Role Summary

We are seeking an experienced Lead/Architect SDET to drive the quality engineering strategy, test automation architecture, and enterprise-wide testing best practices for complex, large-scale applications. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in Selenium, Java, API Automation, BDD frameworks, CI/CD integration, and test architecture design, while providing technical leadership to QA and development teams.

This role requires a strong combination of hands-on automation expertise, solution architecture, stakeholder management, and mentoring capabilities to establish scalable quality engineering practices across multiple programs.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Test Architecture

- Define and drive the overall Test Automation Strategy and Quality Engineering roadmap.
- Design, develop, and maintain scalable automation frameworks for UI, API, Integration, and End-to-End testing.
- Establish automation standards, coding guidelines, and best practices across projects.
- Evaluate and recommend tools, frameworks, and technologies to improve testing efficiency and coverage.
- Architect automation solutions for cloud-native, microservices-based, and distributed systems.

Automation & Quality Engineering

- Develop and oversee automated test suites using Selenium, Java, and modern automation frameworks.
- Lead API automation initiatives using Rest Assured, Postman, or equivalent tools.
- Implement and govern BDD frameworks using Cucumber/Gherkin.
- Drive shift-left testing practices and quality engineering initiatives within Agile teams.
- Ensure automation coverage across functional, regression, integration, performance validation, and end-to-end testing.

CI/CD & DevOps Integration

- Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or similar tools.
- Ensure automated quality gates are implemented within the software delivery lifecycle.




- Collaborate with DevOps teams to optimize test execution and reporting frameworks.

Team Leadership & Stakeholder Management

- Lead, mentor, and coach SDET and QA teams on automation framework development and quality engineering practices.
- Conduct code reviews and framework governance to ensure automation standards are maintained.
- Work closely with Architects, Product Owners, Business Analysts, Developers, and Program Managers.
- Provide testing metrics, dashboard reporting, risk assessments, and quality recommendations to leadership teams.
- Drive continuous process improvements and test maturity initiatives.

Mandatory Skills

- Selenium WebDriver
- Core Java / Advanced Java
- API Testing & Automation
- BDD Frameworks (Cucumber/Gherkin)
- Test Automation Framework Architecture
- CI/CD Integration
- Automation Strategy & Governance
- Agile / Scrum Methodologies
- Functional, Integration, Regression & End-to-End Testing
- Test Design Patterns and Best Practices
- Microservices Testing

Preferred Skills

- Rest Assured
- Postman
- Jenkins / Azure DevOps
- Maven / Gradle
- Git / Bitbucket
- Docker / Kubernetes
- Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- SQL & Database Testing
- JIRA / Test Management Tools
- Performance Testing (JMeter, Gatling)
- Contract Testing (Pact)
- SonarQube & Code Quality Tools

Qualifications

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related discipline.
- 10+ years of experience in Software Testing, Test Automation, and Quality Engineering.
- Minimum 3+ years of experience leading QA/SDET teams or defining automation architecture.
- Solid experience in enterprise-scale automation framework design and implementation.
- Proven expertise in Selenium, Java, API Automation, and BDD frameworks.
- Experience working in Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD-driven environments.
- Experience testing cloud-based and microservices-driven applications.

📌 LEAD SDET (Pune)
🏢 Tech Mahindra
📍 Pune