Title Specialist Quality Assurance

INDEPENDENT ELECTRICITY SYSTEM OPERATOR (IESO)

Requisition ID: 19783 Location: Mississauga, ON (Hybrid) Status: Regular Business Unit: Information & Technology Services

Why join us? 

You’ve got great skills. And you want to use them in an organization where you know what you do every day matters. We get that.

We also know that ensuring Ontarians have access to affordable and reliable power doesn’t happen by accident. So we give you the tools, flexibility and support you need to achieve your goals, and development opportunities to help you grow. You’ll thrive in a collaborative, team-based environment that values your unique skills and experiences – and recognizes that when you do better, we become even better too.

Who we are 

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) works at the centre of the province’s power system, ensuring Ontarians have access to reliable and cost-effective electricity when and where they need it. We operate the province’s electricity grid 24/7, design, run and oversee the wholesale electricity markets, and plan and prepare to meet Ontario’s electricity needs – now and into the future.

The opportunity

The Specialist Quality Assurance will provide Quality Assurance services to the IESO as per the Quality Assurance (QA) Program. Develop, enhance and continuously improve standards and processes related to QA.

They will be part of a team responsible for the delivery and continuous improvement of the Quality Assurance Program in line with corporate and department objectives.

What you’ll do

QA Program Delivery & Continuous Improvement

Remain current with market developments; recommend new test approaches and leading practices. Facilitate adoption of standard QA processes by all IESO business units. Make recommendations for enhancements, prepare roadmaps for process improvements, and support the continuous improvement of the QA Program. Contribute to the development of strategies, standard approaches, methodology and techniques for delivering QA activities for change initiatives. Define approaches to be used when providing QA estimates for projects ( test creation estimates, etc.). Define QA procedures and QA artifacts for different testing models and lifecycles. Define common tools, platforms and configurations to enable effective testing; participate in the delivery of the tools and platforms. Define QA metrics and reporting standards; implement analytics, dashboards and reporting mechanisms. Conduct QA reviews for change initiatives, and work with test teams to improve performance. Design and develop test automation approaches and framework. Track and report QA metrics. Provide mentoring support and coaching to peers and more junior team members as required, to facilitate learning and skill development. Prepare and communicate management reports, including status, progress, performance, issues and risks. Promote Quality for the Enterprise by communicating with change initiatives, continuously improving QA framework based on lessons learned, and actively seeking opportunities to engage test teams to facilitate adoption of QA practices.

Project/Initiative Delivery

Work with customers to identify their QA needs and provide solutions to support their change initiatives in a manner that demonstrates value-add. Review requirements, specifications and technical design documents for change initiatives for testability. Assist with requirements management and traceability. Collaborate with stakeholders to create detailed, comprehensive and well-structured test strategies, plans and test cases for change initiatives. Develop and apply testing processes for new and existing products to meet project needs. Define test metrics and reports to meet project needs (eg. test completion %; test defect rate; QA effectiveness Deployment defects). Review test deliverables ( test cases, test scripts, defects, interim and final test reports) for compliance with QA standards and completeness. Contribute to, and/or lead Test and Defect Management ( planning, execution, monitoring & control, closure). Manage work of Test Analysts (including training). Assist with evaluation and selection of appropriate test tools. Define approach to performance testing and create performance test plan when appropriate.  Coordinate with Business Continuity Specialist and Solution Analyst to develop and execute Disaster Recovery tests as required. Coordinate with Information Security to develop and execute necessary security tests as required. Facilitate prioritization of the tests corresponding to the requirements/User Stories based on their business value and risks. Assist with risk identification, mitigation planning and execution where appropriate Assist with test environment specification. Assist with development of production deployment (go-live) criteria. Promote Quality for the Enterprise by leveraging QA framework and identifying opportunities for improvement. Administer the Test and Defect Management tool(s).

