Founding SDET
Founding SDET
Join our rapidly growing AI startup as a Founding SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test) and own the end-to-end quality strategy for our product. This role is for an exceptional engineer who combines strategic test planning with hands-on automation, enabling us to deliver reliable, scalable AI-powered experiences to our rapidly expanding customer base. As a founding team member, you’ll work closely with our founders and product teams to define, build, and scale Plotline’s QA processes from the ground up.
Plotline is backed by Elevation Capital and powers user experiences for customers like Dream11, Upstox, Zepto, and more.
Why This Role Matters
Build the QA vision and systems for a high-growth, product-led AI company
Work directly with founders to influence core product architecture and release processes
Ensure every user touchpoint is robust, reliable, and delightful at scale
We’re seeking a rare mix of deep technical expertise, hands-on test engineering, and entrepreneurial drive to set our quality bar high from day one.
About This Role
Key challenges you’ll solve:
Quality Velocity: Delivering high test coverage with fast iteration and minimal bottlenecks
Infrastructure from Scratch: Designing scalable and maintainable automation frameworks for end-to-end and integration testing
This is an opportunity to shape our entire approach to shipping bulletproof products and develop expertise in testing complex AI-driven systems at a scaling startup.
Outcomes Expected
Q1 Objectives: Set up robust automation frameworks and integrate them into the CI/CD pipeline
Year 1 Objectives: Build processes and tooling that enable fast, safe, and reliable product delivery, with quality metrics showing measurable improvements
Responsibilities
Test Engineering & Automation
Test Strategy: Develop and implement comprehensive QA strategies across functional, integration, and system testing
Automation Ownership: Architect, build, and maintain automated testing frameworks for web, APIs, and backend systems
CI/CD Integration: Ensure that quality gates and automated checks are integral to the deployment pipeline
Tooling: Evaluate, introduce, and maintain testing tools tailored to our product and scale
Product Quality & Release Engineering
Bug Prevention: Engage early in product design and architecture reviews to reduce defects before code is written
Test Case Development: Write and maintain detailed, reusable, and effective test cases
Performance & Security: Design tests for scalability, performance, and security, especially for AI/ML features
Release Readiness: Define release criteria, support releases, and ensure smooth rollouts
Collaboration & Culture
Developer Productivity: Partner with engineers to make testing easy, fast, and effective
Documentation: Drive creation of testing documentation and best practices
Requirements
Professional Experience
4-6 years of experience in test engineering (SDET, QA Automation, or equivalent roles)
Proven track record building automation frameworks and driving QA for B2B SaaS or AI/ML products
Experience as a founding or early team QA/SDET is a major plus
Technical Proficiency
Languages & Frameworks: Deep proficiency in at least one programming language (Python, JavaScript, Java, or similar)
Automation Tools: Hands-on experience with modern test automation tools (Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, or similar)
CI/CD: Familiarity with CI/CD tooling (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CircleCI, etc.)
API Testing: Strong command of REST API and load/performance testing
Core Competencies
Quality Leadership
Pragmatic Ownership: Balances test coverage with speed and business needs
Process Builder: Establishes scalable test and release processes that will grow with the team
Technical Execution
Framework Design: Engineers holistic, maintainable automation systems
Hands-On Delivery: Personally implements and maintains test automation with high code quality
Debugging: Skilled at identifying root causes of complex failures
Collaboration & Communication
Team Player: Works side-by-side with developers, product, and ops to drive a quality culture
Clarity: Explains complex technical concepts clearly, in writing and meetings
Startup Agility
Fast Iteration: Acts quickly on feedback and balances perfection with speed
Resourcefulness: Delivers results with lean resources and creative approaches
Growth Mindset
Continuously evolves testing strategies as the product and team scale
Ready to define how a fast-growing AI company ships faultless products? If you’re passionate about building the foundations for product quality and reliability-from zero to one and beyond-we want to talk!