Manager I Quality Engineering

Join an amazing team that is consistently recognized for our achievements and culture, including our most recent Forbes award of being one of America's Best Midsize Employers for 2026!

We are seeking a hands-on QA Automation Manager with deep technical expertise in automation testing who can lead from the front by reading code, writing code, and coaching QA Engineers to elevate their automation capabilities. This leader should bring proven experience designing, building, and leading robust test automation frameworks while ensuring projects stay on track technically and strategically. This person will be writing code along with leading for a team that is actively transforming its QA organization to become more technical and automation-driven.

Position Summary:

As a Manager I Quality Engineering, you will lead a team of TE engineers, planning, executing, and delivery of testing strategies for software projects. Your responsibilities will include mentoring test engineers, providing direction on test approaches, optimizing test processes, maximizing testing efficiency through automation and collaborating with product and development teams to ensure software quality. You will be instrumental in defining team goals, improving testing automation, and ensuring projects meet both quality and timeline requirements. This role involves a balance of primarily hands-on technical leadership as well as some team management, ensuring effective alignment of TE objectives with business and technical goals.

An in-person interview may be required during the hiring process

State specific pay scales for this role are as follows:

$101,167 to $204,439 (CA, NJ, NY, WA, HI, AK, MD, CT, RI, MA)

$91,970 to $185.853 (NV, OR, AZ, CO, WY, TX, ND, MN, MO, IL, WI, FL, GA, MI, OH, VA, PA, DE, VT, NH, ME)

$82,773 to $167,278(UT, ID, MT, NM, SD, NE, KS, OK, IA, AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, KY, IN, SC, NC, WV)

The expected base salary for this position will vary depending on a number of factors, including relevant experience, skills and location.

In CA: Typical hiring range is $137,523 to $191,004

Essential Job Functions: 

• Building and Manage Team - Build and manage highly motivated high performing TE team(s) by hiring strong technical talent, mentoring and motivating the staff to support multiple small functional areas, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, innovation and excellence. 
• TE Strategies and Policies - Lead a few small teams with quality assurance strategies, policies, and drive best practices to ensure software quality for small-medium sized projects.
• Manage and Drive Quality Initiatives - Lead and Drive quality initiatives by providing project guidance, solutions, support to ensure timelines and quality standards are met for their team's initiatives.
• Test Planning, Estimation, Execution and Automation Implementation - Provide hands on test planning, estimation and execution, and reporting to meet project quality standards and timelines for multiple small projects.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration - Work closely with development, product management, and other teams to drive quality goals, including automation coverage, requirements and deadlines. Ensure strategic alignment with cross-functional stakeholders at high-level, drive alignment and meet deadlines for multiple small sized teams.
• Metrics for Data-Driven Decisions - Assist in key performance indicators (KPIs), align with MTS KPI.  Define and review metrics for the TE process, automation coverage and analyzing data to drive improvements for multiple small projects
• Implement and Drive Automation Strategies - Advocate and drive the integration of test automation within the TE process to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and coverage for multiple - small projects.
• Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills - Strong ability to think analytically, critically and creatively to assess and remove blockers for systems in multiple small sized aspect of quality at both task and simple strategic level
• Ensure Compliance and Standards - Ensure testing processes and good practice to comply with industry standards and regulatory requirements relevant to the organization within single functional team
• Continuous Improvement - Drive continuous improvement initiatives within the TE process, motivating team members across teams to embrace best practices and adopt new technologies. Advocate for best practices in test automation, CI/CD. Leverage quantitative metrics to showcase the impact of these improvements on software quality and testing efficiency for medium sized teams.
• Communicate with Stakeholders - Provide regular project updates and reports on TE progress, challenges, and results to their teams
• Driving Best Practice and Quality Culture - Leading and driving a culture of quality throughout their teams, encouraging their teams to prioritize software quality and vision.

Education: 

Minimum:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems or other related fields Or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience:

Minimum:

• 3+ yrs leading or managing testing teams including ~50% IC work

Preferred:

• 7 or more years of experience with Java
• 5 or more years of white box testing experience
• 2 or more years of experience working as a software engineer

Knowledge and Skills:

Minimum: 

• Familiar with the following:
  • Build TE/SET team - Build a highly talented, productive, and effective team.
  • Leadership and Team Management - Strong leadership skills to manage, mentor career development, and motivate a TE team, fostering a collaborative, effective and productive environment.
  • Project Management - Proficiency in project management principles to lead TE/SET activities, timelines, and resource allocation.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration - Driving strategic alignment, influencing cross-functional priorities, proactively addressing risks, and balancing technical depth with high-level clarity to support organizational goals.
  • Identify and Mitigate Risk Management - Skills in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks associated with software quality and project delivery.
  • Training and Development - Ability to provide training and development opportunities for team members, enhancing their skills and knowledge.
  • Conflict Resolution - Strong conflict resolution skills to address and resolve issues within the team or with other stakeholders.
  • Adaptability and Flexibility - Ability to adapt to new tools, new approaches, new process, make decisions that balance short-term needs with long-term goals with limited information, cross-functional collaboration, strategic vision and crisis management.
• Knowledgeable of the following:
  • Critical thinking and Problem-Solving Skills - Strong analytical skills to analytically, critically and creatively assess complex problems, identify root causes, and remove blockers at tasks and strategic level. 
  • Metrics for Data-Driven Decisions - Ability to utilize data to define, monitor, and evaluate project performance.  Capability to leverage data for assessing and analyzing individual performance.  Skill in measuring team effectiveness and driving continuous improvement
  • Continuous Improvement - Commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging the adoption of new tools and best practices.
  • Technical Proficiency - Understanding of relevant technologies, tools, and programming languages to guide technical discussions and decisions.
• Experienced with the following:
  • Driving Best Practice and Quality Culture - In-depth knowledge of TE methodologies, processes, and best practices to ensure software quality throughout the lifecycle.
  • Test Planning and Strategy Development - Ability to create comprehensive test plans and strategies that align with project goals and quality standards.
  • Customer Focus - Strong focus on understanding customer needs and ensuring that quality initiatives align with delivering a positive user experience.
• Proficient with the following:
  • Time Management - Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple testing projects, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines.

Why choose a career at Mercury?

At Mercury, we have been guided by our purpose to help people reduce risk and overcome unexpected events for more than 60 years. We are one team with a common goal to help others. Everyone needs insurance and we can’t imagine a world without it.

Our team will encourage you to grow, make time to have fun, and work together to make great things happen. We embrace the strengths and values of each team member. We believe in having diverse perspectives where everyone is included, to serve customers from all walks of life.

We care about our people, and we mean it. We reward our talented professionals with a competitive salary, bonus potential, and a variety of benefits to help our team members reach their health, retirement, and professional goals.

Learn more about us here: https://www.mercuryinsurance.com/about/careers

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We offer many great benefits, including:

• Competitive compensation
• Flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States for most positions
• Paid time off (vacation time, sick time, 9 paid Company holidays, volunteer hours)
• Incentive bonus programs (potential for holiday bonus, referral bonus, and performance-based bonus)
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and pet insurance
• 401 (k) retirement savings plan with company match
• Engaging work environment
• Promotional opportunities
• Education assistance
• Professional and personal development opportunities
• Company recognition program
• Health and wellbeing resources, including free mental wellbeing therapy/coaching sessions, child and eldercare resources, and more

Mercury Insurance is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.