Test Lead

Description and Requirements

Job Title: Test LeadPosition Type: Contract (On-site)Location: Downtown Toronto, OntarioPay Rate: $75 - $80 per hour Start Date: August 3, 2026End Date: April 30, 2027Extension Option: Possible 6-month extension
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Test Lead to support a large-scale, multi-year business and technology transformation program within a complex retail environment.
The successful candidate will be responsible for leading testing activities across major business application and digital initiatives, including functional testing, system integration testing, regression testing, performance testing, user acceptance testing, and release readiness. This role requires strong hands-on testing leadership, the ability to manage multiple testing streams, and experience coordinating with cross-functional teams across business, technology, vendors, and distributed testing resources.
This is a highly collaborative onsite role that requires strong leadership, communication, planning, and stakeholder-management skills. The Test Lead will be expected to define testing strategy, manage test execution, oversee defect management, report on readiness, and ensure testing practices align with corporate standards and project objectives.
This role supports an inflight enterprise modernization program focused on transforming core business operations, strengthening technology foundations, and improving long-term operational efficiency.
Key Responsibilities
Test Strategy and Planning

• Define and manage the overall test strategy and detailed test plan for assigned initiatives.
• Create test strategies and plans covering the full testing lifecycle, including functional, system integration, regression, performance, automation, and user acceptance testing.
• Analyze functional, technical, and non-functional requirements to define a comprehensive risk-based testing approach.
• Prepare testing estimates, schedules, scope, resource plans, and execution plans.
• Identify testing risks, dependencies, assumptions, and constraints, and escalate issues as required.
• Ensure test planning activities align with project timelines, release milestones, and business priorities.

Test Execution and Delivery

• Take ownership of all testing activities and deliverables across assigned projects or workstreams.
• Coordinate the development, planning, and execution of functional, integration, end-to-end, regression, and new-functionality testing.
• Ensure manual positive and negative test cases are properly authored, prioritized, assigned, and executed.
• Track overall progress of test execution and ensure testing activities remain aligned with project objectives.
• Monitor actuals against estimates and manage test-team execution against planned scope and schedule.
• Support product readiness and release decisions by providing clear testing status and sign-off documentation.

Defect Management

• Define and manage the overall defect-management process and related activities.
• Implement best practices to identify, reproduce, document, prioritize, and report defects.
• Facilitate defect triage between testing, development, architecture, business, vendor, and support teams.
• Coordinate with impacted parties to ensure defects are appropriately raised, assigned, prioritized, resolved, and retested.
• Escalate high-priority defects, blockers, and project risks in a timely manner.
• Provide clear defect metrics, trends, and resolution status to project leadership and stakeholders.

Team Leadership and Coordination

• Lead, coach, mentor, and supervise testing resources across one or multiple testing teams.
• Oversee onsite, nearshore, offshore, vendor, and internal testing resources.
• Ensure testing work is properly prioritized, assigned, monitored, and completed.
• Coordinate activities across testing, development, architecture, support, project management, third-party vendors, and business teams.
• Provide direction and guidance to system testers, automation resources, performance testing resources, test data teams, and environment support teams.
• Foster collaboration, accountability, and consistent testing practices across distributed teams.

Testing Tools, Environments, and Data

• Support the setup and management of test environments and test data.
• Deliver an effective support framework for testing tools and common testing processes.
• Define and communicate testing methods, documentation standards, and quality expectations.
• Integrate digital testing plans with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps tools where applicable.
• Support testing across tools and environments such as ALM, Octane, Jenkins, GitHub, Docker, Chef/Puppet, and cloud-hosted platforms where required.
• Ensure test documentation, scripts, results, and evidence are maintained according to project and corporate standards.

Reporting and Stakeholder Communication

• Communicate test results, progress, risks, defects, and system readiness to project managers, leadership, business stakeholders, development teams, and architecture leads.
• Prepare regular testing status reports, dashboards, metrics, and sign-off materials.
• Report on all testing deliverables and obtain required approvals and sign-offs.
• Participate in readiness reviews, release planning, deployment planning, and cutover activities.
• Handle testing-related escalations and support timely resolution.
• Work closely with project leadership to ensure testing activities support successful business and technology outcomes.

Required Qualifications

• 5 to 8 years of experience leading business application and/or software testing.
• Experience using test-management tools such as ALM and/or Octane.
• Strong experience analyzing functional, technical, and non-functional requirements.
• Experience creating functional and technical test cases, test scripts, and testing documentation.
• 5 to 8 years of experience leading testing in Agile delivery environments.
• Experience leading testing for digital projects such as native mobile applications, iOS and Android platforms, eCommerce, API development, and integration initiatives.
• Experience creating project test strategies and test plans covering functional, SIT, performance, regression, automation, and UAT phases.
• Experience managing multiple testing streams and cross-functional testing teams.
• Experience overseeing defect management, test execution, test reporting, and release-readiness activities.
• Strong leadership skills with experience coaching, mentoring, and managing testers or integrated testing teams.
• Strong communication, collaboration, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work onsite in Toronto five days per week.
• Flexibility to support extended hours and weekend work during deployment and cutover periods.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting large-scale business transformation or enterprise modernization programs.
• Experience testing warehouse management, supply chain, retail, eCommerce, digital, or enterprise business applications.
• Experience integrating digital testing plans with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps tools such as Jenkins, GitHub, Docker, Chef/Puppet, and cloud-hosted environments.
• Experience coordinating onsite, nearshore, offshore, vendor, and internal testing teams.
• Experience supporting performance testing, automation testing, environment management, and test-data management.
• Experience working in complex retail, supply chain, logistics, or customer-facing technology environments.
• Experience participating in release readiness, deployment planning, and cutover execution.
• Strong stakeholder-management experience with business, technology, vendor, and leadership teams.