SEGA… What do you think of when you hear that word? Do you think of the console with the iconic, harmonized voice fire ups or do you think of the countless gaming hits from Sonic the Hedgehog to Golden Axe to the Persona series?
When we think of SEGA, we think of its evolution as a pioneer in the video game market to one of the most prominent video game developers and publishers ever! Globally, SEGA has over 5,000 employees passionately working to bring the best gaming entertainment to players around the planet. We have one of, if not the richest, portfolio of original IPs – something we are very proud of and excited about as the market continues to change.
New streaming technologies and shifts in the retail landscape are well poised for what will be the most disruptive and innovative time in our industry. Our IP strategy positions us well for this, and we are enthusiastic about the future!
There’s never been a more exciting time in the company’s history to join SEGA!
Job Summary
The QA Manager will be responsible for managing our QA department, a large team comprised of QA Leads, Compliance Specialists, and Testers.
Strong leadership skills would be necessary as we’re looking for a manager who would inspire others, promote growth, and implement processes to improve overall testing efficiency.
Duties And Responsibilities
- As a primary function, manage quality assurance activities that test the functionality and integrity of pre-released versions of SEGA titles.
- Provide guidance and support to QA Leads and their assigned projects. Provide periodic performance feedback.
- Implement testing policies, procedures, and standards. Establish training programs for our testers.
- Help establish bug reporting workflows within each project.
- Work with producers to ensure that projects stay on schedule for planned QA phases.
- Oversee QA staffing needs, both internal and external. Work with HR for interviewing, hiring and dismissal of temp QA staff.
- Work with PD Ops division for hardware inventory management. This may also extend to trade shows.
- Continuously track budgets for ongoing QA projects and provide forecasting for future QA projects.
- Manage external QA vendor relationships.
- Work with other regional divisions during QA to ensure projects are meeting global sim ship standards.
- Be an outstanding representative for QA in organization-wide meetings. Report to senior management in our Production department.
- Develop a long-term plan for growth of the division.
- Establish and maintain a positive, productive, and communicative working environment.
- Proactively identify inefficiencies for all services and suggest improvements through effective problem solving.
Qualifications And Skills
- At least 5 years of experience in the entertainment software industry, with 3 or more years of management experience.
- Able to lead large teams and juggle multiple projects at once.
- Experience working on both development and publisher sides a plus.
- Knowledgeable about localization, functional, and compliance testing.
- Be able to interact with all corners of the organization, from senior management to entry-level testers.
- Experience working with different types of bug databases (Jira, Mantis, Redmine).
- Experience with project management software (ie. Jira, Confluence).
- Proven production team leadership and management experience including employee selection, employee development, performance management, conflict resolution, team facilitation.
- Ability to provide clear and concise creative feedback.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Preferred Skills
- QA management experience at a video game publisher.
- Proven ability to work under rapid development cycles.
- Bachelors’ degree in computer science, engineering, or related technical field or relevant work experience.
- Management and/or technical training certifications.
- Bilingual in Japanese to communicate with QA partners in Japan.