Staff Quality Engineer - Automation Testing

Position Overview:

We are seeking a hands-on Staff / Senior Staff Quality Engineer to provide technical leadership for quality engineering across complex, enterprise-scale applications. The role combines test strategy, advanced Playwright-based automation, API and database validation, exploratory testing, and release-quality ownership. The successful candidate will partner with Engineering, Product, and other stakeholders to identify risks early, improve testability, increase automation effectiveness, and provide evidence-based release recommendations. This is an individual-contributor leadership role requiring strong technical depth, sound judgment, and the ability to mentor engineers and influence quality practices across teams.

Key Responsibilities:

- Own the quality strategy for assigned products and releases, translating business and technical requirements into risk-based test plans, coverage models, and acceptance criteria.

- Design, develop, review, and maintain scalable automated tests using Playwright and TestCraft (internal tool); contribute to framework architecture, coding standards, reusable components, and reliable execution.

- Build and maintain end-to-end, integration, regression, and data-validation coverage for complex enterprise workflows.

- Perform hands-on manual and exploratory testing where automation is not appropriate, with emphasis on high-risk scenarios, edge cases, usability, and production-like behavior.

- Use complex SQL queries, application logs, and database logs to validate data integrity, isolate defects, and support root-cause analysis.

- Manage test data, test environments, system test plans, regression plans, defect evidence, and clear test-result documentation.

- Partner with Product, Engineering, and other stakeholders throughout the SDLC to improve requirements, testability, defect prevention, and delivery predictability.

- Provide evidence-based release readiness assessments and clear test sign-offs against agreed quality standards and acceptance criteria.

- Identify, communicate, and track risks affecting release timelines, product quality, environment readiness, or testing efficiency; recommend practical mitigation actions.

- Champion compliance, quality engineering, Agile, and SDLC practices; continuously improve automation, defect management, and performance-testing approaches.

- Mentor engineers, lead technical reviews, share knowledge, and influence quality practices across multiple teams without direct authority.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

- 8 - 10 years of hands-on software quality engineering experience, including ownership of end-to-end testing for complex enterprise applications.

- Advanced, recent hands-on experience creating and maintaining UI automation with Playwright; this is a mandatory requirement.

- Strong programming or scripting ability applicable to test automation, including clean-code practices, debugging, code reviews, and version control.

- Demonstrated experience designing or extending automation frameworks and improving test reliability, maintainability, and execution feedback.

- Strong experience with system, integration, regression, exploratory, and end-to-end testing of web-based applications and APIs.

- Proficiency in writing complex SQL queries for backend validation, reconciliation, and data-integrity checks.

- Ability to analyze application and database logs, troubleshoot failures, and collaborate with developers on root-cause analysis.

- In-depth knowledge of QA processes, risk-based test strategy, defect lifecycle, SDLC, and Agile delivery methodologies.

- Proven technical leadership, stakeholder communication, mentoring, and the ability to manage competing priorities in a deadline-driven environment.

- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to document plans, results, risks, and release recommendations clearly and concisely.

Preferred / Nice-to-Have Qualifications :

- Experience with API automation, source control, test reporting, and automated execution in build or deployment workflows.

- Experience testing cloud-based, distributed, multi-tenant, or data-intensive enterprise platforms.

- Working knowledge of performance-testing concepts and tools, including workload design, bottleneck analysis, and result interpretation.

- Experience improving quality metrics such as escaped defects, flaky-test rate, regression duration, automation coverage, or release confidence.

Screening Checklist :

- Mandatory: 8 - 10 years in software QA/QE with recent, hands-on Playwright automation experience.

- Mandatory: Evidence of building or significantly enhancing an automation framework - not only executing existing scripts.

- Mandatory: Ownership of test strategy, regression coverage, risk reporting, and release-readiness recommendations for complex workflows.

- Preferred evidence: API automation, CI/CD integration, enterprise-platform testing, performance testing, and measurable improvements in quality or delivery outcomes.

Skills

Software Quality Assurance, Testing, Automation Testing, Playwright Testing, Integration Testing, Regression Testing, Defect/Bug Management Process, UI/UX Testing, Reliability Testing, Test Strategy