Quality Engineering Lead

Job Posting Organization:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a pioneering international organization established to foster the transition to market economies and promote private and entrepreneurial initiatives in countries across Europe, Asia, and beyond. Founded in 1991, EBRD operates in over 30 countries, employing a diverse workforce of approximately 2,000 employees. The bank's mission is to support the development of sustainable economies by investing in projects that create jobs, promote innovation, and enhance the quality of life in the regions it serves. EBRD is committed to fostering inclusiveness, innovation, trust, and responsibility in all its operations, ensuring that its values are reflected in its workplace culture and interactions with stakeholders.

Job Overview:
The Quality Engineering Lead position at EBRD is a strategic role focused on transforming quality assurance practices across mission-critical financial platforms. The successful candidate will be responsible for defining and leading the Quality Engineering strategy for a large portfolio of enterprise systems, including finance, banking, and corporate web platforms. This role emphasizes the importance of embedding quality into every stage of the delivery process, utilizing intelligent automation, and ensuring that quality is not merely a checkpoint but a fundamental engineering capability. The position requires a deep understanding of modern quality engineering practices, regulatory frameworks, and the ability to drive innovation in testing methodologies. The Quality Engineering Lead will work closely with business domain experts to ensure data accuracy and integrity, while also leveraging AI-driven insights to enhance testing processes and outcomes.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Quality Engineering Lead will have a comprehensive set of responsibilities, including:

• Defining and leading the Quality Engineering strategy across a diverse portfolio of enterprise systems, ensuring alignment with business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Embedding automation-first testing into CI/CD pipelines, covering various testing types such as functional, regression, reconciliation, and interface validation.
• Collaborating with business domain experts to integrate data accuracy and financial validation into test strategies.
• Designing test data and environment strategies for complex financial scenarios, including payments, general ledger postings, and month-end processes.
• Driving innovation in testing methodologies by utilizing AI/ML techniques, performance engineering, and resilience validation.
• Elevating engineering maturity through shift-left/right testing approaches, automation frameworks, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Influencing stakeholders and fostering a culture of quality across business and engineering teams.
• Ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks such as SOX, DORA, and IFRS, while aligning QA practices with modern delivery models like Agile and DevOps.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess strong leadership experience in Quality Engineering or Quality Assurance within enterprise environments. A proven track record of delivering Quality Engineering across Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD ecosystems is essential. Applicants should have deep knowledge of test automation, frameworks, and quality strategy design, along with experience embedding testing into pipelines using tools like Azure DevOps and Git-based workflows. A strong background in financial systems or regulated environments is required, as well as familiarity with frameworks such as SOX, DORA, and IFRS. Candidates should also have experience defining and managing test data, environments, and complex scenarios, as well as hands-on experience in performance, scalability, and resilience testing using tools like JMeter, k6, or Locust. Familiarity with chaos engineering and resilience testing approaches is a plus, along with a strong understanding of branching strategies and quality controls in CI/CD.

Educational Background:
A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field is required. Advanced degrees or certifications in Quality Engineering, Software Testing, or related disciplines are highly desirable. Candidates with relevant professional certifications such as ISTQB Advanced Test Manager or ITIL v3/v4 Foundation will have an advantage.

Experience:
The ideal candidate should have significant experience in Quality Engineering, with a minimum of 5-7 years in leadership roles within enterprise environments. Experience in scaling Quality Engineering practices across large, complex organizations is preferred, along with a demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

Languages:
Fluency in English is mandatory, as it is the primary language of communication within the organization. Proficiency in additional languages relevant to EBRD's member countries is considered an asset and may enhance a candidate's application.

Additional Notes:
This position is a fixed-term contract for a duration of 3 years. The role is based in Sofia, Bulgaria, and offers a hybrid working arrangement, with a minimum expectation of in-person collaboration three days a week. EBRD is committed to diversity and encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their background. The organization offers a comprehensive suite of competitive benefits and prioritizes employee wellbeing.