Lead SDET — Remote AI-Driven Quality Engineer

TEKsystems; Hanover (MD); Remote; USD 113,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision benefits

401(k) retirement plan

Job summary

TEKsystems is seeking a hands-on Lead SDET to own quality engineering for complex, enterprise-scale applications. You will define test strategy, architect scalable automation across UI, API, data, and integration layers, embed testing into CI/CD, and lead a team of SDETs to deliver reliable automation.

This role blends traditional automation with governed AI use to accelerate test design, maintenance, and triage, while engineering judgment remains with the team.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in test automation, SDET, or software engineering roles, incl. 2+ years leading automation teams.
• Strong programming in Java, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript; solid OOP and design patterns.
• Proven experience designing automation frameworks from the ground up with Playwright, Selenium, or Cypress; and test runners like TestNG/JUnit/Pytest.
• Strong API testing experience (REST/GraphQL) using Rest Assured, Karate, Postman, or similar, incl. auth & contract validation.
• Hands-on CI/CD integration with GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, or GitLab; working knowledge of Docker.
• Working SQL skills and data validation across databases and integrated systems.
• Practical AI coding/testing tools experience with clear validation and risk awareness.
• Strong Agile delivery, test management, and defect lifecycle (Jira, Xray, Azure Test Plans).
• Excellent communication and mentoring skills; client-facing comfort.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end test strategy and plan, with risk-based prioritization and criteria.
• Define quality metrics and report ROI to drive release decisions.
• Drive shift-left practices: acceptance criteria, contract testing, early design involvement.
• Plan non-functional testing including performance, accessibility, security, resilience.
• Architect, build, and maintain scalable automation frameworks for UI, API, data, and integration testing.
• Write production-quality test code; set standards and review automation code.
• Integrate automation into CI/CD with quality gates and reporting.
• Lead and mentor SDETs; grow automation and AI-testing capabilities across the team.
• Communicate quality status and trade-offs to engineers, product, and clients.

Skills

Java

Python

JavaScript/TypeScript

OOP & design patterns

Git fundamentals

Automation leadership

Tools

Playwright

Selenium

Cypress

TestNG/JUnit/Pytest

GitHub Actions

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

Docker

Postman

Job description

TEKsystems is seeking a hands-on Lead SDET to own quality engineering for complex, enterprise-scale applications. You will define test strategy, architect scalable automation across UI, API, data, and integration layers, embed testing into CI/CD, and lead a team of SDETs to deliver reliable automation.

This role blends traditional automation with governed AI use to accelerate test design, maintenance, and triage, while engineering judgment remains with the team.