Algoleap Technologies - Staff Quality Engineer - Automation Testing

Position Overview: We are seeking a hands-on Staff / Senior Staff Quality Engineer to provide technical leadership for quality engineering across complex, enterprise-scale applications. The role combines test strategy, advanced Playwright-based automation, API and database validation, exploratory testing, and release-quality ownership. The successful candidate will partner with Engineering, Product, and other stakeholders to identify risks early, improve testability, increase automation effectiveness, and provide evidence-based release recommendations. This is an individual-contributor leadership role requiring strong technical depth, sound judgment, and the ability to mentor engineers and influence quality practices across teams. Key Responsibilities: - Own the quality strategy for assigned products and releases, translating business and technical requirements into risk-based test plans, coverage models, and acceptance criteria. - Design, develop, review, and maintain scalable automated tests using Playwright and TestCraft (internal tool); contribute to framework architecture, coding standards, reusable components, and reliable execution. - Build and maintain end-to-end, integration, regression, and data-validation coverage for complex enterprise workflows. - Perform hands-on manual and exploratory testing where automation is not appropriate, with emphasis on high-risk scenarios, edge cases, usability, and production-like behavior. - Use complex SQL queries, application logs, and database logs to validate data integrity, isolate defects, and support root-cause analysis. - Manage test data, test environments, system test plans, regression plans, defect evidence, and clear test-result documentation. - Partner with Product, Engineering, and other stakeholders throughout the SDLC to improve requirements, testability, defect prevention, and delivery predictability. - Provide evidence-based release readiness assessments and clear test sign-offs against agreed quality standards and acceptance criteria. - Identify, communicate, and track risks affecting release timelines, product quality, environment readiness, or testing efficiency; recommend practical mitigation actions. - Champion compliance, quality engineering, Agile, and SDLC practices; continuously improve automation, defect management, and performance-testing approaches. - Mentor engineers, lead technical reviews, share knowledge, and influence quality practices across multiple teams without direct authority. Required Skills & Qualifications: - 8 - 10 years of hands-on software quality engineering experience, including ownership of end-to-end testing for complex enterprise applications. - Advanced, recent hands-on experience creating and maintaining UI automation with Playwright; this is a mandatory requirement. - Strong programming or scripting ability applicable to test automation, including clean-code practices, debugging, code reviews, and version control. - Demonstrated experience designing or extending automation frameworks and improving test reliability, maintainability, and execution feedback. - Strong experience with system, integration, regression, exploratory, and end-to-end testing of web-based applications and APIs. - Proficiency in writing complex SQL queries for backend validation, reconciliation, and data-integrity checks. - Ability to analyze application and database logs, troubleshoot failures, and collaborate with developers on root-cause analysis. - In-depth knowledge of QA processes, risk-based test strategy, defect lifecycle, SDLC, and Agile delivery methodologies. - Proven technical leadership, stakeholder communication, mentoring, and the ability to manage competing priorities in a deadline-driven environment. - Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to document plans, results, risks, and release recommendations clearly and concisely. Preferred / Nice-to-Have Qualifications : - Experience with API automation, source control, test reporting, and automated execution in build or deployment workflows. - Experience testing cloud-based, distributed, multi-tenant, or data-intensive enterprise platforms. - Working knowledge of performance-testing concepts and tools, including workload design, bottleneck analysis, and result interpretation. - Experience improving quality metrics such as escaped defects, flaky-test rate, regression duration, automation coverage, or release confidence. Screening Checklist : - Mandatory: 8 - 10 years in software QA/QE with recent, hands-on Playwright automation experience. - Mandatory: Evidence of building or significantly enhancing an automation framework - not only executing existing scripts. - Mandatory: Ownership of test strategy, regression coverage, risk reporting, and release-readiness recommendations for complex workflows. - Preferred evidence: API automation, CI/CD integration, enterprise-platform testing, performance testing, and measurable improvements in quality or delivery outcomes.