Lead SDET Engineer

Lead Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) – UI, focused on driving UI test automation strategy, framework design, and quality leadership for modern web applications. The role is hands-on and cross-functional, emphasizing scalable, maintainable, and reliable Playwright-based UI automation and a strong culture of quality across the SDLC.Role OverviewActs as a technical leader and mentor for the UI SDET/QA automation team.Owns the UI automation vision and framework architecture, primarily using Playwright with TypeScript.Partners closely with Product, Engineering, UX, and DevOps to ensure high-quality frontend delivery.Champions continuous improvement, engineering excellence, and rapid feedback.Core Technology StackPlaywright – primary UI automation frameworkTypeScript – main automation languageJest – unit testing and utilitiesDocker & Kubernetes – containerized test environmentsGitHub Actions – CI/CD integrationKarate – API and E2E testing supportKey ResponsibilitiesTechnical Leadership & StrategyLead the design, implementation, and evolution of UI automation frameworks.Enforce best practices such as Page Object Model (POM), data-driven testing, and atomic test design.Reduce flakiness, improve execution speed, and ensure meaningful assertions.Quality & Process OwnershipOwn and execute comprehensive UI test plans aligned with BDD practices.Establish and maintain robust regression testing.Drive root cause analysis and continuous improvement for UI defects.Incorporate feedback from test outcomes and production issues to improve coverage.Culture & CollaborationPromote a TDD mindset and shared ownership of test automation among engineers.Champion a culture of quality, learning, and continuous improvement.Support team growth through coaching, feedback, and skills development.Ensure strong documentation, code quality, and knowledge sharing.Core Skills & QualitiesStrong expertise in Playwright, POM, and UI automation best practices.Advanced knowledge of TypeScript, waits, locators, and test stability techniques.Experience with CI/CD pipelines, test reporting, and analytics.Strong collaboration, communication, and stakeholder management skills.Awareness of technical debt, system design trade-offs, and test strategy balance.Comfort with ambiguity, fast change, and evolving technologies.Preferred & Highly Desirable ExperiencePreferred5+ years of UI SDET/QA/software engineering experience.2+ years in a technical leadership role.Proven success delivering scalable and reliable UI automation systems.Experience mentoring engineers in agile, cross-functional teams.Highly DesirableTesting non-deterministic systems, including AI/ML or GenAI-driven UIs.Using AI to accelerate testing and SDLC processes.Experience with Docker/Kubernetes for test environments.Understanding of the Test Pyramid and balancing UI, integration, and unit tests.Experience in distributed or multidisciplinary teams.