Sr. QA Tester at Civix

Job DescriptionJob DescriptionDescription:DescriptionWe are seeking a Senior Quality Analyst to play a key role in a highly specialized, mission-critical elections system project. This position is deeply embedded with a single state agency customer, providing end-to-end quality assurance and ensuring delivery excellence on a unique codebase within a highly visible governance context.What Makes This Role SpecialEmbedded in Customer Project: Deliver directly alongside the state election/business services office, with their full context and delivery expectations guiding your day-to-day work.High-Impact Delivery: Ensure robustness of systems that support election operations and business operations and ethics oversight—quality is both essential and visible.Quality Leadership: As the senior QA voice, shape testing strategy, tooling, metrics, and QA culture in collaboration with both Civix and the state team.Key ResponsibilitiesShift-Left & Early QA InvolvementEngage in story development and backlog refinement sessions with the customer and dev team to define clear, testable acceptance criteria (ACs) early.Use risk-based testing to prioritize test coverage where it matters most.Comprehensive Test StrategyDesign and maintain test plans and cases for manual and automated testing across dev, UAT, and production environments.Balance exploratory and usability testing with automation, reflecting agile best practices.Test Automation & Framework EvolutionDefine and expand an automation strategy that handles regression, API, performance, and accessibility tests.Drive continuous testing as part of CI/CD pipelines—supporting frequent, reliable validation.Metrics & Continuous ImprovementTrack and report key quality metrics—defect density, automation coverage, MTTR, leakages, and test execution trends.Use these insights to iterate on the QA process, tools, and strategic direction.Alignment of Requirements and ValidationEnsure traceability from requirements through to validation (verification & validation alignment).Help mitigate miscommunication risks between evolving requirements and QA testing scope.Adaptive Agile PracticeParticipate in sprint planning, refining, and retrospectives to adjust QA approach iteratively.Encourage cross-functional collaboration and responsiveness to changing priorities.Mentorship & LeadershipMentor junior QA staff and help expand QA capabilities within the customer team.Act as the QA champion within an embedded agile environment.Requirements:RequirementsQualificationsBachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.5+ years of QA experience, including 2+ years in a leadership role.Expertise in automated testing frameworks and manual exploratory testing.Experience with agile methodologies, CI/CD, and modern QA metrics.Strong communicator with ability to work in embedded, customer-facing roles.A background in mentoring or leading QA teams is highly preferred.Experience in elections is highly preferred.Must be able to be onsite in Baton Rouge, LA five days a week. Must be a U.S. CitizenWhy This MattersOrganizations are increasingly recognizing the importance of agile QA practices—especially shift-left testing, early QA involvement, continuous integration of automated tests, and metrics-driven QA—to ensure high-quality, rapid delivery of software in regulated, mission-critical environments. This role embodies those best practices, uniquely positioned to drive quality in operational infrastructure, backed by real-time customer interaction and delivery accountability.