IT Director of Quality Assurance

We are seeking a full-time Director of Quality Assurance to own software quality across Ethos, overseeing an outsourced QA team and the processes, tooling, environments, and metrics that prevent defects from reaching production. Our ideal candidate is an experienced, results-driven QA leader who will establish a consistent defect lifecycle, reduce defect aging, implement effective root cause analysis and preventive measures, and improve the reliability of test environments. Within their first year, they will standardize QA tools and processes, integrate AI-based solutions into daily QA operations and performance tracking, and establish a comprehensive KPI framework that drives measurable improvements in software quality, efficiency, and accountability.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead Outsourced QA Operations: Direct the day-to-day activities of an outsourced QA team of 8 to10 resources, establishing priorities, performance expectations, and accountability for quality deliverables.
• Manage Vendor Performance: Oversee vendor agreements, SLAs, staffing, onboarding, and performance evaluations. Address performance gaps through corrective action and ensure effective knowledge transfer and documentation.
• Drive Defect Management: Establish and enforce standardized defect tracking, classification, prioritization, and resolution processes. Lead regular defect triage with engineering and product teams to manage backlogs and identify quality risks.
• Prevent Production Issues: Lead structured root cause analysis of production defects, identify recurring failure patterns, and implement preventive measures through improved test coverage, regression testing, and quality gates.
• Oversee Test Environments: Partner with DevOps to maintain stable, production-representative QA, staging, and UAT environments, including configuration standards, test data management, and environment availability.
• Define QA Strategy & Standards: Develop and continuously improve QA processes across manual, automated, regression, integration, performance, and user acceptance testing to strengthen quality and consistency.
• Advance Test Automation: Evaluate and implement QA tools and automation frameworks, integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines to improve testing efficiency, coverage, and release reliability.
• Leverage AI-Enabled QA Tools: Apply AI-based solutions to test generation, defect classification, failure analysis, workload management, and performance monitoring. Evaluate emerging tools and implement solutions that deliver measurable improvements while maintaining appropriate security and accuracy controls.
• Establish Quality KPIs: Define and monitor performance metrics, including defect escape rates, resolution times, automation coverage, recurring production incidents, test effectiveness, and vendor SLA adherence.
• Deliver Executive Reporting: Produce monthly quality reports and quarterly reviews for the VP of Engineering and CTO, translating performance data into actionable insights, risks, trends, and recommendations.
• Support Release Readiness: Collaborate with engineering, DevOps, IT Delivery Leads, and Technical Product Owners to integrate QA into sprint and release planning, assess release quality, and recommend readiness for deployment.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience (required).

Required Experience:

• 8 to 10 years of progressively greater responsibility in software quality assurance.
• 3 to 4 years in a QA management role leading teams and managers.
• Proven expertise in defect lifecycle management, root cause analysis, and preventive quality practices.
• Hands-on experience establishing and maintaining test environments and test data management practices.
• Strong working knowledge of QA tooling, such as test management (e.g., Xray, Zephyr, TestRail), defect tracking (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps), and automation frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Playwright, Cypress).
• Practical experience using AI-based tools in QA or team management, and enthusiasm for expanding their use.
• Experience defining QA KPIs and producing executive-level monthly and quarterly reporting.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and integrating automated testing into delivery workflows.

Preferred Experience:

• Performance, security, or API testing, and a regulated-industry background.
• Certifications: ISTQB Advanced or Test Manager, CSQE, or similar.
• Experience with data visualization or dashboard tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau)

WORKING AT ETHOS

This is a 100% remote U.S.-based role, offering the flexibility to work from home while remaining closely connected to a collaborative leadership team. Our ideal candidate is available during EST standard business hours. Occasional travel may be required for quarterly or annual leadership meetings and company events.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States and must not require current or future employment sponsorship.

Benefits include: Paid Time Off and Sick Time | Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance | Short-Term + Long-Term Disability Insurance + Life Insurance | 401(k) Matching | Employee Referral Bonus Program

At Ethos, you'll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact, shape the future of our engineering organization, and help build the systems and processes that support our next stage of growth.