Senior Quality Assurance Analyst - JHB

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:
ENVIRONMENT: Our client is seeking an experienced Senior Quality Assurance Analyst to establish, implement and drive quality assurance standards, processes and practices across the software development lifecycle. The successful candidate will provide technical expertise, guide and mentor QA team members, and ensure that software solutions meet functional, non-functional and quality requirements. The role involves working within Agile Scrum teams, developing comprehensive test strategies, designing and executing manual and automated tests, and improving testing maturity across the organisation. The successful candidate will collaborate with developers, technical teams, business stakeholders and other Agile teams to identify risks, resolve defects and ensure reliable software delivery.   DUTIES: •       Define, establish and implement quality assurance standards, testing practices, tools and processes across the software development lifecycle. •       Provide technical guidance to QA team members and ensure appropriate testing techniques are applied to identify defects early. •       Analyse business and software requirements, product specifications and prototypes to establish test objectives, prioritise test conditions and develop suitable test cases. •       Develop, document and execute comprehensive test strategies and plans, identifying the resources required for testing. •       Design, build and execute manual and automated test scripts to validate functional and non-functional requirements. •       Conduct integration, API, regression, load and performance testing. •       Design and manage tests to verify compliance with industry and proprietary protocols. •       Establish and maintain test environments that accurately represent production environments. •       Identify, document, communicate and manage product and testing risks. •       Investigate, reproduce and report defects, conduct impact analysis and verify fixes to prevent regression issues. •       Plan, prioritise and estimate testing activities in line with Agile sprint deliverables and timelines. •       Monitor testing progress, report results and conduct defect trend analysis. •       Ensure software quality meets established standards and applicable contractual obligations. •       Coordinate User Acceptance Testing (UAT) preparation, execution, reporting and sign-off. •       Develop and maintain regression test suites and contribute to continuous improvement of testing processes. •       Support the implementation of automated testing within Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI\/CD) pipelines. •       Create and maintain technical documentation, templates, policies and procedures in accordance with development standards. •       Coordinate QA handovers to Operations to support accurate and reliable production implementations. •       Facilitate communication and collaboration between QA, development, technology and business teams. •       Coach and mentor QA team members, support the onboarding of new employees and promote knowledge sharing. •       Participate in technical forums and contribute to discussions on platform design, testing maturity and quality improvements. •       Promote effective collaboration, consistent quality standards and continuous improvement across the organisation.   REQUIREMENTS: •       Certified Test Analyst qualification. •       6–8 years’ experience in Test Engineering and Test Analysis. •       6–8 years’ experience conducting functional and regression testing, as well as coordinating and reporting on UAT preparation, execution and sign-off. •       6–8 years’ experience designing end-to-end test strategies. •       Experience designing, developing and executing manual and automated test cases. •       Experience in integration testing and API testing using Postman, RestAssured or similar tools. •       Experience working in cloud environments such as AWS and Azure. •       Experience with CI\/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps. •       Experience implementing automated testing within CI-integrated testing pipelines. •       Experience designing and building regression test suites. •       Expert-level understanding of testing methodologies, concepts and techniques. •       Expert-level understanding of microservices testing fundamentals. •       Understanding of Agile Scrum methodologies, sprint planning and software development lifecycles. •       Strong understanding of test planning, estimation, defect management, risk assessment and quality assurance processes. •       Ability to analyse technical requirements, investigate issues and make informed decisions.   ATTRIBUTES: •       Leadership and mentoring: Able to coach, guide and support QA team members while promoting high standards of quality and productivity. •       Analytical and problem-solving: Strong investigative, analytical and decision-making skills, with the ability to identify root causes and recommend effective solutions. •       Attention to detail: Thorough and methodical approach to testing, documentation, defect reporting and quality validation. •       Accountability and integrity: Demonstrates honesty, professionalism, ownership and responsibility for deliverables. •       Communication: Communicates technical information clearly and effectively with technical teams, business stakeholders and external parties. •       Collaboration: Builds strong working relationships, encourages knowledge sharing and contributes positively to cross-functional teams. •       Planning and organisation: Able to prioritise workloads, manage competing demands and meet project deadlines. •       Adaptability and resilience: Responds positively to change, manages complexity and remains effective under pressure. •       Initiative and innovation: Proactively identifies opportunities to improve testing practices, processes and delivery outcomes. •       Customer-focused: Committed to delivering reliable, high-quality software that meets business and customer expectations. •       Business insight: Understands the importance of aligning quality assurance activities with business objectives and delivery requirements. •       Risk and compliance awareness: Able to identify and manage testing risks while adhering to established standards, policies and procedures. •       Professional conduct: Maintains a professional image, demonstrates sound judgement and contributes to a positive team environment.