| JOB SUMMARY: |
The Sr. Quality Assurance Analyst will serve as a technical consultant in the design and implementation of software test and release cycles for complex solutions. The role is responsible for leading the QA process for both internal and external NORC software projects, including automated functional testing efforts, to ensure software products meet high standards of functionality, usability, and reliability.
Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.
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| DEPARTMENT: IT Admin Systems and Support |
NORC's Information Technology program provides technology services to our staff and clients. Given the critical role technology plays in our day-to-day lives, we are committed to providing professional, high-quality solutions in order to further our collective goal of advancing social science research.
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| RESPONSIBILITIES: |
- Review business requirements, functional specifications, use cases, design, and architecture documents to produce test strategies, test cases, and test data. Update and maintain test plans and result documentation.
- Utilize both manual and automated testing methodologies to perform smoke, system, integration, functional, performance, load, and regression testing to ensure successful implementation through established QA processes.
- Report and track defects using NORC's defect tracking system. Participate in peer reviews of project deliverables and communicate QA process updates using NORC's test management tools.
- Lead the technical architecture of NORC’s automated testing solutions and ensure that automation testing activities are fully integrated into the software development lifecycle.
- Assist in the continuous improvement of QA processes, including the development of automated testing scripts, and establish best practices for QA capabilities, efficiencies, and delivery quality.
- Mentor less experienced team members, provide technical guidance, and potentially take on lead roles in project meetings.
- Collaborate with survey projects to define test planning and implementation for project-specific applications.
- Solve complex problems by adapting existing procedures and using creative problem-solving techniques.
- Ability to commute to Chicago Loop office to perform on-site quality control tasks.
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| REQUIRED SKILLS: |
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience in Information Technology or related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in software quality assurance, particularly in web applications.
- 2-4 years of test automation experience.
- Advanced knowledge of software development QA tools, methods, planning, and implementation for web and client-server environments.
- Understanding of application development methodologies and multiple IT technical platforms.
- Previous experience with Quality Assurance for research projects, focused on longitudinal studies.
- Previous experience with NORC's proprietary Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) data collection systems.
- Previous hands-on experience utilizing NORC's proprietary test case automation tools and Qase - Software Quality Assurance Test Management software.
- Previous experience with NORC Field Operations device testing and quality control processes.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent written and oral communication abilities, with the capacity to collaborate effectively with all levels of management and staff.
- Detail-oriented, organized, and able to manage multiple tasks/projects with minimal supervision in a fast-paced team environment.
- Flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and the ability to work under moderate direction.
- Previous NORC experience in IT required.
- Preferred:
- Experience with Microsoft client-server production environments.
- Knowledge of Excel, JIRA, JMeter, and various automated performance/load testing tools.
- Familiarity with complex data management portals and business-to-business, business-to-consumer, or government-to-citizen web applications.
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| SALARY AND BENEFITS: |
The pay range for this position is $79,000 – $119,000.
This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:
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Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
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Dental and vision insurance
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A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
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Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
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Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
NORC’s Approach to Equity and Transparency
Pay and benefits transparency helps to reduce wage gaps. As part of our commitment to pay equity and salary transparency, NORC includes a salary range for each job opening along with information about eligible benefit offerings. At NORC, we take a comprehensive approach to setting salary ranges and reviewing raises and promotions, which is overseen by a formal Salary Review Committee (SRC).
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| WHAT WE DO: |
NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.
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| WHO WE ARE: |
For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.
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| EEO STATEMENT: |
NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other legally protected characteristics.
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