LEAD SDET

Role Summary

We are seeking an experienced Lead/Architect SDET to drive the quality engineering strategy, test automation architecture, and enterprise-wide testing best practices for complex, large-scale applications. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in Selenium, Java, API Automation, BDD frameworks, CI/CD integration, and test architecture design, while providing technical leadership to QA and development teams.

This role requires a strong combination of hands-on automation expertise, solution architecture, stakeholder management, and mentoring capabilities to establish scalable quality engineering practices across multiple programs.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Test Architecture

• Define and drive the overall Test Automation Strategy and Quality Engineering roadmap.
• Design, develop, and maintain scalable automation frameworks for UI, API, Integration, and End-to-End testing.
• Establish automation standards, coding guidelines, and best practices across projects.
• Evaluate and recommend tools, frameworks, and technologies to improve testing efficiency and coverage.
• Architect automation solutions for cloud-native, microservices-based, and distributed systems.

Automation & Quality Engineering

• Develop and oversee automated test suites using Selenium, Java, and modern automation frameworks.
• Lead API automation initiatives using Rest Assured, Postman, or equivalent tools.
• Implement and govern BDD frameworks using Cucumber/Gherkin.
• Drive shift-left testing practices and quality engineering initiatives within Agile teams.
• Ensure automation coverage across functional, regression, integration, performance validation, and end-to-end testing.

CI/CD & DevOps Integration

• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or similar tools.
• Ensure automated quality gates are implemented within the software delivery lifecycle.
• Collaborate with DevOps teams to optimize test execution and reporting frameworks.

Team Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Lead, mentor, and coach SDET and QA teams on automation framework development and quality engineering practices.
• Conduct code reviews and framework governance to ensure automation standards are maintained.
• Work closely with Architects, Product Owners, Business Analysts, Developers, and Program Managers.
• Provide testing metrics, dashboard reporting, risk assessments, and quality recommendations to leadership teams.
• Drive continuous process improvements and test maturity initiatives.

Mandatory Skills

• Selenium WebDriver
• Core Java / Advanced Java
• API Testing & Automation
• BDD Frameworks (Cucumber/Gherkin)
• Test Automation Framework Architecture
• CI/CD Integration
• Automation Strategy & Governance
• Agile / Scrum Methodologies
• Functional, Integration, Regression & End-to-End Testing
• Test Design Patterns and Best Practices
• Microservices Testing

Preferred Skills

• Rest Assured
• Postman
• Jenkins / Azure DevOps
• Maven / Gradle
• Git / Bitbucket
• Docker / Kubernetes
• Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• SQL & Database Testing
• JIRA / Test Management Tools
• Performance Testing (JMeter, Gatling)
• Contract Testing (Pact)
• SonarQube & Code Quality Tools

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in Software Testing, Test Automation, and Quality Engineering.
• Minimum 3+ years of experience leading QA/SDET teams or defining automation architecture.
• Strong experience in enterprise-scale automation framework design and implementation.
• Proven expertise in Selenium, Java, API Automation, and BDD frameworks.
• Experience working in Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD-driven environments.
• Experience testing cloud-based and microservices-driven applications.