Automation Engineer

Fanatics Collectibles; New York, Los Angeles (NY, CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Fanatics Collectibles is seeking an experienced SDET – Automation Engineer to develop and scale regression strategies for a live-service Unity mobile game. The role emphasizes reducing manual testing through a robust automation framework and integration of AI workflows.

The successful candidate will have 5+ years in QA automation, proficient in Python, and experience with CI/CD pipelines. Join our dynamic team to enhance the gaming quality experience for millions of fans!

Qualifications

• 5+ years in SDET / QA Automation with ownership of automation strategy.
• Experience with automation frameworks for Unity-based or mobile applications.
• Strong debugging and root cause analysis skills across a mobile stack.

Responsibilities

• Architect, build, and maintain a scalable automation framework.
• Coordinate testing across concurrent feature launches.
• Own defect triage and enforce documentation standards.

Skills

SDET / QA Automation

Automation strategy

Python programming

CI/CD pipelines

AI tools usage

Tools

Pytest

AltTester

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

About Us

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.

About the Team

Fanatics Collectibles is a new company operating at the intersection of collectibles, culture, and technology. Backed by world‑class investors, operators, and sports & entertainment partners, we are building the global leader in next‑generation collectibles. As part of the broader Fanatics ecosystem, we leverage a digital sports platform that spans over 900 sports properties and engages more than 81 million fans. Together, we are reimagining every part of the collectibles experience for fans, partners, and creators.

Role Summary

We are looking for an SDET – Automation Engineer to own and scale an automation‑first regression strategy for a live‑service Unity mobile game. This role is accountable for making regression predominantly automated, reliable, and CI‑gated. Goal is to reduce manual testing to exception‑based and exploratory work. You think in frameworks and systems, treat automation as an engineering discipline with architecture and standards, and have already built AI into your workflow. You proactively surface quality gaps before they become production incidents and measure your impact in coverage and velocity.

Build & Own the Automation Framework

• Architect, build, and maintain a scalable automation framework for a Unity‑based mobile game using Pytest, AltTester, or equivalent tools.
• Own the full test pyramid with unit, integration, and end‑to‑end tests with a clear strategy for coverage expansion and regression confidence.
• Establish framework standards: modular design, maintainability, low flakiness, and CI/CD integration.
• Audit and reduce the existing manual test suite. Migrate high‑value cases to automation and retire low‑ROI coverage. The goal of converting legacy manual regression into a maintainable automated system within the first year.
• Define regression layers (PR smoke, nightly regression, release validation) with clear scope, runtime targets, and ownership.
• Define and track automation KPIs: coverage rate, flakiness index, regression cycle time, and defect escape rate.
• Define and manage test data and environment strategies to ensure deterministic, repeatable automation runs across CI and local development.
• Operationalize AI‑assisted workflows, building repeatable processes the broader team can adopt.
• Own CI/CD pipeline integration including build validation, automated regression triggers, and release gate criteria.

Build AI‑Native QA Workflows

• Build and maintain AI workflows: prompt libraries, automation generation templates, and defect triage assistants.
• Apply AI across the QA lifecycle, including test generation, coverage gap analysis, and root cause hypothesis generation.
• Evaluate and adopt AI tooling with measurable impact on speed, coverage, and reliability.

Drive Release Quality

• Define and execute test strategies aligned to daily, weekly, or monthly release cadences in a live‑service environment.
• Coordinate testing across concurrent feature launches and regression cycles.
• Own defect triage, enforce documentation standards, and drive issues to verified resolution.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Production upstream to influence feature design and reduce downstream risk.
• Develop deep expertise in the game's systems, architecture, and edge cases while being able anticipate failure points before release.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years in SDET / QA Automation, with proven ownership of automation strategy and CI‑gated regression systems.
• Hands‑on experience designing and building automation frameworks for Unity‑based or mobile applications.
• Proficiency with Pytest, AltTester, or comparable automation tooling.
• Strong programming skills in Python (or similar), with experience building maintainable, production‑quality test frameworks using modern design patterns.
• Demonstrated, practical use of AI tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, GitHub Copilot) in QA or engineering workflows.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GameCI, Unity Cloud Build, or equivalent) and build validation workflows.
• Strong debugging and root cause analysis skills across a mobile stack.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to document, present, and advocate for quality.

Nice to Have

• Experience building or evolving AI‑augmented QA workflows beyond individual tool usage.
• Familiarity with mobile testing infrastructure, including device farms, emulators, iOS/Android platform nuances.
• Exposure to LLM APIs and prompt engineering for QA use cases.
• Experience with JIRA, Confluence, and TestRail.
• Background in live‑service or frequently updated game environments.
• Experience coordinating or leading external QA vendors.

As set forth in Fanatics Collectibles’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.