Staff Software Development Engineer in Test

Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Staff SDET)

Experience: 8 - 12+ Years

Location: Chandigarh

Employment Type: Full-time

About the Role:

We are looking for an experienced Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Staff SDET) to own the architecture, automation frameworks, test infrastructure, and CI/CD quality engineering practices for our engineering organization.

This is a hands-on Senior Individual Contributor (IC) role requiring strong expertise in automation framework design, programming, API/UI/database testing, distributed systems, CI/CD, cloud, and DevSecOps.

The ideal candidate will drive automation strategy, improve pipeline reliability, reduce regression execution time, mentor engineers, and lead the adoption of AI-driven testing and intelligent automation.

Key Responsibilities:

Test Automation & Infrastructure:

- Own the architecture and evolution of enterprise-scale test automation frameworks.

- Design and develop scalable automation for UI, API, database, and microservices.

- Build reusable automation components used across multiple engineering teams.

- Define automation standards, coding guidelines, and best practices.

- Maintain technical documentation, automation roadmaps, and Architecture Decision Records (ADRs).

- Drive testability and quality-first engineering practices.

CI/CD & Quality Engineering:

- Design and implement CI/CD quality gates for reliable software releases.

- Integrate automated testing into Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or GitLab CI pipelines.

- Improve pipeline stability, execution time, and deployment confidence.

- Identify and eliminate flaky tests and unstable automation.

- Establish and monitor automation reliability and quality metrics.

- Integrate security, compliance, and validation checks into deployment pipelines.

AI-Driven Test Engineering:

- Drive adoption of AI-assisted software testing and automation.

- Evaluate and implement AI testing tools and intelligent automation solutions.

- Enable AI-assisted generation, execution, analysis, and maintenance of automated tests.

- Identify opportunities to improve testing efficiency through AI and automation.

Technical Leadership:

- Act as the technical authority for test automation within the domain.

- Drive framework architecture, technical decisions, and engineering standards.

- Mentor SDETs and Software Engineers on automation, coding, and testing practices.

- Conduct code reviews and promote high-quality engineering standards.

- Drive adoption of contract testing and scalable quality engineering practices.

- Influence engineering teams without direct reporting authority.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

- Collaborate closely with Software Engineering, Quality Engineering, Product, DevOps/Platform, Security, and Compliance teams.

- Participate in architectural and technical discussions.

- Analyse production defects and strengthen automation coverage to prevent recurrence.

- Support critical releases and troubleshoot high-priority automation and pipeline issues.

Required Skills:

- 8 - 12+ years of experience in Software Testing, Quality Engineering, SDET, or Test Automation.

- Strong programming experience in Java, C#, Python, or JavaScript/TypeScript.

- Extensive experience designing and owning enterprise-scale automation frameworks.

- Strong hands-on experience with Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, or equivalent UI automation tools.

- Strong API automation experience using REST Assured, Postman, Karate, or equivalent.

- Strong SQL and database validation/testing experience.

- Good understanding of microservices, distributed systems, and contract testing.

- Strong experience with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or GitLab CI.

- Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.

- Experience integrating automated testing into DevSecOps pipelines.

- Proven experience improving automation reliability and reducing regression execution time.

- Strong troubleshooting, debugging, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

- Experience driving technical decisions and influencing engineering teams without direct authority.

- Strong technical documentation and communication skills, including ADRs and automation standards.

Preferred Skills:

- Experience in FinTech, Payments, Banking, Lending, or other regulated industries.

- Experience with AI-assisted testing, AI coding tools, intelligent test automation, or AI agents.

- Performance and load testing experience with JMeter, k6, or Gatling.

- Experience with observability/monitoring tools such as Splunk, Grafana, Kibana, or Elastic Stack.

- Experience with security testing and DevSecOps practices.

- Bachelor's/Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

What Success Looks Like:

- Scalable and maintainable automation frameworks adopted across engineering teams.

- Significant reduction in regression execution time.

- Stable CI/CD pipelines with minimal false-positive quality gate failures.

- Improved automation reliability and measurable pipeline health.

- AI-powered testing integrated into engineering workflows.

- Strong automation documentation, standards, and architectural decisions.

- Engineers successfully mentored toward stronger automation and quality engineering practices.

Why Join Us?:

- Work on enterprise-scale payment technology supporting mission-critical systems.

- Build next-generation AI-enabled quality engineering and automation platforms.

- Solve complex testing and distributed-system challenges with experienced engineers.

- Influence automation and engineering standards across multiple products and teams.

- Work in an innovation-driven engineering environment.

Benefits:

- 5-Day Work Week

- Complimentary Meal Every Day

- Internet Reimbursement

- Gym Reimbursement

- Comprehensive Group Medical Insurance

- Mental Health & Wellness Support

- Relocation Assistance, where applicable

- Collaborative and innovation-driven work culture

Skills

Automation Testing, Selenium, Playwright Testing, SDET, Testing, Validation Testing, Load Testing, JMeter, Security Testing, Observability Services