Principal SDET / Quality Engineering Lead

We are seeking a hands-on Quality Engineering Lead to own and drive end-to-end quality engineering strategy across front-end, API, backend, and data layers. The ideal candidate is a highly self-directed individual contributor with strong technical testing expertise, excellent communication skills, and the ability to operate effectively in complex, fast-paced delivery environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the overall test strategy across UI, API, backend, and data layers, ensuring comprehensive coverage aligned with business and technical requirements.

• Build, enhance, and maintain automated UI test frameworks using Playwright Playwright experience is mandatory.

• Design and execute API test scenarios using JMeter, Postman, RestAssured, or similar tools, covering functional, regression, integration, and performance testing.

• Develop automated backend, ETL, and data validation scripts using Python or other scripting languages to verify data integrity, transformations, pipeline accuracy, and backend services.

• Analyze test results and provide clear quality status reports, risk assessments, defect trends, and escalation recommendations to project and executive stakeholders.

• Partner with project managers, product owners, developers, and Scrum teams to plan test cycles, forecast QE capacity, and establish realistic delivery timelines.

• Identify quality risks early in the development lifecycle and proactively drive mitigation strategies with engineering and product teams.

• Establish and continuously improve QA automation, testing standards, processes, and best practices across the delivery lifecycle.

• Independently lead testing initiatives from planning through execution, reporting, and release sign-off.

Required Skills & Experience

UI / Front-End Automation

• Mandatory hands-on experience with Playwright.

• Proven ability to build, maintain, and scale UI automation frameworks using Playwright.

• Experience with Selenium, Cypress, or other modern automation frameworks is a plus.

API Testing

• Strong hands-on experience with JMeter, Postman, RestAssured, or equivalent tools.

• Experience designing and executing functional, integration, regression, and performance API tests.

Backend / ETL / Data Testing

• Strong scripting skills in Python or similar languages.

• Experience validating backend services, ETL pipelines, data transformations, data integrity, and end-to-end data flows.

Quality Strategy & Leadership

• Demonstrated ability to define and execute comprehensive test strategies across multiple technology layers.

• Strong understanding of risk-based testing, automation strategy, regression planning, and release readiness.

Communication & Reporting

• Ability to translate complex test results and technical risks into concise, executive-level status updates.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate quality risks, mitigation plans, and escalation recommendations.

Planning & Execution

• Experience forecasting QE effort, managing testing capacity, planning test cycles, and delivering against defined milestones.

• Strong organizational and prioritization skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.