Lead Quality Engineer

Position Summary

The Lead Quality Engineer is responsible for providing technical leadership and oversight of quality assurance activities. This role ensures consistent application of QA standards, drives test automation strategy, and partners with cross‑functional teams to deliver high‑quality software releases.

• Works with product owners to obtain and analyze development requirements and coordinate clear and transparent testing and quality strategy.

• Lead day‑to‑day work and development of QA team members

• Develop and maintain test strategy, test plans, and quality benchmarks

• Oversee test case creation, execution, and reviews

• Lead defect management, root cause analysis, and quality risk reporting

• Drive automation initiatives across UI, API, and integration testing

• Integrate automated tests within CI/CD pipelines

• Deliver quality metrics, dashboards, and release readiness assessments

• Partner with Product, Development, and Dev Ops to support continuous improvement

• Ensure adherence to organizational standards, SDLC processes, and compliance requirements

• 6+ years of professional experience in software quality assurance

• 2–3+ years of experience in a lead or senior QA role

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred;
  Software Engineering, Computer Science degree is preferred. Any other related discipline or commensurate work experience considered.

• Prior software quality assurance experience required

• Proven leadership through different quality assurance processes and testing phases including functional, system integration, regression, and exploratory testing

• API automation testing knowledge is desirable.

• Ability to set up test environments and data sets and leading others through similar exercises when needed

• Analyze user requirements (stories) and convert requirements to test approach and plans

• Experience with test automation frameworks such as Selenium or Playwright etc.

• Basic understanding of fundamentals of programming

• Able to work and lead with a quality focus in a dynamic, fast‑moving company environment

• Ability to multi‑task while consistently maintaining strong attention to detail

• Ability to meet designated deadlines with a strong sense of urgency

• Experience with Agile development techniques and supporting tools desirable

• Prior experience in the property and casualty insurance industry is desirable

Preferred:
American Society For Quality (ASQ) Certified, Certified Information System Auditor (CISA), International Software Testing Qualification Board (ISTQB)

Ryan Specialty is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse workforce throughout the organization. Our vision is an inclusive and equitable workplace where all employees are valued for and evaluated on their performance and contributions. Differences in race, creed, color, religious beliefs, physical or mental capabilities, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and many other characteristics bring together varied perspectives and add value to the service we provide our clients, trading partners, and communities.

This policy extends to all aspects of our employment practices, including but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, discipline, firing, promoting, transferring, compensation, benefits, training, leaves of absence, and other terms, conditions, and benefits of employment.

Ryan Specialty seeks to offer our employees a comprehensive and best-in-class benefits package that helps them — and their family members — achieve their physical, financial, and emotional well‑being goals. In addition to paid time off for company holidays, vacation, sick and personal days, Ryan offers paid parental leave, mental health services and more.

On Site in Chicago Office.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

The target salary range for this position is $96,000.00 - $ annually.

The wage range for this role considers many factors, such as training, transferable skills, work experience, licensure and certification,…