Global Head of Quality Assurance, Managing Director

Who we are looking for

We are seeking a Global Head of Quality Assurance to lead the strategic direction and operational excellence of QA across the State Street Alpha and Charles River Development Platform. This individual will play a pivotal role in ensuring consistent quality standards while optimizing for regional market requirements and regulatory compliance. The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in modern QA methodologies with strong leadership skills and an understanding of global financial markets and regulatory landscapes. This is an opportunity to influence the evolution of our platform while fostering innovation and collaboration across global QA teams. This role will report directly to the Chief Technology Officer.

What you will be responsible for

Strategic Leadership

- Architect and implement a comprehensive QA strategy aligned with the organization's global expansion and platform sophistication.
 - Drive modernization of the QA technology stack, emphasizing test automation, performance testing, and continuous testing integration.
 - Establish Centers of Excellence (CoE) across NA, EMEA, and APAC regions, ensuring standardized methodologies while accommodating regional trading requirements.
 - Develop risk-based testing strategies for critical trading functionalities, balancing speed, quality, and compliance.

Technical Innovation

- Lead the adoption of next-generation testing frameworks, focusing on AI-driven testing, predictive analytics, and real-time monitoring.
 - Implement advanced performance testing strategies for high-frequency trading scenarios and mission-critical systems.
 - Develop robust test data management and synthetic data generation capabilities to support comprehensive and efficient testing.

Organizational Development

- Build and mentor regional QA leadership teams, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and excellence.
 - Align QA processes with regional regulatory requirements and global compliance frameworks as part of our enterprise software development lifecycle (eSDLC).
 - Establish cross-regional collaboration frameworks and knowledge-sharing platforms to drive operational efficiency.

Quality Metrics & Governance

- Define and track global quality metrics, ensuring consistency and visibility across regions.
 - Create governance frameworks for test environment management and release quality gates, ensuring only high-quality releases reach production.
 - Implement risk-based and exploratory testing methodologies to identify critical gaps early in the software lifecycle.

Qualifications

Technical Expertise

- Extensive experience in leading QA for large-scale SaaS platforms with high availability and performance requirements.
 - Proven expertise in modern QA practices, including test automation, performance testing, continuous testing, and shift-left testing strategies.
��- Experience with AI-driven testing frameworks, predictive analytics, and advanced performance monitoring tools (e.g., Dynatrace, Splunk).
 - Strong understanding of test data management techniques, synthetic data generation, and data privacy compliance.
 - Familiarity with regulatory requirements for financial markets (e.g., SEC, MiFID II, ASIC).

Leadership & Organizational Skills

- Demonstrated ability to build and lead distributed teams, particularly across NA, EMEA, and APAC regions.
 - Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, working with engineering, product management, and operations teams.
 - Proven experience establishing Centers of Excellence (CoE) for QA and fostering global knowledge sharing and innovation.
 - Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.

Process & Governance

- Experience implementing governance frameworks for release management, risk-based testing, and quality gates.
 - Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines and their integration with QA processes.
 - Expertise in defining and tracking global quality metrics to measure performance and identify improvement opportunities.

Education & Experience

- Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
 - 10+ years of experience in QA leadership roles, with 5+ years in a global capacity.

Why this role is important to us

The Global Head of Quality Assurance is a critical role within our organization, ensuring that our  platform operates at the highest standards of quality and performance. Your leadership will drive innovation, ensure compliance with global regulato