Senior QA Automation Developer/Engineer

Title: Senior Quality Analyst and Automation Developer (Contract-to-Hire)
Role: Sr. QA Automation Developer/Engineer (with both automation and manual testing responsibilities) 50/50 to start and will be 70% Auto/30% Manual down the road.
Location: Mesa, Arizona
Notes: The contractor may initially work remotely; however, relocation to Arizona will be required thereafter. There is some flexibility regarding the relocation timeline, and a candidate selected for the role would not be expected to move immediately upon hire. The exact timing to be determined by the hiring manager based on business needs and project requirements.
Contract to Hire: A formal conversion timeline has not yet been established. The hiring manager indicated that conversion to a Full-time employee (FTE) could occur anywhere between 6 months and 1 year.
Citizenship: US Citizenship or US Citizen. GC, EAD, and H4 EAD holders are allowed.
Interview Process: Virtual video interviews

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Quality Analyst / QA Automation Developer with 8–10 years of hands-on experience in software quality engineering, test automation, and application testing. This role requires a highly skilled QA professional who can balance both automation development and manual testing activities, while collaborating closely with developers, product owners, business analysts, and stakeholders to ensure the delivery of high-quality software solutions.

The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in designing and implementing scalable test automation frameworks, executing comprehensive test strategies, mentoring junior team members, and leveraging modern AI-assisted development tools to improve testing efficiency and productivity.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Assurance & Testing

• Design, develop, execute, and maintain comprehensive test plans, test cases, and test scripts.
• Perform functional, integration, regression, system, smoke, and end-to-end testing.
• Conduct exploratory and manual testing to identify edge cases and usability issues.
• Validate business requirements and ensure applications meet functional and non-functional requirements.
• Analyze test results, identify defects, and collaborate with development teams to resolve issues.
• Participate in requirement reviews and provide feedback to improve testability and quality.

Test Automation Development

• Design, build, and enhance robust automation frameworks using industry best practices.
• Develop automated test scripts for web, API, and backend services.
• Implement and maintain test suites using Selenium WebDriver and Playwright.
• Create reusable automation components and utilities to improve test coverage and maintainability.
• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines for continuous quality validation.
• Optimize automation execution time and improve test reliability and stability.

Agile & DevOps Collaboration

• Participate in Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, backlog refinement, daily standups, retrospectives, and release planning.
• Work closely with developers to ensure quality is embedded throughout the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
• Support continuous integration and continuous deployment initiatives.
• Collaborate with DevOps teams to automate quality gates and release validation processes.

Leadership & Mentorship

• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior and mid-level QA engineers.
• Conduct code reviews for automation scripts and promote testing best practices.
• Drive QA process improvements and advocate for quality engineering principles.
• Assist in establishing testing standards, governance, and automation strategies across teams.

Required Qualifications

Experience

• 8–10 years of experience in Quality Assurance, Software Testing, or Test Automation Engineering.
• Proven experience in both manual and automated testing environments.
• Demonstrated success in designing and maintaining enterprise-level automation frameworks.

Technical Skills

• Strong experience with:
  • Selenium WebDriver
  • Playwright
  • C# and/or Java
  • TypeScript
  • REST API testing and automation
  • Test management and defect tracking tools
• Experience working with:
  • Azure DevOps
  • Azure cloud services
  • CI/CD tools and practices
  • Git version control systems
• Knowledge of:
  • SQL and database testing
  • API testing tools such as Postman or Rest Assured
  • Performance and load testing concepts
  • Microservices architecture

AI & Modern Development Tools

• Experience utilizing AI-powered development tools such as:
  • Microsoft Copilot
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Claude
  • ChatGPT or similar AI assistants
• Ability to leverage AI tools for:
  • Test case generation
  • Automation script development
  • Defect analysis
  • Test data creation
  • Productivity improvements

Soft Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently in a remote or hybrid environment.
• Proven leadership, mentoring, and team collaboration capabilities.

What Success Looks Like

• Delivery of reliable and scalable automation frameworks.
• Increased automated test coverage and reduced regression testing effort.
• Improved release quality and reduced production defects.
• Strong collaboration with development and product teams.
• Continuous improvement of QA processes, tools, and practices.
• Positive impact through mentoring and knowledge sharing across the QA organization.
• Quickly gaining tolling and violation domain knowledge and becoming a SME to serve as a quality gatekeeper for changes and releases.

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