The QA Champion (or Principal QA) is a senior, hands-on quality expert who leads by example from within a squad. They are the technical quality reference within their product domain, combining the day-to-day responsibilities of a Product QA with the additional duties of technical oversight, mentorship, and innovation for their peers. They act as the first line of technical leadership, responsible for translating the QA Manager’s global strategy into effective, coherent, and high-quality execution on the ground.
As a “player-coach,” the QA Champion not only directs from the sidelines but actively participates on the field. They demonstrate excellence through their own high-level execution while simultaneously raising the technical bar, resolving complex blockers, and ensuring methodological consistency for all Product QAs in their domain. Their mission is to act as a quality multiplier, driving technical evolution from the ground up by researching, proposing, and leading proofs of concept for new tools and methodologies.
As a QA Champion, your work is a blend of hands-on execution and technical leadership within an Agile (Scrum) environment. You will be an active, contributing member of your own squad, attending refinement and planning sessions to challenge requirements and promote “testability” from the inception of an idea.
Your leadership will manifest through tangible actions: leading code review sessions, conducting pair testing to solve complex problems, and supervising the health of CI/CD pipelines and quality dashboards across your domain. You will teach your peers to interpret data and act on it. A key part of your role involves reviewing and approving QA Pull Requests (PRs), providing constructive feedback to elevate the team’s technical standards. You will also coordinate cross-cutting quality initiatives, such as implementing E2E tests that span multiple services.
You will be the main liaison with the QA Manager, acting as the bridge between the global strategy and daily execution. You will report on your domain’s status, propose technical improvements (PoCs), and translate the received strategic direction into actionable plans for your peers.
Your primary collaboration will be with the Product QAs in your domain. You will act as their mentor, technical guide, and first point of contact for resolving conflicts and blockers, fostering their professional growth and ensuring methodological consistency.
As an embedded member of a squad, you will work side-by-side with your Tech Lead to influence technical design and promote testability. You will also collaborate closely with all squad members (Developers, PO) in your day-to-day activities, demonstrating best practices through your own work.
You will coordinate with other QA Champions to share knowledge, solve cross-cutting problems, and ensure consistency across the entire organization. Punctually, you will intervene in other squads within your domain to support their respective Product QA in resolving complex challenges.