Lead Quality Assurance (QA) Operations Analyst at Kinsale Insurance

Are you a seasoned quality expert who thrives on owning and driving Quality Assurance Operations strategy for mission critical software applications? Kinsale Insurance is looking for a Lead Quality Assurance (QA) Operations Analyst to lead the design and execution of QAOps practices that integrate testing seamlessly into our Agile development and CI/CD pipelines, ensuring high-quality, reliable, and scalable business solutions.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Richmond, VA, Kinsale Insurance Company is a leading excess and surplus (E&S) lines carrier. We provide insurance solutions for high-risk and complex property, casualty, and professional accounts that are not served by the standard market.

Key Responsibilities:
QAOps Leadership

• Define, implement, and evolve the QAOps strategy across application development teams
• Drive shift-left testing, CI/CD automation, and continuous quality practices
• Evolve and evangelize best practices for test data management, environment strategy, and persistence validation

Testing Strategy & Execution

• Lead  functional, component, integration, and end-to-end testing for custom insurance applications and services
• Oversee database persistence checks for Oracle and PostgreSQL environments
• Ensure business logic and rules are validated appropriately
• Maintain high-quality acceptance criteria traceability through Jira XRAY and markdown documentation

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Mentor QA engineers and embed quality culture within Agile teams
• Collaborate with Software Developers, Product Owners, and DevOps Engineers to ensure end-to-end coverage of business flows
• Champion risk-based testing approaches to prioritize critical underwriting functions

Automation & Tooling

• Drive adoption of test automation frameworks for functional, API, and regression testing
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines to ensure rapid feedback loops
• Maintain dashboards and reporting mechanisms in Jira XRAY for test coverage, pass/fail trends, and defect leakage

Continuous Improvement

• Track metrics to measure and improve quality effectiveness (defect density, test effectiveness, regression stability)
• Foster innovation in QAOps practices, including observability-driven testing and resilience validation
• Conduct retrospectives and introduce continuous improvements to QAOps processes

Required Skills & Experience

• 7+ years in Quality Assurance or Software Engineering, with at least 3 years in a QAOps or QA leadership role
• Strong knowledge of Agile and DevOps practices, with proven experience embedding QA into CI/CD
• Expertise in functional, API, integration, and end-to-end testing
• Hands-on experience with Jira XRAY (or equivalent test management tools)
• Strong knowledge of database persistence validation (Oracle and/or PostgreSQL preferred)
• Experience leading QA teams in underwriting or insurance systems preferred
• Proficiency with automation frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Rest Assured, PyTest, Playwright)
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with rating engines, quoting workflows, or policy administration systems
• Knowledge of contract testing (e.g., Pact) and observability-driven testing
• Familiarity with GenAI tools and services
• Familiarity with cloud-based test environments and containerized execution (Docker/Kubernetes)

At Kinsale we offer the following great benefits:

• Competitive salary with performance-based bonus opportunities
• Single and Family Health, Dental and Vision Insurance plans with HSA funds contributed
• Short-Term and Long-Term disability
• Life Insurance
• Matching 401(k) which starts on your first paycheck
• Generous Paid Time Off and Holidays
• Education dollars for training and certifications
• Promotion from within the company with clear goals and developed career paths

Kinsale values strong financial responsibility.  A credit check will be conducted as a part of the selection process for roles that require sound judgement, trustworthiness, or access to sensitive information.