Testing

Leverage, implement and continuously improve the IESO Test Automation Strategy and Tricentis Test Tool Roadmap. Develop, maintain, and continuously improve guidance, procedures, and processes related to the use of test tools. Work with Test Lead(s), and project teams to plan for, estimate and execute the development of appropriate automated and/or manual test cases for change initiatives. Conduct Static Testing where applicable. Recognize when test automation is appropriate and, if it is, plan the effort, select the tools, develop and execute according to the IESO Test Automation Strategy. Design, create, test and deploy effective test automation solutions for software. Conduct API/SQL testing, manual and/or automated. This includes ability to use all web methods ( GET, PUT, POST, DELETE, etc.); ability to validate xml and json files; familiar with authentication mechanisms; conduct load testing on web services. Conduct testing, manual or automated, to validate consistency across devices, browsers, and operating systems. Define approach to performance testing and create performance test plan when appropriate. Execute performance test cases (manual or automated). Participate in the requirement development process to enable assessment of testability of the requirements, both functional and non-functional. Develop/build test automation plans for test initiatives and focus specifically on maximizing reusability for regression. This includes the maintenance of automated scripts. Work closely with business analysts/architects/developers to analyze the end-to-end scenarios, gather requirements, and design the test cases that needs to be automated. Develop, maintain and adhere to coding or related test automation standards. Suggest/explore alternate tools for automation to bring-in more productivity and coverage. Participate in test related troubleshooting and drive root cause analysis and resolution.

Perform other duties as required.

Core Competencies

Good analytical and communication skills. Strong interpersonal skills. Action oriented. Ability to work with minimal supervision. Ability to work in a team environment. Deadline oriented individual. Proven excellent customer service skills. Demonstrates organizational skills. Demonstrates leadership qualities. A strong personal commitment to customer needs. A strong commitment to corporate objectives. Ability to influence peers and others in the organization.

What you need to succeed

Education:  

Requires knowledge encompassing the technical fields; relevant to the areas of computer science, engineering design, financial control, technical service delivery, project management and risk management.  Requires knowledge of project management and system development life cycle; theory, principles, and practices. Requires knowledge of Business and IT business methods, procedures and organization structures in order to be aware of limitations that can be imposed and to recognize factors influencing the effective implementation of methodologies, risk and project management related activities. Requires excellent facilitation and communications (written and oral) skills to prepare accurate, concise, and clear correspondence, procedures, guidelines, and reports. This knowledge is considered to be normally acquired either through the successful completion of a four-year university education in the appropriate discipline or equivalent experience related to Quality Assurance.

Experience:

Requires a very strong background and demonstrated experience in the application of QA methodology and QA best practices, project management principles, and risk management. Requires proficiency in computer tools application skills in managing projects; such as MS Project, Excel, Access, Visio, SharePoint and Word. Requires proven work experience in software quality assurance and familiarity with automated testing approaches. Strong knowledge of test automation tools and frameworks. Some knowledge of continuous integration tools (Jenkins, TeamCity, Bamboo, etc.). Hands on experience with Data Analysis & Querying using SQLs and considerable exposure to ETL processes. Proficient in database fundamentals and exposure to complex SQLs. (Oracle/MySQL,MongoDB,Pi). Some knowledge of common computer languages required for different automation testing technologies: Python, Java, Ruby, С++, Perl, PHP, C#, etc. Some experience in validating platform specifics (a web application or mobile app). Experience as Test Automation Specialist and act as Data Steward while being able to prepare test data with necessary support. Strong knowledge of software QA methodologies tools and processes. Strong knowledge of requirement and defect management tools ( JIRA, etc.). Demonstrated experience in test management including planning, script development & maintenance, and execution. Demonstrated experience developing test plans, test strategies in multiple delivery methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, etc.). Demonstrated ability to interact with internal management team and external clients using strong leadership and communication skills. Requires proven track record of working in a team environment where different opinions and perspectives have to be managed, negotiated and resolved. Requires multiple proven track records of taking the ownership and getting the assigned tasks/projects done.  A period of 6 to 8 years is considered necessary to gain this experience.

What’s in it for you

A comprehensive total rewards program, including best-in-class benefits and a flexible workplace  A challenging, fast-paced and collaborative team environment, where your perspectives and experiences matter  Leaders who support your growth and success through regular feedback and coaching  The opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the industry 

Deadline: June 16, 2024 at 11:59PM

For future reference, please ensure to save a copy of the job description as it will no longer be available once the posting closes.

At the IESO, we know that achieving great results depends on embracing diversity by attracting, developing and retaining people from a wide variety of backgrounds. We do this by ensuring our recruitment and advancement policies are fair and equitable, and by creating an accessible and inclusive environment – one that values every team member’s unique skills and experiences and ensures they have the support they need to achieve their potential. If you require accommodation during the recruitment process, please let us know. 

We thank you for your interest in a career at the IESO, but we will only contact those candidates selected for an interview. 

Note: The successful candidate must be eligible to work in Canada and will be subject to a background check.

The IESO offers a hybrid work model program to most of our employees, based on business needs. Individuals participating in the program can work an average of three days per week remotely within Ontario. It also offers three flex weeks when individuals can work remotely within Ontario. When working in the office, you will be located at our Mississauga, ON location.

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