Team Lead, QA Automation

Job Code L2326IT

Department Name IT Development

Reports To Senior Manager, Quality Assurance

FLSA Status Exempt

Union Code N/A

Management Yes

Job Description Title QA Automation Team Lead

About Us:

Building Services 32BJ Benefit Funds (“the Funds”) is the umbrella organization responsible for administering Health, Pension, Retirement Savings, Training, and Legal Services benefits to over 185,000 SEIU 32BJ members. Our mission is to make significant contributions to the lives of our members by providing high quality benefits and services. Through our commitment, we embody five core values: Flexibility, Initiative, Respect, Sustainability, and Teamwork (FIRST). By following our core values, employees are open to different and new ways of doing things, take active steps to improve the organization, create an environment of trust and respect, approach their work with the intent of a positive outcome, and work collaboratively with colleagues.

The Funds oversees and manages $11 billion of dollars in assets, which are made up of many, varied and complex funds. The dollars come from a number of sources, including the property owners who pay into the funds on behalf of their employees, and as such, requires those who oversee and manage the money to be highly skilled financial management people.

32BJ Benefit Funds will continue to drive innovation, equity, and technology insights to further help the lives of our hard-working members and their families. We use cutting edge technology such as: M365, Dynamics 365 CRM, Dynamics 365 F&O, Azure, AWS, SQL, Snowflake, QlikView, and more.

Please take a moment to watch our video to learn more about our culture and contributions to our members: youtu.be/hYNdMGLn19A

Job Summary:

The Team Lead, QA Automation is responsible for leading the quality assurance automation function for the 32BJ Member Portal’s web and mobile platforms, with potential expansion to other enterprise applications. This hands-on technical leadership role defines QA strategy, automation architecture, test standards, and release-quality practices while ensuring that functional, regression, integration, API, mobile, and cross-browser testing are planned and executed effectively. The Team Lead, QA Automation will design and maintain scalable automation frameworks, script and review automated tests using tools such as Selenium and Playwright, guide the modernization and conversion of Selenium test suites into Playwright-based automated tests, and leverage AI-assisted testing tools to generate, refine, and maintain automated test cases from user stories, acceptance criteria, and business requirements. The role also includes building, mentoring, and leading an internal QA automation team; partnering with developers, business analysts, product owners, project managers, vendors, and DevOps; and establishing metrics, reporting, and continuous improvement practices that support high-quality, reliable releases.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• QA Leadership & Test Strategy• Lead QA strategy, test planning, test execution, and traceability for test coverage
• Create and drive processes for defect triage, release readiness, and production validation
• Provide regular QA reporting and stakeholder communication

• Automation Strategy & Ownership• Define web and mobile automation strategy
• Build scalable frameworks, reusable components, and CI/CD integration
• Assess existing automation assets and establish a roadmap for automation coverage, framework modernization, and long-term maintainability
• Lead the migration strategy for converting existing Selenium automated test cases into Playwright automated test cases, including framework mapping, locator strategy, test refactoring, parallel execution, reporting, and validation of converted tests
• Apply Vue.js application testing knowledge, DOM structure understanding, and reliable locator practices when designing and reviewing automated tests
• Define standards for maintainable automation design, including page object or equivalent design patterns, reusable utilities, test data management, environment configuration, version control, and code review practices
• Manage and mentor QA Analysts/Automation Engineers on the team

• Hands-On QA & Automation Execution• Contribute to automated and manual testing
• Write/review automation code and debug failures
• Develop automated tests for functional, regression, API, integration, mobile, and data-validation scenarios, including testing C#/.NET-based APIs and using SQL to validate data outcomes

• Mobile & Cross‑Platform Testing• Lead automated testing for native iOS/Android mobile apps and mobile web using industry-standard native automation stacks (i.e., Sauce Labs, Appium, Espresso/ XCUITest frameworks)
• Manage and coordinate mobile testing infrastructure setup and maintenance
• Support transition from vendor supported QA to in‑house model

