Program Manager, Quality Assurance | Irvine, CA

Team Name:

Quality Assurance

Job Title:

Program Manager, Quality Assurance | Irvine, CA

Requisition ID:

R025266

Job Description:

At Blizzard Entertainment, we pour our hearts and souls into everything we create. Best known for iconic video game universes, including Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft, we’ve been creating genre-defining games for millions of players around the world for more than 30 years. We’re on a quest: bring our dreams to life and craft the most epic entertainment experiences…ever. Hard work, iteration, and polish go into the Blizzard “secret recipe,” but the most important ingredients come from talented people who share our vision. 

The concept of “Blizzard polish,” that is, the infinite care and loving detail put into every aspect of our games, is something we take seriously and pride ourselves on delivering to our players.  It’s a responsibility shared across the company – and its undisputed heart and soul is Blizzard QA. Blizzard QA is a close-knit team; we care about iteration, problem-solving, and succeeding as a group. We genuinely love what we do for a living and expect the same from everyone who joins us!

A Program Manager is a seasoned professional with deep expertise in project and program management. They support a wide array of programs, services, and initiatives in one or more products and systems, ensuring software quality, automation, and process improvement. Collaborate closely with development teams, product managers, and key stakeholders to review needs and define scope, ROI, roadmaps, metrics, and timelines.  They establish standards for cross-functional teams, manage schedules and resources, and drive the strategic vision for quality assurance. They address program-impacting issues, manage team members' performance for excellence, and promote software development best practices. Additionally, they will develop training materials, lead workshops, and meetings, and play a crucial role in delivering epic gaming experiences for customers and key internal partners.

Responsibilities

• Manage quality assurance programs, services and initiatives across multiple products, platforms, ensuring execution and reporting and the quality of all deliverables, workflows, and relationships. 
• Manage and support projects and initiatives with regional teams, cross-functional partners, and QA teams, overseeing project schedules, scope, budget, progress, risks, issues, key performance indicators, and findings.
• Facilitate continuous improvement efforts and implementation of best practices.
• Define reporting metrics and create data-based visuals to provide insights to business and technology teams.  Facilitate team and department meetings to provide updates, share information, train, influence change, and reach effective decisions.
• Collaborate with development leads and provide high-value, quality-related services to the products and areas assigned.
• Provide support and leadership to the assigned team, ensuring their performance is managed effectively and fostering a productive, positive, collaborative work culture.
• Champion efforts that build synergy, trust, collaboration, and inclusivity within the organization. Own and manage relationships with key partners, resources, colleagues, and leaders ensuring transparency around critical decisions and trade-offs.
• Ensure requirements and risks are consistently addressed throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC).
• Create, monitor, and control metrics impacting product and team quality, analyzing product quality and usability, associated system limitations, and reporting on risk.
• Review Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) regularly and collaborate with leadership on shifting work or resources to promote test quality, software development best practices, and enhanced customer experience.
• Provide resources and assistance and oversee adherence to the master test plans for products. Contribute to the long-term QA vision and facilitate communication with stakeholders.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements 

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in QA, Engineering, Product/Program Management or a similar role is required. 
• Experience performing as a scrum master, product owner, or program manager in the team following Scrum or Kanban methodology.
• Experience leading teams or projects where there is a direct or indirect leadership role.
• High School diploma or equivalent required.  Bachelor’s Degree in a related field preferred.
• Ability to follow defined project management processes, organize software development teams, establish a welcoming working environment (office and remote).
• Knowledge of Confluence, JIRA, Microsoft Office apps (including Project and V