Staff Software Development Engineer - Test
First seen by Alion on Sep 16, 2026.
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Staff SDET)
Total Experience : 8 - 12 years
Location : Chandigarh
Work Mode : 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 :
- 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
Java, C#, Python, Automation Testing, SDET, RestAssured, Playwright Testing, Cypress, POSTMAN, Selenium