Met Council Cubic QA Lead 25P337/25P349

Description Of Project

The Metropolitan Council (Met Council) is seeking up to two full-time Quality Assurance Lead resources who will play a critical role in the Cubic Program, a large-scale transformation initiative to modernize fare collection and payment across the Metropolitan Council.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Program QA Lead for multiple large-scale, enterprise-wide initiatives within the BPSI Program.
• Develop and implement comprehensive QA strategies, standards, and test frameworks across projects.
• Provide hands-on leadership for testing efforts, including test plan creation, test case development, and defect management.
• Direct and mentor multiple QA Analysts while managing individual workstreams and contributing to active testing.
• Oversee and validate vendor-led testing activities, ensuring alignment with program standards and integration requirements.
• Develop and manage QA schedules, testing dependencies, and risk mitigation strategies across concurrent projects.
• Execute manual test scenarios and perform regression, functional, and integration testing across diverse solutions.
• Support configuration management and release control, maintaining traceability and documentation throughout the QA lifecycle.
• Define and track QA performance metrics such as defect density, coverage, and exit criteria for release readiness.
• Collaborate with program management, business analysts, developers, and vendors to prioritize defect resolution and testing scope.
• Provide QA governance and oversight throughout all project phases, ensuring adherence to enterprise standards and methodologies.
• Mentor business analysts and project team members in QA best practices to promote consistent quality across program initiatives.

Qualifications

• Ten (10) years' experience in software quality assurance or software testing roles.
• Five (5) years' of QA leadership experience managing or directing QA efforts on programs.
• One (1) year of experience with cloud-based SaaS implementations.
• Two (2) years' experience leading QA activities in multi-vendor or multi-system integration environments.
• Two (2) years' experience performing manual and automation testing.
• Two (2) years' experience (cumulative) developing QA strategies, test plans, test cases, and metrics to measure quality and readiness.
• One (1) year of experience using either Azure DevOps, JIRA, or Client ALM.
• Two (2) years of experience applying QA processes within Agile, Iterative, and Waterfall development methodologies.
• Able to work onsite at least one day per week and more frequently as business needs dictate.

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related discipline.
• Experience working within government or regulated industries implementing mission-critical systems.
• Experience with mass transit technology solutions, including fare collection, asset management, or operational analytics systems.
• Prior experience in public sector, utilities, or transportation.
• Familiarity with test data management, performance testing, and vendor validation processes.
• Working knowledge of automation frameworks or tools (even if not fully deployed).
• Advanced degree or professional certification in Quality Assurance, Project Management (PMP), or Agile (CSM, SAFe).

Competencies and Skills

• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional QA teams and foster a culture of accountability and collaboration.
• Exceptional communication skills, capable of translating technical QA concepts for business and executive audiences.
• Strong analytical skills with attention to detail and a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Effective conflict resolution and stakeholder management skills in multi-stakeholder environments.
• Ability to balance leadership responsibilities with hands-on testing execution when required.

Work Environment

• Working independently and/or in a team environment.
• This is a Hybrid role that will require onsite presence at least one day per week.
• Work Location: 390 Robert Street North, St. Paul, MN 55101