Lead Quality Assurance Specialist

Skybound Entertainment honors talent with competitive compensation. This pay range is provided by Skybound Entertainment. Your actual pay will be influenced by your skills and experience; connect with your recruiter for further details. Base Pay Range: $80,000.00/yr - $110,000.00/yr At Skybound, we are passionate about creators and fans alike. Our dedication lies in thrilling games, unforgettable imagery, and compelling narratives. While our roots are in comics, we proudly extend our storytelling into video games, television, films, merchandise, and immersive experiences. We cherish original stories, unique characters, and diverse voices. With a plethora of well-known franchises alongside fresh originals, we invite you to contribute to brilliant creators shaping a new era of entertainment in a dynamic and agile environment where every perspective is valued and each idea has the potential to lead to a breakthrough. About the Role: We are looking for a Lead Quality Assurance Specialist to take charge of the entire testing lifecycle planning for an unrevealed game currently under development. This key role will spearhead quality from production through to launch, ensuring that the game is on track for critical milestones such as Alpha, Beta, and full release. You will manage cross-functional test plans, coordinate integrations with external QA partners, and act as the bridge between development and quality assurance efforts. Your emphasis will be on launch readiness, platform certification, and the long-term well-being of the player experience, all driven by a thorough understanding of game development processes, effective communication skills, and sharp operational acumen. Reporting Structure: This position will report to the QA Manager. Key Responsibilities Launch Testing Strategy • Develop, present, and implement comprehensive QA strategies for milestone preparedness (e.g., Alpha, Beta, Launch). • Formulate test plans covering gameplay, systems, content, performance, and platform certification standards. • Establish and enforce QA checkpoints synchronized with the development lifecycle (e.g., feature locks, patch updates). • Create thorough QA playbooks and schedules linked to initiative tracking and release management. • Communicate strategies to directors and become the primary contact for all pre-launch and post-launch QA initiatives. • Oversee QA readiness for platform certification submissions (e.g., Xbox, PlayStation, Steam) and collaborate with partners for successful submissions. Coordination with External QA • Be the main point of contact between internal teams and external QA partners for your project. • Track progress, ensure clarity in bug documentation standards, and promote alignment on objectives and timelines. • Assess external QA performance, escalate issues, and provide structured feedback to ensure speed and accuracy. Daily QA Operations • Track bug dashboards, engage with stakeholders, and keep an eye on the overall health of builds. • Identify and report on bug patterns, fix rates, and potential risk areas, with proactive forecasting. • Implement hands-on day-to-day testing with high independence, urgency, and focus, discerning priorities at each phase while reducing distractions for development teams. Quality Leadership • Maintain deep knowledge of build phase definitions (Alpha, Beta, RC, etc.) and their implications for testing scope. • Drive feedback loops from internal reviews; translate insights into test coverage. • Ensure performance, compatibility, and stability are assessed across all targeted platforms and hardware configurations. • Uphold and enforce high standards for bug writing and reproducibility across QA partners. • Take initiative to troubleshoot issues across test planning, build evaluations, and problem resolution without waiting for direction. Preferred Qualifications • 5+ years in game QA, with a minimum of 2 years in a QA leadership or coordination capacity. • Demonstrated success as a leader in QA for multiple launched console and/or PC titles. • Comprehensive understanding of development pipelines, release milestones, and certification processes. • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to lead across various disciplines. • Experience with bug tracking and test case management tools (e.g., JIRA, TestRail). • Highly organized and proactive, with an aptitude for anticipating risks and acting independently. • Proven experience interacting with external QA vendors or distributed QA teams. Job Type: Regular, Full-Time Salary Range: $80,000 - $110,000 • Actual base salary is influenced by various factors including market dynamics, location, experience, specialized skills/training, level of responsibility, budget considerations, and tenure at the company (for current employees). • The salary range provided is just one element of the overall compensation package for employees. • Compensation decisions vary based on the unique circumstances of each role. Skybound offers an extensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, flexible spending and dependent care accounts, and complimentary counseling through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Additionally, we provide a 401k plan with a 4% match, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, generous time off, wellness benefits, and tuition reimbursement. Company Overview Skybound is a multiplatform content company that collaborates closely with creators and their intellectual properties, expanding narratives and universes to new platforms including comics, television, film, tabletop, and video games, books, digital content, events, and more. We proudly host critically-acclaimed global franchises such as The Walking Dead and Invincible. Skybound Games is responsible for producing, publishing, and distributing video and tabletop games across all genres, including the multi-million-unit selling The Walking Dead video game series. Alongside our own franchises, we partner with independent developers to foster and create original games featuring compelling characters, imaginative worlds, and innovative approaches to engaging genres. Invincible, one of Skybound's marquee franchises (celebrating 20 years!), spans the realms of comic books, merchandise, video games, and the highly praised adult animated television series available on Prime Video. Now into its second season, the show has consistently ranked among Prime Video's most-streamed series, boasting a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Based on the groundbreaking comic by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, Invincible centers on 18-year-old Mark Grayson, who, like every other guy his age, grapples with the challenges of adolescence—except his father was the most powerful superhero on the planet. Still reeling from Nolan's betrayal in Season One, Mark faces new threats as he strives to rebuild his life, all while wrestling with the fear that he may unknowingly become just like his father. The show features a star-studded cast including Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Zazie Beetz, and many more. Executive producers include Skybound's own Kirkman, David Alpert, and Margaret M. Dean. Equal Opportunity Employer Skybound values diversity and is committed to building a team of exceptional employees from various backgrounds! As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Skybound provides equal employment opportunities to all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, citizenship, age, genetic information, disability, hair texture, or veteran status. In addition to adhering to federal law, Skybound complies with all applicable state and local laws pertaining to nondiscrimination. Skybound will consider applicants with criminal histories according to the CA Fair Chance Act and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. To learn more about our Privacy Policy, visit: https://www.skybound.com/privacy-policy. Seniority Level: Mid-Senior Level Employment Type: Full-Time Job Function: Quality Assurance Industries: Entertainment Providers and Computer Games