Engineering Manager I- SQA

Overview

Lead a Software Quality Assurance organization responsible for the quality, reliability, safety, cybersecurity and compliance of next-generation Fire Detection and Life Safety products.

What you'll do

• Define, develop and execute the Software Quality Engineering strategy for Fire Detection and Life Safety products across all phases of product development.
• Lead and mentor Software Quality Assurance Team Leads, Quality Engineers, Automation Engineers and System Test Engineers, supporting career growth, succession planning and technical excellence.
• Drive an automation-first quality culture by implementing scalable test automation frameworks and continuous testing practices.
• Champion AI-driven Quality Engineering initiatives including automated test generation, intelligent defect analysis, predictive quality analytics and engineering productivity improvements using Generative AI technologies.
• Establish quality processes that support Shift-Left and Shift-Right testing methodologies to improve product quality, reduce release risk and accelerate time-to-market.
• Own quality planning, resource allocation, project schedules, budgets and execution to meet business commitments and product release goals.
• Lead verification and validation activities for embedded software, firmware, system integration and end-to-end product functionality.
• Collaborate with Project and Program Managers to establish schedules, quality milestones, testing strategies and release readiness criteria.
• Ensure effective communication of quality metrics, project status, risks, issues and mitigation plans to stakeholders and senior leadership.
• Drive continuous improvement using quality metrics, root cause analysis, defect trends and customer feedback.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators including automation coverage, defect containment effectiveness, escaped defects, release quality, productivity and customer satisfaction.
• Manage and resolve product quality issues in collaboration with Software Development, Systems Engineering, Product Management and Technical Support teams.
• Ensure robustness, scalability and effectiveness of quality engineering tools, automation frameworks and test environments.
• Integrate automated quality gates into CI/CD pipelines to improve release quality and deployment confidence.
• Drive compliance with applicable regulatory, certification, safety, cybersecurity and product security requirements.
• Anticipate program risks and proactively implement mitigation strategies to ensure successful releases and customer satisfaction.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, technical excellence, inclusion and continuous learning across the organization.
• Ensure compliance with workplace operating procedures, environmental health and safety requirements and company policies.

What you'll need

• Bachelor's Degree in Electronics, Instrumentation, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or a related engineering discipline.
• 14+ years of experience in embedded software development, software quality assurance, verification and validation, or quality engineering within product development organizations.
• Minimum 3-5 years of people leadership experience managing engineering or quality assurance teams.
• Proven experience leading Quality Engineering organizations responsible for complex software-enabled products.
• Strong understanding of embedded software testing, system testing, verification and validation processes, and product quality management.
• Demonstrated experience defining and implementing enterprise-scale test automation strategies and frameworks.
• Experience working in Agile, Iterative and Waterfall software development environments.
• Strong understanding of DevOps practices, Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD) and Continuous Testing methodologies.
• Experience with AI-assisted software development and quality engineering practices, including Generative AI applications for test generation, defect prediction, root cause analysis and engineering efficiency improvements.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated experience using software quality metrics and data-driven decision making.
• Excellent project management, stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Strong leadership capabilities with demonstrated success building, mentoring and developing high-performing engineering teams.
• Deep commitment to product quality, customer satisfaction, reliability and operational excellence.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence technical and business stakeholders.
• Expertise in Software Quality Engineering principles and modern testing methodologies.
• Strong knowledge of automated testing frameworks and tools such as Python, Robot Framework, PyTest, Selenium, Cucumber, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps or equivalent technologies.
• Experience implementing enterprise-scale automation strategies for embedded software and system-level validation.
• Strong understanding of test architecture, test data management, test environment management and automation governance.
• Experience implementing AI-driven testing solutions, intelligent automation, predictive quality analytics and automated defect triaging.
• Thorough understanding of embedded software, firmware testing, hardware-software integration testing and system-level validation.
• Experience validating connected products, networked systems and safety-critical applications.
• Knowledge of software development lifecycle processes, release management and product certification activities.
• Strong understanding of Fire Detection and Life Safety systems, including Fire Alarm Control Panels, Smoke Detectors, Heat Detectors, Multi-Criteria Detectors, Notification Appliances and Networked Fire Systems.
• Familiarity with industry standards and regulations such as UL 268, UL 864, EN54, NFPA 72, IEC 61508 and related testing and certification requirements.
• Understanding of safety-critical product development and regulatory compliance requirements applicable to Fire Detection solutions.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to lead geographically distributed engineering teams.
• Strong coaching, mentoring and talent development capabilities.
• Experience driving organizational transformation and engineering excellence initiatives.
• Strong business acumen and customer-centric mindset.
• Knowledge of Six Sigma, Lean Engineering, Root Cause Analysis and Continuous Improvement practices.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate, engage and inspire highly skilled technical teams.
• Adhere to JCI and Johnson Controls policies, guidelines and procedures pertaining to the protection of information assets.
• Ensure compliance with product security standards and secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC) practices.
• Champion cybersecurity testing and secure-by-design principles throughout product development.
• Ensure all software, tools and licenses are used in accordance with contractual and licensing obligations.
• Implement appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect confidentiality, integrity and availability of information assets.
• Ensure prompt reporting and escalation of information security incidents, vulnerabilities and compliance concerns.

Details

• Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India.