Lead SDET / Lead Automation Engineer (Playwright / Appium) with Banking Domain Experience

Lead SDET / Lead Automation Engineer (Playwright / Appium) with Banking Domain Experience

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Duration: 12+ Months
Rate: Negotiable

Note: Banking Domain / Retail Banking Domain Experience is a must to have

Key Responsibilities
Own the end-to-end automation delivery across Web, Mobile, API, and integrated Retail Banking workflows.
Provide hands-on technical leadership for automation using Playwright for Web and Appium for Mobile applications.
Define and maintain the overall automation framework, standards, reusable components, and best practices.
Evaluate and leverage low-code/no-code automation tools where appropriate.
Lead automation planning, estimation, prioritization, execution, and release-level delivery.
Work closely with business, development, QA, and client stakeholders to identify and prioritize automation candidates.
Review automation design and code developed by SDETs and provide technical guidance.
Ensure automation covers end-to-end workflows spanning Web, Mobile, APIs, databases, and downstream systems.
Manage automation execution, defect triage, root-cause analysis, and reporting.
Track automation progress, coverage, execution results, risks, dependencies, and delivery metrics.
Conduct regular client delivery reviews, providing clear updates on progress, challenges, risks, and next steps.
Act as the primary automation point of contact for client stakeholders.
Drive integration of automation suites with CI/CD pipelines and continuous testing processes.
Mentor junior SDETs and provide hands-on support for complex automation challenges.
Conduct automation training, knowledge-transfer sessions, and onboarding for project and client teams.
Establish automation governance, coding standards, review processes, and quality controls.
Continuously identify opportunities to improve automation effectiveness, stability, maintainability, and execution speed.

Mandatory Skills
7+ years of overall QA / Test Automation experience.
3+ years of experience leading automation teams or automation delivery.
Strong hands-on experience with Playwright for Web automation.
Strong hands-on experience with Appium for Mobile automation across Android and/or iOS.
Strong JavaScript / TypeScript experience.
Experience designing and implementing scalable automation frameworks.
Experience with low-code/no-code automation platforms.
Strong understanding of API automation, database validation, and end-to-end integration testing.
Experience integrating automated tests with CI/CD pipelines.
Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis capabilities.
Experience leading automation estimation, planning, execution, and reporting.
Strong client-facing communication and presentation skills.
Ability to conduct delivery reviews with client stakeholders and senior leadership.
Experience mentoring and training automation engineers.

Retail Banking Experience

Minimum 3 5 years of Retail Banking testing experience preferred.
Experience with business workflows such as:
Customer onboarding and account opening
Online and mobile banking
Deposits, checking, and savings accounts
Payments and fund transfers
Bill payments
Authentication and MFA
Customer servicing
Transaction history and statements
Core banking and downstream integrations

Leadership Expectations for Lead SDET

The Automation Lead should be able to independently manage the automation workstream from planning through implementation and delivery.

The candidate should be comfortable switching between:
Hands-on automation development
Framework and solution design
Team mentoring and code reviews
Delivery planning and tracking
Client status and delivery reviews
Risk and issue management
Automation training and knowledge transfer
Continuous improvement of the automation approach