Job
Description
Lead SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test) Location: Hyderabad / Bengaluru Experience Level: 9-12 years We are seeking a Lead SDET to drive the quality engineering strategy, lead a team of SDETs, and contribute to building robust and scalable automation frameworks for our enterprise applications. As the Lead SDET, you will work closely with development, product, and DevOps teams to ensure a high-quality user experience through automated and manual testing efforts. Key Responsibilities: Strategy & Leadership Define and lead the end-to-end automation and quality strategy across multiple projects or products. Mentor and lead a team of SDETs and QA engineers, fostering a culture of quality and ownership. Collaborate with engineering and product leadership to integrate quality gates into CI/CD workflows. Evangelise shift-left testing, test-driven development (TDD), and behaviour-driven development (BDD) practices. Test Automation & Framework Development Design, build, and maintain robust, reusable, and scalable automation frameworks for UI, API, performance, and integration testing. Own automation architecture decisions and implement best practices around code quality, modularity, and execution performance. Integrate automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines and ensure rapid feedback for every code change. Collaboration & SDLC Involvement Participate in backlog refinement, sprint planning, and release readiness discussions to influence testability and quality. Partner with developers and DevOps to enable continuous testing and high test coverage in pre-production environments. Collaborate with Product and UX teams to define acceptance criteria and ensure customer-centric testing. Quality Metrics & Reporting Define, collect, and report on quality metrics (e.g., defect leakage, test coverage, escape rate, automation ROI). Drive continuous improvement initiatives based on data and retrospectives. Required Qualifications 7+ years of experience in Quality Engineering or SDET roles, with 2+ years in a leadership capacity. Strong coding skills in one or more of the following: Java, C#, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript . Hands-on experience with test frameworks like Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, TestNG, JUnit, REST Assured , etc. Deep understanding of testing concepts including unit, integration, functional, regression, performance, and security testing . Experience with CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD ) and version control (e.g., Git ). Familiarity with cloud-based test environments and containerized test execution using Docker and Kubernetes . Strong experience with test management and reporting tools (e.g., Allure, TestRail, Xray, Zephyr ). Solid understanding of Agile/Scrum methodologies and how quality fits into iterative delivery. Preferred Qualifications Experience in performance/load testing tools like JMeter, Gatling, or k6 . Prior exposure to contract testing and service virtualization (e.g., Pact, WireMock ). Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and testing in distributed systems. Familiarity with accessibility and security testing is a plus. Experience working in regulated domains (e.g., finance, healthcare) is desirable. Soft Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Strong analytical and debugging skills with attention to detail. Ability to lead through influence and build consensus in cross-functional teams. Passion for mentoring, coaching, and developing high-performing test engineers.
