Designing a Modern QA Organization | Washington Meetup

The Test Tribe 2nd Washington Meetup – Designing a Modern QA Organization: Structure, Skills, and Shared Ownership

AI is accelerating software delivery at an unprecedented pace-but speed without structure introduces serious risk.
In today’s landscape, the traditional “testing bottleneck” isn’t just a delay-it’s a business liability.

This session explores how Quality Engineering must evolve from a siloed function into a strategic, distributed capability-one that balances rapid AI adoption with strong human oversight. Moving beyond basic automation, this talk introduces the concept of Distributed Quality Governance, where quality becomes a shared responsibility across engineering, product, and leadership.

Expect a practical, leadership-focused discussion that cuts through AI hype and addresses the real challenges of testing complex, AI-assisted systems-while ensuring accountability, trust, and long-term resilience.

Event Details

• Date: 21st January 2026 (Wednesday)
• Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
• Location: 1501 Langston Blvd. Arlington, Virginia

Session: Designing a Modern QA Organization: Structure, Skills, and Shared Ownership
Speaker: Alekhya Guduri

About the Session
In an era where AI-generated code is accelerating delivery, quality can no longer be treated as a final checkpoint. Instead, it must be embedded, intentional, and governed.
In this session, Alekhya Guduri presents a blueprint for building a modern QA organization that operates as a strategic business function. You’ll learn how to shift from centralized testing teams to shared ownership models, while introducing guardrails that ensure responsible AI use across the delivery pipeline.

From defining a Materiality Matrix to identify where AI risks are too high to ignore, to implementing Human-in-the-Loop frameworks, this talk provides actionable guidance for leaders navigating AI-driven engineering environments.

Key Takeaways

• The Materiality Matrix: How to objectively prioritize AI risks based on business impact and technical complexity
• Distributed Governance: Transitioning from centralized QA to shared ownership in AI-driven CI/CD pipelines
• Responsible AI Guardrails: Practical Human-in-the-Loop frameworks to prevent bias, hallucinations, and silent failures

About the Speaker
Alekhya Guduri is a seasoned technology leader whose career sits at the intersection of engineering execution, operational excellence, and innovation.
As Director of Engineering at Indeed, she focuses on building high-performing organizations that treat quality as a strategic advantage, not a last-mile activity. With deep experience scaling complex systems and leading cross-functional teams, Alekhya works at the forefront of shaping how AI and human judgment coexist within modern software delivery.

She is a strong advocate for distributed governance, responsible AI practices, and the evolution of Quality Engineering into a trusted business partnership.

Why You Should Attend

• Learn how to design QA organizations for AI-driven delivery
• Understand how to balance speed with responsibility in modern pipelines
• Gain leadership frameworks for shared ownership of quality
• Move beyond AI hype to practical, defensible testing strategies
• Connect with Washington-area QA, engineering, and tech leaders

About The Test Tribe
The Test Tribe is the world’s largest software testing community, empowering testers globally since 2018. With 700+ events and 150K+ members across 130+ countries, we bring testers together to learn, grow, and connect through meetups, conferences, cohorts, masterclasses, and more.
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