Job Title: Principal Software Test Engineer

Location: Noida (Remote, travel if required)

Summary:

We are seeking a Principal Software Test Engineer who will play a key role in advancing test automation frameworks, tooling, and quality engineering practices across the Business Unit. This is a senior individual contributor role (70% hands-on) with additional responsibility to guide, influence, and mentor engineers while helping drive automation adoption and execution.

What you'll do:

Automation & Engineering (Core IC Work 70%):

- Design, develop, and maintain scalable and reusable test automation frameworks for Web, API, and Thick Client applications.

- Build and enhance automation solutions to improve test coverage, reliability, and execution efficiency.

- Ensure CI/CD readiness, enabling seamless integration of automated tests into pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions).

- Contribute to code reviews and continuous improvement of automation assets.

Driving Automation Excellence:

- Help drive adoption of automation frameworks and best practices across teams within the Business Unit.

- Collaborate with teams to identify automation opportunities and improve overall test strategy.

- Advocate for shift-left testing and early quality validation.

Performance & Quality Engineering:

- Design and execute performance and load testing using JMeter.

- Analyse system performance, identify bottlenecks, and provide recommendations for optimization.

Mentorship & Collaboration:

- Mentor and support QA engineers in automation tools, framework usage, and best practices.

- Provide technical guidance without direct people management responsibilities.

- Collaborate with product, development, and DevOps teams to ensure alignment on quality goals.

- Contribute to knowledge sharing and capability building within the team.

Operational Excellence:

- Participate in planning, estimation, and requirement analysis.

- Define and contribute to quality metrics and automation effectiveness tracking.

- Troubleshoot complex issues across application, database, and infrastructure layers.

Who you are:

- Bachelors degree in computer science, Engineering, or equivalent.

- 10+ years of experience in software testing with strong focus on automation.

- Proven experience as a senior individual contributor in quality engineering/automation.

Technical Expertise:

- Strong experience in designing and building test automation frameworks.

Hands-on expertise in:

- Web automation (Playwright)

- API automation (REST Assured / Postman/Karate API)

- Thick client / desktop automation (Test Complete)

- Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.

- Experience in performance testing using JMeter.

- Proficiency in JavaScript or Typescript (preferred), Java, or similar programming languages.

- Experience with JIRA or similar test/defect management tools.

- Solid understanding of databases (Oracle, SQL Server) and SQL queries.

Core Competencies:

- Strong understanding of SDLC, STLC, and Agile/Scrum methodologies.

- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

- Ability to debug and troubleshoot complex systems.

- Experience working in enterprise-scale applications/products.

Influence & Collaboration:

- Ability to influence without authority and drive adoption of best practices.

- Strong communication and collaboration skills across teams.

- Passion for mentoring and enabling others.

- Ability to balance hands-on execution with broader quality impact.

Cultural Fit:

- Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills.

- Strong ownership and accountability mindset.

- Continuous improvement and innovation-driven.

- Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills.

- Adaptable and open to change.

- Passion for building high-quality, scalable systems.