Lead Software Engineer in Test

Job Title: Lead QA Automation Test Engineer (SDET)

Type: 6-Month Contract-to-Hire

Location: 100% Remote

Job Description

We are seeking a highly experienced and self-directed Lead QA Automation Test Engineer (SDET) for a 6-month contract-to-hire engagement. This role demands a senior-level quality engineering professional with 15+ years of experience in manual and automated testing, deep programming skills, and the ability to lead and scale automation efforts across modern Agile development environments.

You will play a critical role in eliminating manual QA during the sprint cycle by collaborating closely with developers to design and build scalable test harnesses, mock APIs, and comprehensive automation frameworks. Your expertise will directly impact the quality, reliability, and security of our enterprise-grade platforms.

This is a strategic role for a technical QA leader who can work cross-functionally, improve test coverage, reduce time-to-release, and promote engineering best practices across the SDLC.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain robust test automation frameworks and tools (Cypress, Selenium, etc.)
• Build and implement test harnesses and mock APIs to support front-end and integration testing
• Collaborate closely with developers, product managers, and DevOps to embed automation within CI/CD pipelines
• Create and execute automated test cases for functional, integration, regression, and performance testing
• Analyze complex systems, debug issues in real-time, and drive root cause analysis with engineering teams
• Lead and mentor QA automation engineers, promoting scalable testing strategies and clean code practices
• Ensure compliance with quality, performance, and security standards, particularly in high-load and regulated environments
• Participate in Agile ceremonies (daily standups, retros, planning sessions), and partner with development teams throughout the sprint lifecycle

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in QA/QE, with a significant focus on automation and test strategy
• Strong programming skills in at least one of: Java, Python, or C#
• Proficiency with modern test automation frameworks such as Cypress, Selenium, Playwright, JUnit, TestNG
• Experience creating test harnesses, mock services/APIs, and contributing to the development codebase
• Solid understanding of API testing using Postman, Swagger/OpenAPI, or equivalent tools
• Experience integrating automation into CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab CI, Jenkins, Azure DevOps)
• Strong knowledge of Agile and Waterfall methodologies
• Ability to analyze logs, debug code, and identify performance or reliability issues
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to interface with cross-functional teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in healthcare, health tech, or regulated industries
• Experience with Kafka, MongoDB, or other distributed systems
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) and modern development tooling (e.g., GitLab, Confluence)
• Working knowledge of Groovy, JavaScript, or scripting for test automation
• Experience with performance testing tools like JMeter, Artillery, or Gatling

Disqualifiers

• Frequent short-term roles with no clear progression (job-hopping)
• Lack of hands-on coding ability or recent automation experience
• Inability to communicate and collaborate in a fast-paced Agile team

Performance Indicators

• Reduction of manual testing within sprints
• Successful build-out of reusable test frameworks and harnesses
• Increased test coverage and decreased regression defects
• Improved deployment velocity and release confidence
• Measurable impact on application scalability and reliability

Top 3 Skills

1. Cypress-based Automation Development
2. Test Harness and Mock API Creation
3. Advanced API Testing and Debugging