Head of QA in Manchester

Head of QA in Manchester

Manchester Full-Time 70000 - 90000 £ / year (est.) Working from home possible
i6 Group

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead QA strategy, transition to automated testing, and ensure product quality in aviation tech.
  • Company: Join i6, a pioneering company in aviation fuel management technology.
  • Benefits: Enjoy 25 days annual leave, private healthcare, and a 5% pension contribution.
  • Other info: Remote-first culture with opportunities for in-person team meet-ups.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact in aviation while driving innovation in quality assurance.
  • Qualifications: 7+ years in QA, with leadership experience and expertise in test automation.

The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.

About us

i6 provides the world’s most advanced end-to-end Aviation fuel management technology - enabling operational efficiency, transparency, and sustainability for airlines, fuel service providers, and suppliers. Our cloud-based solutions digitise the entire aviation fuel lifecycle through real-time fuel inventory and into-plane management platforms, patented electronic refuelling technology, and advanced fuel analytics and insights. With the adoption of our technology, our customers have been able to reduce thousands of tonnes of CO2 and benefited from millions in cost savings. We are a remote first company however for this role we are only able to consider applicants based in the UK.

Your new role

In your new role as Head of QA at i6, you will lead the quality assurance function and drive a strategic transformation from manual to automated testing practices. You will be pivotal in establishing i6's QA strategy, building a high-performing QA team, and ensuring our products meet the highest standards for safety, reliability, and performance in mission-critical aviation operations.

What you will do

  • QA Strategy & Leadership: Define and execute the QA strategy for i6, with a specific focus on transitioning from manual to automated testing approaches across all products. Lead, mentor, and develop the QA team, fostering a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and technical excellence. Report on quality metrics, test coverage, and team performance to the CTO and executive leadership.
  • Test Automation Transformation: Drive the migration from manual testing processes to comprehensive automated testing frameworks. Evaluate, select, and implement appropriate test automation tools and frameworks for i6's technology stack. Adopt and integrate AI-powered testing tools to increase the capacity and effectiveness of the QA function. Build automated test suites covering unit, integration, API, UI, and end-to-end testing. Establish CI/CD integration for automated testing to enable rapid, confident releases. Define the optimal balance between automated and manual testing for different scenarios.
  • Quality Assurance Operations: Design and implement test strategies for complex, distributed systems in the aviation fuel management domain. Ensure comprehensive test coverage across i6's product suite (Fusion6, Reconcile6, eHandshake, Perspective6, Synthesis6). Develop and maintain QA processes, standards, and documentation. Oversee regression testing, performance testing, security testing, and exploratory testing activities. Collaborate with Product and Engineering teams to define acceptance criteria and quality gates.
  • Risk Management & Compliance: Identify quality risks in product development and implement appropriate mitigation strategies. Ensure testing approaches meet the stringent safety and reliability requirements of the aviation industry. Support compliance with relevant certifications and standards (ISO 9001, ISO 27001, SOC 2).
  • Collaboration & Continuous Improvement: Partner with Engineering Managers and Product Managers to integrate QA early in the development process. Work with Customer Success and Support teams to incorporate customer feedback into testing priorities. Communicate quality status, risks, and improvements clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Who you are

Essential Experience: 7+ years of experience in software quality assurance, with at least 3 years in a leadership role. Proven track record of successfully leading a transition from manual to automated testing in a software organization - this is critical. Experience managing and developing QA teams, including distributed or remote teams. Strong background in test automation frameworks, tools, and best practices. Experience with complex, cloud-based SaaS products and distributed systems. Demonstrated ability to build QA strategies from the ground up and execute them successfully. Experience testing web and mobile applications, including the creation of automated test suites.

Technical Skills: Expertise in test automation tools and frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Postman/Newman, JUnit, pytest). Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices (e.g., GitLab CI, GitHub Actions). Experience evaluating and adopting AI-powered testing tools to enhance QA capacity and efficiency. Proficiency with API testing, performance testing, and security testing methodologies. Experience with Cloud platforms (GCP, AWS) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes). Familiarity with monitoring, observability, and quality metrics tools.

A bit more about us

We’ve recently raised our Series B funding. We are a remote first company with an office in Manchester and we will have an office in London at the end of 2026/early 2027. Each team has its own norms; the Tech Team aim to meet up in person once a month, at either the London or Manchester office. These trips are self funded. We aim for all of the company to come together for a day once a quarter. Our benefits include: 25 days annual leave + your birthday day off, private healthcare and 5% pension contribution.

Head of QA in Manchester employer: i6 Group

i6 Group is an excellent employer for those seeking a meaningful career in governance, risk, and compliance. With a remote-first work culture, employees enjoy flexibility alongside generous benefits such as 25 days of annual leave, private healthcare, and pension contributions. The company fosters professional growth through continuous learning opportunities, making it an ideal place for ambitious individuals looking to make a significant impact in the field.

i6 Group

Contact Details:

i6 Group Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Head of QA in Manchester

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We think you need these skills to ace Head of QA in Manchester

QA Strategy Development
Test Automation Frameworks
Team Leadership
CI/CD Integration
API Testing
Performance Testing
Security Testing

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.

Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at i6 Group.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at i6 Group and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!

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How to prepare for a job interview at i6 Group

Brush Up on Your Coding Skills

For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.

Know Your Tools and Frameworks

Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If i6 Group uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.

Showcase Your Projects

Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.

Prepare for Behavioural Questions

While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.