Test & Release Lead

We are looking for an experienced Test & Release Lead to design and drive the end-to-end testing strategy and release management approach for complex technology deliveries. You will make sure testing is structured, coordinated and aligned across the whole delivery lifecycle, building on established testing and release frameworks. You will be the senior test authority during test execution, and you will also oversee the release process so that every release is prepared, validated, approved and deployed in a controlled and transparent way.

Key responsibilities include: designing and maintaining the end-to-end testing strategy for the programme or project scope; aligning testing activities with the established testing framework and quality standards; defining the testing approach across all phases including unit, integration, system, end-to-end, performance/non-functional and user acceptance testing; ensuring traceability between requirements, test cases and defects; defining testing scope, environments and test data needs.

As Senior Test Lead during test execution phases, you will coordinate and supervise test managers, test analysts and QA teams, ensure test execution follows the agreed strategy and timelines, monitor test progress, coverage, quality metrics and defect trends, report clearly to project leadership and stakeholders, and manage test risks, issues and mitigation actions. For release strategy and coordination, you will define and coordinate the release strategy in line with the release management framework, plan and coordinate release schedules across development, test and production environments, ensure all releases follow the governance and approval processes, run release readiness reviews (testing completion, defect thresholds, operational readiness, documentation validation), and ensure controlled deployments to production and non-production environments.

You will work closely with development teams, product owners, project managers, infrastructure/DevOps, and operations/support teams, align delivery plans, testing timelines and release windows, and facilitate communication across teams to resolve blockers affecting testing or releases. For quality and continuous improvement, you will monitor testing and release KPIs, identify opportunities to improve test coverage, automation and release efficiency, and contribute to the continuous improvement of testing and release practices.

Profile: proven experience as a Test Lead, QA Lead or Test Manager in large technology delivery programmes; strong track record defining end-to-end testing strategies; experience coordinating complex releases across multiple environments and teams; experience managing large-scale test execution phases.

Technical and methodology knowledge: solid grasp of software testing methodologies, QA practices and standards, defect management and the test lifecycle; familiarity with test management tools (e.g. Jira, Xray, Zephyr, TestRail); understanding of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps release processes; knowledge of test automation practices is a plus.

Key competencies: strong leadership and coordination skills; excellent stakeholder communication; ability to manage complex cross-team dependencies; strong analytical and problem-solving.