UAT Lead

Position Overview: The UAT Lead will oversee the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) efforts for Georgia Access, ensuring that the Eligibility and Enrollment System, Consumer Portal, Agent Portal, EDE partners, partner integration items which are relevant and website function as expected. The role requires a blend of technical expertise, project management experience, and stakeholder coordination to manage test planning, execution, defect tracking, and release readiness.The UAT Lead will collaborate with business stakeholders, technology vendors, and cross-functional teams to drive a successful testing lifecycle, ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations to drive UAT Success. The candidate will be responsible for writing the scenarios for the requirements, derive the test cases, review the test cases with the business and stake holders, handle the environment readiness, Entry and Exit criteria presentations and review with the stake holders. Ask the relevant questions. Bring new processes to streamline and ensure the team follows the strategy, capture lessons learned with few metrics to baseline the quality. Local candidates only as they will be required to work onsite 3 days per week.  Key Responsibilities UAT Strategy & Planning • Develop and implement comprehensive UAT strategies aligned with business requirements and regulatory compliance. • Define and enforce UAT entry and exit criteria, ensuring alignment with quality standards.   Create and manage test plans, scenarios, and test cases in collaboration with business analysts, developers, and end users.   Execution & Oversight •  Lead and coordinate UAT execution across multiple workstreams, ensuring timely completion. •  Oversee test execution performed by vendors and internal teams, ensuring traceability and defect resolution. •  Implement test automation strategies to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort. •  Participate in defect triage discussions and drive resolution in coordination with developers, system architects, and business owners. • Perform risk-based testing and impact analysis to ensure comprehensive test coverage. • Lead data validation and integration testing across multiple systems, ensuring accuracy and consistency. • Knowledge on performance and load testing coordination with technology/EDE partners. help define high-traffic test scenarios and review results. • Coordinating defect resolution across internal and external teams to ensure compliance-driven fixes • Should ensure accurate eligibility determination and system-to-system reconciliation.    Stakeholder Management & Reporting • Work closely with business, IT, policy, and vendor teams to facilitate testing activities and address blockers. • Communicate UAT progress, risks, and issues to senior leadership through dashboards and reports. • Conduct weekly status meetings, risk assessments, and post-mortem analysis for continuous improvement. • Collaborate with the Release Management team to ensure a seamless go-live process.    Process Improvement & Compliance • Enhance testing processes by implementing best practices from leading consulting firms (e.g., Agile frameworks, DevOps integration, test                automation). • Ensure adherence to HIPAA, PHI, and PII regulations in all testing activities. • Optimize test strategies based on lessons learned from previous release • Maintain UAT documentation, including test scripts, defect logs, and status repor Minimum Requirements Education & Years of Experience • Bachelor’s degree and at least 6 years of relevant professional experience. • Master's degree in a relevant field may be substituted for 2 years of experience.     Experience, Knowledge, & Skills o 5+ years of experience in UAT, quality assurance, and software testing. o Experience managing programs involving multiple stakeholders and/or vendors. o Ability to thrive in complex and evolving environments. o Exceptional interpersonal, problem-solving, and analytical skills. o Strong project management experience, preferably in a consulting or government environment. o Experience working with multi-vendor environments and in managing outsourced testing teams Knowledge of Agile and Scrum for testing. Hands-on experience with test management tools (JIRA, ALM, etc.). o Expertise in cloud-based SaaS solutions and API testing. o Familiarity with data analytics, SQL, and business intelligence tools for validation. o Understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and release management. Skills: o Strong problem-solving, analytical, and stakeholder management skills. o Experience with test management tools, defect tracking systems, and UAT governance. o Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-vendor environment Preferred Qualifications • Certifications in PMP, ISTQB, or CSM is good to have • Experience with CMS integrations and requirements. • Experience with test automation tools (Selenium, Tosca, or Cypress). • Experience with state health insurance Exchanges, the federal Exchange, or EDE partners. • Understanding of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the individual market, including federal and state health insurance policies and programs. • Experience working with and/or processing 834 enrollment files. • Experience working in and/or with governmental agencies. Key Enhancements & Skillsets: Analytical Thinking & Problem-Solving – Emphasized risk assessment, impact analysis, and test optimization. Project Management & Agile – Integrated Agile, Scrum, and SAFe methodologies for better test execution. Technical Proficiency – Added cloud-based testing, automation tools, API validation, and SQL querying. Stakeholder Collaboration – Strengthened business-technology alignment and vendor coordination. Process Improvement – Incorporated test automation, DevOps integration, and best practices for continuous improvement.