Lead Quality Engineer

Prolaio; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health coverage

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Prolaio is seeking a Backend Software Quality Engineering Lead to validate our cloud-based data platform, balancing leadership with active code contribution. You will mentor automation engineers, evolve test frameworks, and ensure data integrity across time-series datasets within a SaMD context.

You will collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Regulatory teams to translate clinical needs into verifiable tests, driving compliance with ISO 13485 and IEC 62304 while shaping backend quality

Qualifications

• 8+ years in backend testing or software development with leadership experience.
• Strong automation coding skills in Python, Kotlin, or Java.
• Experience testing cloud-native services and API architectures.
• Expert SQL skills and validation of large-scale data warehouses/NoSQL.
• Proven ability to validate time-series data and data streams.
• Strong requirements engineering to ensure testability and safety.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and mentor a team of backend automation engineers with light management duties.
• Contribute to and evolve backend test frameworks, ensuring performance as cloud infra grows.
• Translate complex clinical needs into testable verification plans with Product/Engineering/Regulatory.
• Design and execute validation strategies for large-scale data warehouses and NoSQL stores (BigQuery, Cassandra).
• Oversee V&V processes to meet SaMD standards (ISO 13485, IEC 62304) and regulatory evidence.

Skills

Backend testing

Mentorship

Automation mastery

Cloud backend testing

SQL expertise

Time-series validation

Requirements engineering

Tools

Python

Kotlin

Java

Job description

Prolaio believes that continuous learning and collaboration can make a significant difference in how heart care is administered. We are creating smarter ways to address heart disease and heart risks by uniting patients, care teams, and researchers on a secure, technology-enabled platform that drives clinical innovation and offers a path towards better patient outcomes.

This is precision cardiology, and we know it’s within reach.

What Will You Do?

The Overview

The Backend Software Quality Engineering Lead will oversee and actively contribute to the validation and verification of our cloud-based data platform. In this role, you will act as a true player-coach—balancing technical leadership, team mentorship, and direct individual contribution. You will be responsible for the integrity of our high-volume data pipelines and backend services, leading a small team of automation test engineers while also contributing to test case automation and executing test strategies.

This role is ideal for a technical leader who wants to guide a team and handle management responsibilities, but prefers to remain an active contributor rather than stepping into a pure management role. You must be ready to quickly adopt existing automation frameworks, identify opportunities for optimization, and drive the requirements-gathering process to ensure clinical safety in a Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) environment.

The Specifics

• Hands-on Leadership & Mentorship: Lead, coach, and mentor a team of backend automation engineers by example. You will handle light management responsibilities (defining roadmaps, professional development) but will split your time between leadership and active technical contribution (writing test code, reviewing PRs, and executing tests).
• Active Framework Evolution: Quickly master and directly contribute code to our existing backend test frameworks. You will be hands-on in maintaining, scaling, and optimizing these tools, ensuring they remain performant as our cloud infrastructure evolves.
• Requirements Engineering: Act as a collaborative bridge between Product, Engineering, and Regulatory teams. You will use your experience to translate complex clinical needs into actionable, testable verification plans, actively writing test cases that ensure full feature coverage.
• Data & Analytics Validation: Design and execute strategies to validate large-scale analytical data warehouses and NoSQL storage layers (e.g., BigQuery, Cassandra). You will be personally responsible for verifying the accuracy of complex datasets, specifically focusing on the precision of time-series data.
• Regulatory Alignment: Oversee and participate in the verification (V&V) process to ensure our cloud services meet SaMD standards (e.g., ISO 13485, IEC 62304), ensuring automated testing provides the necessary evidence for regulatory compliance.

Why Prolaio?

• Impactful Work: You will join in the fight against heart failure (HF) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with the goal of extending and saving the lives of our patients while also being at the forefront of changing the healthcare industry through technology.
• Innovative Environment: You will be part of an organization doing something that’s never been done before.
• Professional Growth: You will join a growing team and have a substantial impact on our daily and future operations with the opportunity to continuously learn and grow.
• Collaborative Team: You will be part of a team of collaborative, curious, and committed individuals focused on the collective good, inclusiveness, scientific excellence, and advancing digital health for cardiology.

Who You Are?

• Technical Leadership: 8+ years in backend testing or software development, with a proven track record of blending hands-on technical contribution with team mentorship or formal lead experience. You prefer leading by example from within the code, rather than managing from a distance.
• Automation Mastery: Demonstrated ability to write clean code and improve existing automation frameworks (e.g., Python, Kotlin, or Java) while knowing when to build new components from scratch.
• Cloud Backend Expertise: Deep, practical experience testing cloud-native services and API architectures.
• Advanced Data Proficiency: Expert-level SQL skills and extensive practical experience validating high-scale data environments, including analytical warehouses and NoSQL databases.
• Temporal Data Experience: Proven ability to validate time-series data and complex data streams, ensuring consistency and integrity over time.
• Requirements & Design: Strong background in requirements engineering, with the ability to analyze a feature at the design stage and ensure it is architected for testability and safety.

Additional Qualifications (Nice to Haves)

• Previous experience in a regulated industry (Healthcare, MedTech, or BioTech).
• Familiarity with Risk Management (ISO 14971) as it informs test case prioritization.
• Experience with CI/CD integration and cloud monitoring/observability tools.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• Meaningful Compensation: Competitive salary, performance bonus, and equity so you can share in what we build.
• Great Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision plans with multiple options and strong company contributions.
• Flexible Spending Perks: HSA, FSA, commuter benefits, and a $1,200 annual Lifestyle Spending Account to support wellness, commuting, family needs, and more.
• Time to Recharge: Generous paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays.
• Family-First Benefits: Paid parental leave, caregiver leave, and support for growing families.
• Security & Peace of Mind: Company-paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Plan for the Future: 401(k) plan to help you build long-term financial security.
• Care When You Need It: Easy access to telehealth and optional supplemental coverage for life’s unexpected moments.

Starting Salary is at $150,000.00 (Exact Compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location)