Operational Quality / Quality Assurance
Operational Quality / Quality Assurance is an individual-contributor career path within Business Operations & Shared Services. Professionals progress from guided execution to independent delivery, senior problem solving, cross-team leadership and enterprise-level expertise without requiring people management.
- Archetype
- Operations
- Highest level
- L6 · Senior Principal Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
Why it exists
Enables the organization to deliver reliable outcomes in operational quality / quality assurance by building progressively deeper expertise, judgment, ownership and business impact.
Typical responsibilities
Execute discipline-specific work; apply professional standards; solve increasingly complex problems; collaborate with stakeholders; improve quality and efficiency; share expertise; at senior levels, shape practices and decisions beyond the immediate team.
Where the work happens
Common in Business Operations & Shared Services teams across technology companies, shared-services organizations, consulting firms, multinational operations and other employers that require operational quality / quality assurance capability.
How the career progresses
Associate Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist → Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist → Senior Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist → Lead Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist → Principal Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist → Senior Principal Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
Levels in this career
Six standard stages. The seventh exists only where the career provides for it.
- L1Associate Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
- L2Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
- L3Senior Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
- L4Lead Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
- L5Principal Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
- L6Senior Principal Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
What is expected at L6 · Senior Principal Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist
Senior-principal enterprise expert; influences multiple domains, geographies or major business outcomes. The focus is successful individual contribution at this stage, not people management.
The five dimensions that change
- Autonomy
- Acts as an enterprise expert with broad autonomy.
- Scope
- Enterprise-wide or multi-business scope.
- Complexity
- Systemic, novel and high-consequence challenges.
- Influence
- Enterprise leaders, communities of practice and major external stakeholders.
- Business impact
- Enterprise transformation, standards, risk reduction and sustained business impact.
- Ambiguity
- Very high.
What good looks like
Senior Principal Operational Quality & Quality Assurance Specialist consistently demonstrates the expected autonomy and judgment for L6, delivers outcomes appropriate to the scope of the role, applies required Human, Professional and Technical skills at the mapped proficiency, and produces evidence of impact rather than relying on tenure alone.
Typical evidence
Completed work with measurable quality/outcome; stakeholder feedback; examples of problems solved and decisions made; reusable artifacts or improvements; demonstrated skill proficiency; mentoring/influence evidence at senior levels.
Skills expected at L6
Grouped as human, professional and technical. Target proficiency uses the P1–P7 scale, and each row says what that level means for that particular skill.
Human25
| Human | P | Supporting |
|---|---|---|
| AccountabilityExecution & Self-Management | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Active listeningCommunication & Language | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| AdaptabilityExecution & Self-Management | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Clear verbal communicationCommunication & Language | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Clear written communicationCommunication & Language | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| CollaborationCollaboration & Relationships | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Continuous learningExecution & Self-Management | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Critical thinkingThinking & Problem Solving | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Cross-functional collaborationCollaboration & Relationships | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Decision makingThinking & Problem Solving | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Executive communicationCommunication & Language | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Executive presenceInfluence & Leadership Without Authority | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Influencing without authorityInfluence & Leadership Without Authority | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Organizational awarenessInfluence & Leadership Without Authority | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| ProfessionalismEthics & Professional Conduct | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Stakeholder alignmentInfluence & Leadership Without Authority | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Strategic thinkingThinking & Problem Solving | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Structured problem solvingThinking & Problem Solving | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Systems thinkingThinking & Problem Solving | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Time managementExecution & Self-Management | P7Enterprise / Industry AuthorityCore | Industry-level authority who creates new practices, influences the profession and represents the organization externally. |
| Change championingInfluence & Leadership Without Authority | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Giving constructive feedbackCommunication & Language | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Knowledge sharingCollaboration & Relationships | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| MentoringCollaboration & Relationships | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| NegotiationInfluence & Leadership Without Authority | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
Professional12
| Professional | P | Supporting |
|---|---|---|
| Agile project deliveryProject, Program & Portfolio Management | P6ExpertCore | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Hybrid deliveryProject, Program & Portfolio Management | P6ExpertCore | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Predictive / Waterfall deliveryProject, Program & Portfolio Management | P6ExpertCore | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Process requirements analysisBusiness Analysis & Requirements | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Quality assurance governanceProcess Excellence & Quality | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Quality controlProcess Excellence & Quality | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Quality managementProcess Excellence & Quality | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Requirements elicitationBusiness Analysis & Requirements | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Service quality managementProcess Excellence & Quality | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Status reportingProject, Program & Portfolio Management | P6ExpertCore | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Traceability managementBusiness Analysis & Requirements | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Use case modelingBusiness Analysis & Requirements | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
Technical8
| Technical | P | Supporting |
|---|---|---|
| AI-assisted content creation toolsAI Productivity & Knowledge Tools | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| ChatGPTAI Productivity & Knowledge Tools | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Microsoft CopilotAI Productivity & Knowledge Tools | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| Robotic process automation (RPA)Automation, Integration & Low-Code | P6ExpertCore | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| SmartsheetCollaboration & Productivity Tools | P6ExpertSupporting | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| WorkatoAutomation, Integration & Low-Code | P6ExpertCore | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| ZapierAutomation, Integration & Low-Code | P6ExpertCore | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
| iPaaS platformsAutomation, Integration & Low-Code | P6ExpertCore | Enterprise expert who sets standards, shapes strategy and develops capability across functions. |
This is the highest level in this career.
Adjacent careers
Computed from shared skills. It is a signal for exploring, not a hiring or eligibility guarantee.
- Business OperationsBusiness Operations & Shared Services44 shared skills
- Program Management - ICBusiness Operations & Shared Services44 shared skills
- Process Excellence / Continuous ImprovementBusiness Operations & Shared Services44 shared skills
- Knowledge ManagementBusiness Operations & Shared Services44 shared skills
- Order ManagementBusiness Operations & Shared Services44 shared skills
- Workforce ManagementBusiness Operations & Shared Services44 shared skills
Career framework v21, active since August 17, 2026.