• Process, Tools & Continuous Improvement• Document automation frameworks, execution processes, environments, and release validation procedures to support transition from vendor-supported to in-house QA operations
• Validate automation deliverables, knowledge transfer outcomes, and operational readiness during transition activities
• Evaluate and Improve QA workflows
• Establish regular reporting and track QA metrics
• Support test management tools (Azure DevOps Test Plans or equivalent)
• Evaluate emerging tools, including AI‑assisted testing

• AI-Assisted Testing and Automation Modernization• Leverage AI-assisted testing tools to generate draft test scenarios, test cases, and automation scripts from user stories, acceptance criteria, business rules, wireframes, and requirements documentation
• Validate, refine, and govern AI-generated test assets to ensure accuracy, traceability, maintainability, privacy, security, and alignment with QA standards
• Use AI responsibly to accelerate Selenium-to-Playwright conversion, identify reusable patterns, improve locator quality, reduce flaky tests, and support automation refactoring
• Promote practical AI adoption within the QA team through standards, prompt patterns, review practices, and knowledge sharing

• Cross‑Functional Collaboration• Partner with Developers, BAs, PMs, and vendors
• Translate requirements into testable scenarios and automation opportunities
• Communicate risks, dependencies, and quality status

• Supervisory Responsibilities• Hire, mentor, and guide QA Automation Engineers and Analysts
• Support onboarding, skill development, and QA standards
• Provide direction on test design and automation practices
• Oversee day‑to‑day QA work

• Other Responsibilities• Performs other tasks as assigned by management/supervisory staff
• Performs tasks after hours, on weekends, and as required by management/supervisory staff

Qualifications (Competencies):

• 8+ years in QA; at least 3-5 years in automation-heavy role; 2+ years in a lead role

• Strong automation background with solid programming fundamentals. Must be capable of designing and architecting automation frameworks, with a deep understanding of how framework components and modules work together - not just writing automated test scripts.

• Ability to read/write/review code (TypeScript, Python, etc.)

• Extensive hands‑on experience with web automation frameworks. Playwright & Selenium required.

• Automated iOS/Android mobile app testing experience with an industry-standard native automation stack (Sauce Labs, Appium, Espresso/XCUITest) required

• Ability to debug at the code level

• Strong SDLC, QA methodology, and defect management knowledge

• Extensive cross-browser/platform/device testing experience

• Experience with Azure DevOps, Jira, Agile/hybrid environments

• Experience transitioning QA process from vendor‑led to internal teams preferred

• Enterprise-level native mobile automated testing experience preferred, including cloud/device-lab execution and cross-device validation

• Experience with CI/CD, API, and integration testing required; familiarity with C#/.NET-based API testing preferred

• SQL experience for test data setup, query-based validation, and backend data verification required

• Exposure to and familiarity with AI testing tools, AI coding assistants, prompt-based test generation, and responsible review of AI-generated test assets preferred

• D365 CRM testing experience preferred

Soft Skills (Interpersonal Skills):

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Strong QA leader with hands-on execution

• Technically adept in automation strategy and coding

• Detail oriented with focus on maintainability

• Effective communicator across teams

• Continuous improvement mindset

Education:

Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field; equivalent combination of education, technical training, and relevant experience may be considered.

Language Skills:

Speak, read, write and understand English

Reasoning Ability:

High

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

QA/Software Testing certification from a recognized industry organization (e.g., ISTQB, CAST, CSTE) is highly preferred.

Additional training or certifications in the following areas are a plus:

• Test automation
• Mobile testing
• Mobile test automation
• AI-assisted testing and quality engineering

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential functions.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential functions.

• Under 1/3 of the time: Standing, Walking, Climbing or Balancing, Stooping, Kneeling, Crouching, or Crawling
• Over 2/3 of the time: Talking or Hearing
• 100% of the time: Using Hands

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• 1/3 to 2/3 of the time: Work near moving or mechanical parts, exposure to radiation, moderate noise.