We are seeking an experienced QA Manual Test Lead / Principal QA Engineer to lead quality assurance initiatives for digital applications supporting pharmaceutical early discovery research. This role will be responsible for defining testing strategy, driving quality governance, and ensuring scientific applications are thoroughly validated before release.
The successful candidate will work closely with scientists, product owners, business analysts, software engineers, data teams, and research operations stakeholders to validate scientific workflows, data integrity, usability, integrations, and end-to-end business processes.
This is a leadership role requiring deep expertise in manual testing, risk-based quality assurance, stakeholder management, and scientific application validation.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and own manual testing strategies, methodologies, test plans, quality gates, and release readiness criteria.
- Establish risk-based testing approaches for scientific and research applications.
- Lead requirement reviews and convert business requirements, user stories, scientific workflows, and acceptance criteria into comprehensive test scenarios and test cases.
- Own testing estimates, schedules, resource planning, and quality reporting.
- Drive quality governance throughout the software development lifecycle.
Functional & System Testing
- Plan and execute:
- Functional Testing
- System Testing
- Integration Testing
- Regression Testing
- Exploratory Testing
- End-to-End Testing
- Usability Testing
- Compatibility Testing
- Data Validation Testing
- Validate researcher workflows including:
- Study and experiment setup
- Sample and compound management
- Assay execution and analysis
- Results review
- Data visualization
- Scientific reporting
- Search and retrieval
- Collaboration workflows
- Data export processes
Data & Integration Validation
- Verify data integrity across multiple platforms and systems.
- Validate:
- Data transformations
- Scientific calculations
- Unit conversions
- Metadata accuracy
- Data lineage
- Controlled vocabularies
- Scientific identifiers
- Source-to-target reconciliation
- Test integrations involving:
- Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)
- Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELN)
- Scientific Data Management Systems (SDMS)
- Compound Registration Platforms
- Research Analytics Solutions
- External Scientific Data Sources
Defect Management & Quality Reporting
- Manage defect lifecycle using Jira, Azure DevOps, HP ALM, or similar tools.
- Lead defect triage sessions and quality review meetings.
- Provide executive-level quality updates and release recommendations.
- Track and report:
- Test coverage
- Test execution status
- Defect leakage
- Defect aging
- Release risks
- Quality trends
Leadership & Mentoring
- Mentor QA professionals and testing teams.
- Review test artifacts and ensure adherence to quality standards.
- Build reusable testing assets, regression suites, and domain-specific quality frameworks.
- Promote best practices in test design, defect management, stakeholder communication, and quality engineering.
Early Discovery Research Testing Responsibilities
The selected candidate will support applications and workflows across:
- Target Identification & Validation
- Hit Identification
- Hit-to-Lead Programs
- Lead Optimization
- Assay Development
- Compound Management
- In Vitro Research
- In Vivo Research
- Translational Science
You will validate solutions used by teams including:
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Computational Chemistry
- Biology
- DMPK
- Toxicology
- Bioinformatics
- Screening Sciences
- Laboratory Operations
- Sample Management
Testing scope includes scientific entities such as:
- Compounds
- Samples
- Assays
- Plates
- Targets
- Experiments
- Study Metadata
- Results & Observations
- Protocols & Methods
Required Qualifications
- Advanced English Proficiency level.
- 10+ years of software quality assurance and testing experience.
- Significant experience leading manual testing and functional QA initiatives.
- Proven success delivering quality assurance for complex enterprise and business-critical platforms.
- Demonstrated experience managing end-to-end testing across integrated systems.
- Experience partnering with senior business, scientific, product, engineering, architecture, and data stakeholders.
Testing Expertise
Strong expertise in:
- Manual Testing
- Functional Testing
- Integration Testing
- System Testing
- Regression Testing
- Exploratory Testing
- End-to-End Testing
- Data Validation Testing
- API Validation
- Usability Testing
- Compatibility Testing
Technical Skills
- REST API validation using Postman, Swagger, or similar tools.
- Strong SQL skills for data verification and defect investigation.
- Experience with:
- Jira
- Azure DevOps
- HP ALM
- Zephyr
- Xray
- qTest
- Similar test management platforms
- Understanding of:
- Role-based access control
- Authentication and authorization processes
- Web applications
- Batch processing
- System integrations
- Environment management
- Application logs
Quality Leadership
- Risk-based testing methodologies
- Release readiness assessments
- Test planning workshops
- Requirement walkthroughs
- Root cause analysis
- Quality governance frameworks
- Defect prevention strategies
Preferred Domain Experience
Strong preference for candidates with experience in:
- Pharmaceutical Research
- Biotechnology
- CRO Organizations
- Laboratory Informatics
- Scientific Data Platforms
- Preclinical Research
- Translational Science
Exposure to:
- ELN Platforms
- LIMS Platforms
- SDMS Solutions
- Chromatography Data Systems (CDS)
- Compound Registration Systems
- Research Analytics Platforms
- Bioinformatics Solutions
- Scientific Visualization Tools
Knowledge of:
- Chemistry & Biology Workflows
- Assay Data Management
- Scientific Metadata Standards
- FAIR Data Principles
- Data Lineage & Governance
- Scientific Ontologies
- Controlled Vocabularies
Nice to Have:
- GxP Compliance
- Computer System Validation (CSV)
- Data Integrity Principles
- Electronic Records & Audit Trails
- Privacy & Security Regulations
Education
Bachelor's or Master's degree in one of the following areas:
- Computer Science
- Information Technology
- Life Sciences
- Pharmacy
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Bioinformatics
- Engineering
- Related Scientific or Technical Discipline
Why Join Us?
Join a high-impact team helping advance scientific innovation and drug discovery through technology. In this role, you'll partner with researchers and scientific leaders to ensure critical research applications deliver the quality, reliability, and integrity required to accelerate life-changing therapies from discovery to development.
About Cognizant:
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, bridging the gap between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, drive tangible outcomes and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at cognizant.ai or @cognizant.
Additional employment information
Compensation information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.
Applicants may be required to attend interviews in person or by video conference. In addition, candidates may be required to present their current state or government issued ID during each interview.
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
