About the Role
Swiss Himmel GmbH is seeking an experienced QA Test Manager / Senior QA Engineer with strong expertise in the Banking and Financial Services domain in Basel, Switzerland. This role is pivotal in defining and driving our overall quality assurance strategy, leading QA teams, and ensuring the high-quality delivery of complex, business-critical applications.
The ideal candidate will possess a well-rounded blend of test leadership and hands-on execution, complemented by extensive knowledge of functional, integration, automation, mainframe, and regulatory testing. This role is critical in maintaining system stability, compliance, and risk mitigation within highly regulated financial environments.
Key Responsibilities
QA Strategy & Test Governance
- Define, implement, and continuously enhance the QA strategy, test approach, and quality objectives aligned with business and regulatory requirements.
- Prepare and maintain test plans, test schedules, test estimations, and release readiness criteria.
- Ensure adherence to quality standards, best practices, and audit requirements throughout all testing phases.
Test Management & Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and coordinate both onshore and offshore QA teams, providing technical guidance and oversight.
- Allocate testing tasks, monitor progress, and ensure timely achievement of testing milestones.
- Act as the primary QA point of contact for business stakeholders, development teams, and release management.
Test Execution & Delivery
- Conduct thorough requirement analysis, ensuring complete end-to-end traceability from requirements to test cases and defects.
- Execute and oversee functional, integration, regression, and end-to-end (E2E) testing.
- Perform mainframe testing using TSO / ISPF environments where applicable.
- Support regulatory, compliance, and audit-driven testing initiatives, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
Automation & CI/CD Integration
- Drive and contribute to test automation initiatives using tools such as Selenium, Java, TestNG, and Maven.
- Perform API and Web Services testing utilizing SOAPUI.
- Integrate automated test execution within CI/CD pipelines through tools like Jenkins.
- Continuously enhance automation coverage, reliability, and execution efficiency.
Defect & Quality Management
- Ensure effective defect management, including triage, root cause analysis, prioritization, and closure.
- Track and report quality metrics, test coverage, defect trends, and release quality indicators.
- Proactively identify risks and quality gaps, recommending corrective and preventive actions.
Agile & Cloud Testing
- Actively participate in Agile / Scrum ceremonies, including sprint planning, stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives.
- Apply BDD practices where applicable to enhance collaboration and test clarity.
- Leverage Azure Fundamentals knowledge to support testing in cloud-based and hybrid environments.
Required Skills & Experience
Professional Experience
- 10+ years of experience in Quality Assurance, preferably within Banking or Financial Services.
- Demonstrated expertise in QA Test Management, with a hands-on leadership capability.
- Strong experience in complex, enterprise-scale applications.
Testing & Technical Skills
- Strong knowledge of functional, integration, regression, and end-to-end testing methodologies.
- Familiarity with test design techniques and test data management.
- Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks (Selenium, TestNG, Maven) and API/Web Services testing (SOAPUI).
- Exposure to CI/CD tools (Jenkins) and mainframe testing environments (TSO / ISPF).
- Understanding of cloud-based testing concepts, particularly in Azure environments.
Methodologies & Tools
- Solid understanding of Agile/Scrum and Waterfall methodologies.
- Experience working in Agile delivery models with frequent releases.
- Familiarity with QA processes in regulated and compliance-driven environments.
Soft Skills & Personal Attributes
- Strong leadership skills, capable of balancing people management with hands-on contributions.
- A high sense of ownership and accountability for product and release quality.
- Proactive mindset towards risk identification, defect prevention, and continuous improvement.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Dedicated, dependable, adaptable, and able to maintain composure under pressure in high-demand environments.
Apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.