People Technology Testing and Release Lead

Job description

About the Role As the Testing and Release Lead in People Technology , you will bridge the gap between technical system configuration and end-to-end business process integrity across global People Tech initiatives. Sitting within the People Tech team, you will act as the quality lead responsible for ensuring complex, high-sensitivity platform rollouts execute flawlessly without disrupting core HR workflows. Because People Tech changes are often bundled into broader People Team initiatives that impact employee experience, rollouts cannot always happen incrementally or iteratively.

Working in an environment without dedicated Business Analysts, you will independently navigate unstructured environments, define testing requirements from scratch, and actively handhold non-technical business stakeholders through every stage of execution. In this role, you will directly own and execute the end-to-end testing strategy, establish quality metrics and signals, and govern strict entry and exit criteria across project phases to safeguard software releases across our People Tech stack (including Workday, SmartRecruiters, and Absorb).

What You’ll Do (Responsibilities)

Define & Own E2E Strategy

Define, own, and execute the overall People Tech testing strategy, methodology, and test approach across implementation and enhancement projects.

Lead Lifecycle Testing

Lead end-to-end testing activities across project phases, including System Integration Testing (SIT), User Acceptance Testing (UAT), regression testing, integration testing, end-to-end testing, and post-production validation .

Develop Test Artifacts

Develop comprehensive test plans, test scenarios, test cases, test scripts, test data, and traceability matrices based on business and technical requirements.

Provide Hands-On Guidance

Provide direct, hands-on guidance to non-technical business stakeholders, handholding them through test execution and bridging functional and technical requirements in the absence of dedicated Business Analysts.

Drive Defect Management & Root Cause Analysis

Lead defect management from initial identification through triage, resolution, retesting, and closure using Jira. Analyze defect trends and identify root causes to prevent recurring quality risks.

Partner with Functional & Technical Teams

Collaborate directly with Workday functional consultants, People Tech engineers, and technical teams to validate fixes, resolve issues, and ensure all requirements are met.

Establish Signals & Quality Metrics

Establish quality metrics and signals to monitor test progress, evaluate software quality, and communicate testing risks and status to project leadership.

Enforce Governance & Maintain Standards

Define and enforce strict entry and exit criteria across project testing phases while coaching team members and maintaining comprehensive test repositories and runbooks in Confluence.

Qualifications

What We’re Looking For (Must-Have)

Test Leadership & Adaptability

Proven background in QA coordination or technical test leading, specifically defining test scope and entry/exit gates for large enterprise projects. Must be highly adaptable, with the ability to navigate unstructured environments, define testing needs from scratch, and operate effectively without dedicated Business Analysts.

Self-Service Framework Setup

Proven ability to establish test script frameworks, quality benchmarks, and self-service testing guidelines. You must be able to build frameworks that enable and empower People Team project resources to execute validation reliably and independently.

Stakeholder Management & Orchestration

Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with hands-on experience actively guiding and handholding non-technical stakeholders through structured testing execution. Capable of seamlessly coordinating testing schedules and resource alignment directly with People Team business process owners.

People Platform Domain Knowledge

Strong understanding of HRIS/ATS application workflows and sensitive HR business processes (specifically Workday, SmartRecruiters, Absorb, or Visier).

Defect Management & Tooling Proficiency

Deep hands-on experience managing testing workflows and defect lifecycles via Jira Software, Jira Service Management, and Confluence.

Leadership Scope

Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional IT/People initiatives, manage project quality risks, and coach junior team members on testing practices.

Nice to Have

Exposure to automated testing frameworks, API testing, or workflow automation tools (e.g. Workato). QA certifications (e.g. ISTQB) or technical certifications in Workday or related enterprise HR software.