| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Information Technology |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Head of QA |
| Direct reports | Senior QA Engineer, QA Engineer, Automation Test Engineer, Manual Tester |
| Experience | 9 to 13 years in software testing, with 3 or more years leading a QA team |
QA Manager job description template
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Job title: QA Manager
Department: Information Technology
Reports to: Head of QA
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A QA Manager leads the testing team for a product line or a set of client projects. They plan testing for each release, assign testers, decide what to automate, track defects and give the go or no-go view on quality. It usually sits under the Head of QA, or under the head of engineering where no QA head exists, and manages test leads and QA engineers. A good QA Manager finds the risky areas early, keeps regression fast and makes sure nothing ships without the agreed checks.
Key responsibilities
- Plan testing for every release: scope, approach, test types, environments, effort, and entry and exit criteria.
- Assign testers to features and releases, balancing manual testing, automation work and support for production issues.
- Review test cases and automation scripts for coverage of requirements, edge cases and negative scenarios.
- Run daily defect triage with developers and product owners to agree priority, severity and fix dates.
- Watch regression suite health, flaky tests and automation coverage, and schedule fixes every sprint.
- Give the release sign-off or a no-go recommendation, stating open defects and risks plainly.
- Trace each production defect back to the testing gap that missed it, and update suites and checklists.
- Improve QA processes such as test case reviews, earlier testing with developers and test data management.
- Hire, train and appraise QA engineers, and move manual testers into automation roles over time.
- Report quality metrics for each release to engineering and product leadership.
Requirements
- B.E., B.Tech, B.Sc Computer Science or MCA
- ISTQB Foundation certification, with the Advanced Test Manager module an advantage
- 9 to 13 years in software testing, with 3 or more years leading a QA team
KRAs and KPIs for a QA Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Release quality | No severity 1 defect found in production within 30 days of a release |
| Defect leakage | Leaked defects within the agreed limit per release, with a root cause recorded for each one |
| Automation | Automated regression coverage higher each quarter, moving towards the target set for the product line |
| Regression time | Regression for a sprint release completed within 1 working day |
| Defect triage | Every new defect triaged within 1 working day of being logged |
| Team development | A skills plan for every tester, with at least two moving into automation work each year |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Jira, TestRail or Zephyr, Selenium or Playwright, Postman, Jenkins, BrowserStack, SQL client.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Head of QA, Delivery Manager, Engineering Manager
Interview questions for a QA Manager
- How do you decide what to test when the sprint leaves QA only two days?
- A developer marks your severity 1 defect as not a bug. How do you handle it?
- One in five tests in your automation suite is flaky. What is your plan?
- What goes into your release sign-off note?
- A defect your team missed reached production and customers noticed. What happens next?
- How would you move a manual testing team towards automation without stopping releases?
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What does a QA manager do?
A QA manager leads the software testing team for a product or a set of projects. They plan testing for each release, assign testers, review test cases and automation, run defect triage, track quality metrics and recommend whether a release is ready to ship. They also hire and develop testers.
What is the difference between a QA manager and a test manager?
The titles overlap. A QA manager often owns the quality process and the QA team for a product over time, including automation and process improvement. A test manager is often tied to a project or program, managing test planning, estimation, execution and UAT until the project closes. Services firms use the test manager title more often.
What skills does a QA manager need?
A QA manager needs strong testing fundamentals, test planning and estimation, working knowledge of automation tools such as Selenium or Playwright, API testing and SQL. Leadership skills matter too: assigning work, coaching testers and holding firm on release risk when deadlines press. ISTQB certification is widely recognized in India.