Lead Quality Assurance Engineer

Associate Director, Lead QA Engineer- Freelance

Location: Kansas City

Type of position: Freelance

Division / Technology

Reports to: Head of QA

About VML

VML is the world’s largest creative agency. We combine brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands and drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and award-winning work for blue chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Intel, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's among others. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave™ Reports, which named WPP as a “Leader” in Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. As the world’s most advanced creative company, VML’s global network is powered by over 30,000 talented people across 60-plus markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Seattle, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney to name just a few.

The Role

The Lead QA Engineer (Associate Director) Freelance role identifies and applies the quality standards and serves as the quality control for all new releases, software updates and automation as well as serves as a primary liaison with VML’s clients. They regularly consult with customers to share industry and craft related knowledge, business process enhancements, and best practices. The Lead QA Engineer (Associate Director) Freelance is client and delivery focused, constantly monitoring and improving to ensure the project aligns to the business needs. They plan, coordinate, and provide QA solutions on architecture and development activities for major applications using creativity, in-depth technical knowledge, automated and manual testing tools and domain knowledge and experience. The Lead QA Engineer (Associate Director) Freelance develops and applies systems and software engineering concepts, techniques, and patterns to develop deliverables for applications. Working with organizations to define application validation software and design validation models that enable scaled implementation and enhancements to business-critical applications. The Lead QA Engineer (Associate Director) Freelance communicates actions, outcomes, and results to technical and non-technical audiences. The Lead QA Engineer (Associate Director) Freelance ensures actions they are responsible for are accomplished and are responsible for their assigned tasks. The Lead QA Engineer (Associate Director) Freelance also works with Technical Leadership to help develop tactical strategies in coordination with the Project Management team and participates in the development and execution of program and project plans.

Responsibilities

1. Responsible for hands on Automated Testing while following practice guidelines to help build and update automation solutions
2. Iterates and introduces sustainable validation framework and coordinates related teams in delivering world-class marketing technology solutions
3. Anticipates system and industry changes, presenting information and analysis to facilitate proactive approach to opportunities
4. Participates with management in planning the short- and long-range automation strategies for the company and provides point of view on technology and automation related matters
5. Responsible for helping to build robust, high-quality infrastructure and applications
6. Provides technical review to help ensure projects meet technical recommendations, integration goals, timeliness, and deliver expected benefits
7. Demonstrates superior analytical, problem-solving, project management, and leadership abilities

Requirements

1. 7 years of in-depth experience utilizing Automated Testing Solutions
2. Applies SDLC principles in daily tasks
3. Proven experience using BDD for functional, presentation, and API automation
4. Demonstrated experience in core JAVA, Selenium, jUnit
5. Knowledge of Zephyr, Postman, GitHub
6. Extensive experience testing scalable API employed at every stage of the development lifecycle, including from within CI/CD pipelines
7. Ability to anticipate and independently provide solutions for complex problems and issues, recommending upgrades, enhancements, priorities and strategic technology directions based on independent research, consultation and analysis
8. Comprehensive understanding of multiple test methodologies
9. Quickly absorbs complex technical and/or conceptual information, identify key issues and details, and present understandable alternatives to both technical and non-technical individuals
10. Anticipates issues and provides solutions for complex problems
11. Ability to identify the practical implications of new technologies and to relate automation system capabilities to business goals
12. Demonstrated ability to work on multiple complex tasks against deadlines and shifting priorities and to comfortably deal with uncertainty, ambiguity, and change
13. Proven ability to grow capabilities of others and share knowledge
14. Demonstrated ability to solicit constructive input from and build consensus among groups and constituencies with differing priorities and perspectives

Competencies

1. Qualified candidates will have 5 years of automated test development experience
2. Proven proficiency working with the following: JAVA, Selenium, jUnit
3. Demonstrates automation-first test design
4. Working knowledge of build and deployment automation using tools such as Jenkins, Zephyr, Postman
5. Experience automating tests for mobile and web applications, and APIs
6. Experience in performance test automation using tools such as JMeter, sitespeed.io, and soapui
7. Strong understanding of accessibility guidelines and testing tools

The ideal Candidate

• Will possess an entrepreneurial spirit, who thrives with a certain level of uncertainty and autonomy yet manages to navigate among multiple stakeholders (internally and externally) to secure structured and successful social media engagements and grow target audiences.
• Personality and approach: Collaborative, positive, result driven, energetic, self-driven, ethical, emphatic, robust, daring, executional (can do - get things done attitude)

VML is a WPP agency. For more information, please visit our website and follow Wunderman Thompson on our social channels: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. VML is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting and retaining the most qualified employees regardless of race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age or disability. We rely on legitimate interest as a legal basis for processing personal information under the GDPR for purposes of recruitment and applications for employment.