Senior QA Lead - Data Engineering & Analytics Testing

Senior QA Lead – Data Engineering & Analytics Testing  
** Remote (U.S.) | Contract Opportunity | Potential for Long-Term Extension*
* ** Compensation:** $60-$70/hour DOE  
*
* Employment Type:

** W2 Contract Only  
** Eligibility:
** No Corp-to-Corp (C2C), Third-Party Vendors, or Subcontractors  ---About the Opportunity  Join a globally recognized retail and mobility organization undergoing a large-scale enterprise data transformation. This position will support a strategic Data Platform modernization initiative focused on migrating and validating critical business data across modern cloud-based platforms.
We are seeking a
** Senior QA Lead – Data Engineering & Analytics Testing
** to drive quality assurance efforts across data engineering and analytics projects. This role is heavily focused on
** backend data testing (85-90%)**, including ETL/ELT validation, data reconciliation, transformation testing, and data quality assurance.
This is a unique opportunity to join a new project pod from inception, helping define testing strategy, validation frameworks, and quality standards while providing leadership to a small team of QA professionals.  ---What You'll Be Doing Data Validation & Quality Assurance
* Lead testing efforts for enterprise data engineering and analytics initiatives.
* Validate complex data transformations, calculations, aggregations, and business rules.
* Perform end-to-end ETL/ELT testing, including source-to-target reconciliation.
* Ensure data integrity across cloud-based platforms and large-scale migration efforts.
* Validate data across Bronze, Silver, and Gold layers within Medallion Architecture environments.
* Develop and execute SQL-based test cases against large and complex datasets.
* Build and maintain cross-system data reconciliation processes using source-to-target mappings.

QA Strategy & Leadership
* Define and execute comprehensive testing strategies, plans, and test cases.
* Establish quality standards and QA best practices across projects.
* Review test cases, Jira tickets, and defect documentation for quality and completeness.
* Mentor and guide junior QA team members.
* Ensure edge cases and complex business scenarios are adequately tested before release.
* Partner with Data Engineers, Architects, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and Business Analysts throughout the development lifecycle.

Automation & Continuous Improvement
* Support the transition from manual testing toward automated testing capabilities.
* Help design and implement reusable automation frameworks for data validation.
* Contribute to automation initiatives leveraging modern tools and Snowflake-native capabilities.
* Participate in Agile ceremonies, sprint planning, reviews, retrospectives, and daily standups.

---Required Qualifications
* Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
* 7+ years of experience in:  + Quality Assurance  + Data Warehouse Testing  + ETL/ELT Testing  + Data Quality Validation
* Strong hands-on experience with:  + Snowflake  + SQL  + Databricks  + Azure Data Factory (ADF)  + Azure Data Lake
* Advanced SQL skills with the ability to independently write and execute test queries.
* Extensive experience with data reconciliation and source-to-target validation.
* Experience validating complex business rules and data transformations.
* Strong understanding of data warehousing concepts and modern cloud data platforms.
* Experience working within Agile/Scrum environments.
* Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.

---Preferred Qualifications
* Previous QA Lead or Test Lead experience.
* Python and PyTest automation experience.
* Experience building or supporting test automation frameworks.
* Experience with Streamlit or similar…