead coordination of test environment readiness, test data availability, system access, and related testing dependencies with technical teams, vendors, and project stakeholders to support efficient and successful testing activities.

Plan, coordinate, and support User Acceptance Testing (UAT) activities by partnering with business stakeholders to facilitate test execution, track completion, support issue resolution, and validate that business acceptance criteria are satisfied. Review and evaluate vendor testing activities, deliverables, and quality results to help ensure testing meets project requirements, established QA standards, and release expectations Support the use, maintenance, and improvement of QA testing tools, automation tools, test repositories, defect tracking tools, and related QA documentation.

Coordinate or support non-functional testing activities, such as performance, security, compatibility, accessibility, and other quality validation efforts, as appropriate for assigned technology initiatives. Maintain awareness of QA methodologies, testing tools, automation practices, and technology changes, and recommend practical improvements to QA testing processes, templates, tools, and documentation. May volunteer or be selected to serve on special committees, work groups, project teams, or escalation teams related to various firm wide IT initiatives.

Initiatives may be specific one-time events, such as research, testing, rollouts, upgrades, and installations, or ongoing activities. Perform other duties as assigned. Job duties and responsibilities included are not exhaustive and may be supplemented as necessary. Reed Smith reserves the right to revise or modify job duties and responsibilities at any time. Requirements

Education:

Bachelor's degree in a…