IT & Systems Engineer (Quality Assurance) at West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC)

Job Objective: 

Establish, lead and operationalise the Software Quality Assurance (SQA) function within a telecommunications software development environment by designing test strategies, implementing quality governance frameworks and executing comprehensive manual and automated testing to ensure systems are reliable, scalable, secure and aligned to business and network operational requirements.

Reporting Line: IT Development Manager

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Quality Strategy and Governance

• Establish and institutionalize the Software Quality Assurance (SQA) framework, policies, standards, templates and governance structures
• Define and implement end-to-end testing processes aligned to SDLC practices in a hybrid (non-fully Agile) development environment
• Develop and maintain test strategies, quality gates, test readiness criteria and release quality benchmarks
• Create reusable testing templates, documentation standards, defect workflows and reporting structures
• Define quality metrics and dashboards to track defect density, regression stability, release readiness and risk exposure

Test Planning and Execution

• Review and validate business and technical requirements to ensure completeness, clarity and testability
• Develop detailed test plans, test scenarios, manual and automated test cases and test data strategies
• Ensure requirement traceability through structured traceability matrices
• Establish and manage test environments (test beds) supporting white-box and black-box testing
• Execute functional, integration, regression, system and user acceptance support testing
• Lead non-functional testing including performance, load, security, resilience and usability testing for telecom-grade systems

Automation and Tooling

• Identify and implement appropriate test management and automation tools
• Design and develop automated test scripts for regression and critical workflows
• Introduce CI/CD quality validation checkpoints where applicable
• Ensure balanced adoption of manual and automation testing approaches

Defect and Release Management

• Log, track, prioritise and drive resolution of defects through structured defect lifecycle management
• Conduct root cause analysis on recurring issues and recommend preventive controls
• Support release planning with risk assessments and quality sign-off recommendations
• Conduct post-deployment sanity checks and regression validation

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with developers, product owners, network engineers and operations teams to embed quality throughout the lifecycle
• Champion quality culture and advocate for early defect detection (shift-left testing)
• Support gradual transition toward structured Agile/Scrum practices where applicable
• Provide mentorship and guidance on testing standards to development teams

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive validation tasks
• Continuously refine QA processes in line with telecom reliability and service availability standards
• Participate in IT process improvement and quality governance initiatives

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology or related field
• Minimum 5+ years’ experience in Software Quality Assurance
• Minimum 3+ years’ experience in IT project environments
• Strong working knowledge of SDLC, testing methodologies and hybrid Agile/Waterfall models
• Hands-on experience in both manual and automated testing
• Experience in non-functional testing (performance, load, security)

Professional Certifications (Preferred / Advantage)

• ISTQB (Foundation/Advanced) or equivalent
• CSTE / CSQA / CAST / CMSQ
• Agile-related certifications (CSM, PMI-ACP, Agile PM) – Advantage

Experience and Skills

• Experience testing APIs, microservices integration-heavy systems
• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines and automation frameworks
• Strong understanding of database validation and data integrity testing
• Ability to define process from scratch and influence cross-functional stakeholders
• Strong analytical and documentation skills
• High ownership mindset and ability to work in an evolving structure
• Strong communication and reporting skills
• Experience working within telecommunications, networking systems, OSS/BSS platforms or distributed systems environments will be an advantage

Attributes

• Client focused, relationship builder
• Integrity, honesty with high ethical standards
• Boundless, passionate and flexible
• Personnel excellence, accuracy and attention to detail
• Collaborative, achieve results through teamwork and partnerships
• Excellent English written and verbal communication skills
• Passion for technology and innovation
• Ability to work under pressure, multi-task and think creatively
• Efficient time management, fast learner in a fast-paced dynamic environment
• A willingness to mentor, coach and train others