Quality Assurance Manager Job Description: Role, Responsibilities and Requirements

The Quality Assurance Manager Job Description below outlines a senior quality role for candidates who will lead quality assurance efforts within IT and cyber security environments. This position suits experienced QA professionals who can develop and implement quality strategy, manage teams, and ensure products and processes meet regulatory and organisational standards.

Quality Assurance Manager Job Profile

The Quality Assurance Manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining quality standards across software, systems and operational processes. The role focuses on preventing defects, ensuring compliance with applicable standards and delivering measurable improvements in quality and security posture.

The purpose of the role is to lead quality assurance activities, define testing and assurance approaches, and work with engineering, security and product teams to achieve business objectives through reliable, compliant and secure deliverables.

Quality Assurance Manager Job Description

The Quality Assurance Manager designs and implements a comprehensive quality management framework that covers test strategy, process controls, audit readiness and continuous improvement. The role includes defining quality metrics, managing risk-based testing, and ensuring that release decisions align with agreed acceptance criteria and risk thresholds.

This position operates in a cross-functional environment and requires close collaboration with development, security, operations and product stakeholders. The manager will plan and prioritise testing efforts, oversee both manual and automated testing initiatives, and ensure appropriate traceability from requirements to test outcomes.

Expectations include leading investigations into quality incidents, driving root cause analysis, implementing corrective actions and mentoring team members to build capability. The role requires clear reporting to senior management on quality trends, audit findings and improvement plans.

Quality Assurance Manager: Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop, document and maintain the overall quality assurance strategy and test policies.
• Lead, coach and manage a team of QA engineers and testers to meet delivery timelines and quality goals.
• Design and oversee test planning, test case development, execution and evaluation for functional and non-functional requirements.
• Establish quality metrics and dashboards to monitor product quality, defect rates and test coverage.
• Coordinate cross-functional testing activities including integration, regression and security-related testing.
• Manage the defect lifecycle and ensure timely remediation and verification of fixes.
• Drive the adoption of automated testing where appropriate and ensure automation efforts are sustainable and maintainable.
• Perform risk assessments and prioritise testing efforts based on business impact and threat exposure.
• Ensure compliance with relevant standards, regulations and internal policies during development and deployment.
• Plan and lead internal and external quality audits and remedial actions.
• Conduct root cause analysis for production incidents and implement corrective and preventative measures.
• Collaborate with release management to provide objective quality gates for deployment decisions.
• Maintain and manage test environments, data provisioning and test configuration practices.
• Prepare clear reports and present quality status, trends and improvement plans to stakeholders.

Quality Assurance Manager: Requirements and Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Minimum of five years' experience in quality assurance with at least two years in a supervisory or managerial role.
• Proven knowledge of QA methodologies, testing techniques and lifecycle management.
• Experience in planning and executing risk-based testing and audit activities.
• Strong analytical skills and experience in interpreting quality metrics and making data-driven decisions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills for cross-team collaboration and reporting.
• Demonstrable experience in defect management and root cause analysis.
• Experience in driving test automation strategies and maintaining automated test suites.
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance requirements relevant to IT and cyber security contexts.
• Ability to prioritise work under pressure and manage multiple projects concurrently.
• Strong leadership capability with experience in coaching and developing technical teams.
• Attention to detail and a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Relevant professional certification is desirable but not essential.