QA Test Manager / Senior QA Engineer

About the Role

Swiss Himmel GmbH is looking for an experienced QA Test Manager / Senior QA Engineer with strong expertise in the Banking and Financial Services domain in Basel, Switzerland. This role is responsible for defining and driving the overall quality assurance strategy, leading QA teams, and ensuring high-quality delivery across complex, business-critical applications.

The ideal candidate will bring a balanced combination of test leadership and hands-on execution, with deep knowledge of functional, integration, automation, mainframe, and regulatory testing. This role plays a critical part in ensuring system stability, compliance, and risk mitigation in highly regulated financial environments.

Key Responsibilities

QA Strategy & Test Governance

• Define, implement, and continuously improve 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 across all testing phases.

Test Management & Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and coordinate onshore and offshore QA teams, providing technical guidance and oversight.

• Allocate testing tasks, monitor progress, and ensure timely delivery of testing milestones.

• Act as the primary QA point of contact for business stakeholders, development teams, and release management.

Test Execution & Delivery

• Perform requirement analysis and ensure complete end-to-end traceability from requirements to test cases and defects.

• Execute and oversee:

  • Functional testing

  • Integration testing

  • Regression testing

  • End-to-end (E2E) testing

• Conduct 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:

  • Selenium

  • Java

  • TestNG

  • Maven

• Perform API and Web Services testing using SOAPUI.

• Integrate automated test execution within CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Jenkins.

• Continuously improve 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 and recommend 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 improve 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.

• Proven experience in QA Test Management, with the ability to lead teams while remaining hands-on.

• Strong experience working in complex, enterprise-scale applications.

Testing & Technical Skills

• Strong knowledge of:

  • Functional, Integration, Regression, and End-to-End testing

  • Test design techniques and test data management

• Hands-on experience with:

  • Test automation frameworks (Selenium, TestNG, Maven)

  • API/Web Services testing (SOAPUI)

  • CI/CD tools (Jenkins)

• Exposure to 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 with the ability to balance people management and hands-on contribution.

• 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 remain calm under pressure in high-demand environments.