Senior Quality Assurance Analyst

JOB SUMMARY:

The Sr. Quality Assurance Analyst will serve as a technical consultant in the design and implementation of software test and release cycles for complex solutions. The role is responsible for leading the QA process for both internal and external NORC software projects, including automated functional testing efforts, to ensure software products meet high standards of functionality, usability, and reliability.

DEPARTMENT: IT

NORC's Information Technology program provides technology services to our staff and clients. Given the critical role technology plays in our day-to-day lives, we are committed to providing professional, high-quality solutions in order to further our collective goal of advancing social science research.​

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Review business requirements, functional specifications, use cases, design, and architecture documents to produce test strategies, test cases, and test data. Update and maintain test plans and result documentation.
• Utilize both manual and automated testing methodologies to perform smoke, system, integration, functional, performance, load, and regression testing to ensure successful implementation through established QA processes.
• Report and track defects using NORC's defect tracking system. Participate in peer reviews of project deliverables and communicate QA process updates using NORC's test management tools.
• Identify where automated testing can be utilized to reduce manual testing.
• Assist in the continuous improvement of QA processes, including the development of automated testing scripts, and establish best practices for QA capabilities, efficiencies, and delivery quality.
• Mentor less experienced team members, provide technical guidance, and potentially take on lead roles in project meetings.
• Collaborate with survey projects to define test planning and implementation for project-specific applications.
• Solve complex problems by adapting existing procedures and using creative problem-solving techniques.
• Ability to commute to Chicago Loop office on occasion for on-site collaboration or meetings.

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience in Information Technology or related field.
• 5 years of experience in software quality assurance, particularly in web applications.
• 2 years of test automation experience.
• Advanced knowledge of software development QA tools, methods, planning, and implementation for web and client-server environments.
• Understanding of application development methodologies and multiple IT technical platforms.
• Previous Quality Assurance experience with NORC's Salesforce implementation of Salesforce core for medical research platforms.
• Expertise in Section 508 compliance (certification preferred).
• Proficiency with JIRA, Capado, Provar, Postman, Qase, and Section 508 compliance tools.

Preferred:

• Experience with Salesforce environments.
• Familiarity with complex data management portals and business-to-business, business-to-consumer, or government-to-citizen web applications.

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication abilities, with the capacity to collaborate effectively with all levels of management and staff.
• Detail-oriented, organized, and able to manage multiple tasks/projects with minimal supervision in a fast-paced team environment.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and the ability to work under moderate direction.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The pay range for this position is $81,000 – $121,000.

This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:  

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment 

• Dental and vision insurance  

• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program  

• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance 

• Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, h