Lead QA Engineer

About Free Balance

Free Balance is a purpose‑led global technology company empowering governments to achieve transparent, accountable, and effective public financial management through its proprietary Free Balance Accountability Suite™ , a comprehensive Government Resource Planning (GRP) solution designed exclusively for the public sector. With over 40 years of experience supporting governments worldwide, Free Balance drives digital transformation across the entire budget cycle: from policy‑based budgeting and accounting to human resource management, performance measurement, treasury and receipts management… all within a scalable, unified platform that supports fiscal transparency, citizen engagement, and data‑driven decision‑making.

Quality Assurance is an essential requirement in R&D, and Free Balance is investing in a dedicated QA function. This role will establish, operationalize, and scale that function from the ground up.

The Lead QA Engineer is a senior, hands‑on technical leader responsible for building the QA practice s role will be the first QA hire within R&D and will lead the establishment of QA processes, automation frameworks, tooling strategy (including AI‑enabled test automation), test governance, execution standards, and quality KPIs. The Lead QA Engineer will perform hands‑on testing, design and implement automation, define QA processes, and collaborate closely with the Development and the Functional Specifications teams.

Over time, this role will hire, mentor, and manage a team of QA Engineers, evolving into a formal QA Manager position. This is a high‑visibility role with significant ownership and long‑term growth potential.

• Build and Lead the QA Function
  • Establish the QA function within R&D from the ground up, including processes, frameworks, standards, templates, and governance.
  • Define and implement a scalable QA operating model aligned with Free Balance’s SDLC and release cycle.
  • Create and maintain QA documentation, including test strategies, test plans, test cases, and best practices.
• Test Execution & Coverage
  • Conduct functional, integration, system, and regression testing for Free Balance’s GRP modules and platform components.
  • Ensure coverage across a broad suite of modules (budgeting, treasury, procurement, HR, payroll, assets, inventory, workflow, security, etc.).
  • Validate cross‑module behavior in a monolithic, highly integrated Java‑based platform.
• Automation Strategy & Implementation
  • Lead the selection, evaluation, and implementation of QA automation tools, including modern AI‑enabled test automation solutions.
  • Build automation frameworks for UI, backend workflows, and regression testing.
  • Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines.
  • Ensure maintainability, scalability, and extensibility of the automation suite.
• Process Design & Continuous Improvement
  • Define end‑to‑end QA workflows, including entry/exit criteria, gating, and release readiness.
  • Establish quality standards and enforce QA processes within R&D.
  • Drive continuous improvement of test coverage, defect detection, and release stability.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration
  • Work closely with Development teams during feature implementation, defect triage, and release cycles.
  • Collaborate with Functional Specification teams to clarify requirements and identify risks early.
  • Partner with the Services department to improve pre‑release quality and reduce field defects.
• Leadership & Team Building
  • Provide mentoring and technical guidance to future QA team members.
  • Develop onboarding materials, training plans, and QA career paths.
  • Within 12‑18 months, evolve into a QA Manager role leading a team of 3‑5 engineers.
• Quality Metrics & Reporting
  • Define and track KPIs including defect leakage, test coverage, automation coverage, and cycle time.
  • Introduce dashboards, data‑driven insights, and quality reporting to R&D leadership.

• 10+ years of professional QA experience in complex enterprise or platform environments.
• 5+ years of experience in government, ERP, GRP, or similarly complex domain environments.
• 10+ years of experience with test automation, frameworks, and tools (UI, API, backend).
• 3+ years…