Lead SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test)

Jobgether; United States; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work in India

Senior technical leadership

Job summary

Jobgether is seeking a Lead SDET to own QA automation for a multi-platform security product. You will shape the test strategy and stay hands-on across iOS, Android, and server SDKs with a strong focus on automation quality.

You will mentor teams, drive testing standards, and collaborate with developers to improve release quality in a security-conscious environment.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in software test automation with leadership experience.
• Experience designing and maintaining test automation frameworks from scratch.
• Hands-on mobile automation on iOS or Android stacks with cross-platform capability.
• Experience with GitLab CI, YAML pipelines, Bash and Gradle.
• Strong communication and mentoring abilities for engineers and QA teammates.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the automation strategy across iOS, Android, and server SDKs.
• Develop and maintain scalable automated test suites and infrastructure.
• Architect reusable framework components and data fixtures.
• Run CI pipelines in GitLab and integrate with real-device cloud services.
• Mentor automation engineers and collaborate with developers on testing standards.

Skills

Automation leadership

Mobile automation

CI/CD ownership

Test strategy

Mentoring engineers

Cross-platform testing

Python/ Bash scripting

GitLab CI

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

XCTest/XCUITest

Espresso/UI Automator

Gradle

GitLab CI

YAML

JUnit 4/5

Kotlin/Swift

Java/.NET testing stacks

Job description

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Lead SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test) based in India.

This is a senior technical leadership role focused on building and owning QA automation across a sophisticated, multi-platform Mobile Security Suite.
You will shape the overall test strategy while remaining deeply hands-on with automation across iOS, Android, and server-side SDKs.
The role combines framework architecture, test infrastructure, CI/CD ownership, and technical mentoring.
You will identify quality gaps, establish scalable testing practices, and turn them into measurable improvements across the engineering organization.
Working closely with developers and QA specialists, you will influence how products are tested, released, and maintained.
The environment is highly technical, collaborative, and security-conscious, with significant scope to introduce new tools and approaches.
This is an opportunity for an experienced SDET to have genuine ownership of automation strategy and engineering quality.

Accountabilities

• Define and lead the automation strategy across iOS, Android, and server-side SDKs, assessing existing coverage, identifying quality gaps, and establishing the tooling, frameworks, and roadmap required to address them.
• Design, develop, maintain, and improve automated test suites across multiple platforms, remaining hands-on while collaborating with feature developers and other automation engineers.
• Architect and maintain scalable test automation frameworks, including abstraction layers, reusable components, test data, fixtures, and supporting infrastructure.
• Build and manage GitLab CI pipelines using YAML, Bash scripts, and Gradle to execute automated suites, provision local and test servers, and integrate testing with real-device cloud platforms.
• Own test infrastructure and ensure automated suites can run reliably across required environments, including third-party real-device testing services.
• Prepare quality, automation coverage, and testing reports, using findings to provide recommendations and define priorities with engineering leadership during planning cycles.
• Mentor automation developers, QA engineers, and feature developers contributing to automated testing, establishing effective processes, code review standards, and engineering best practices.
• Collaborate across a multi-language and multi-platform engineering environment, helping teams expand automation coverage where new technologies or product requirements emerge.
• Continuously evaluate mobile and server-side testing technologies, AI-assisted coding tools, frameworks, and processes to improve automation effectiveness and team capabilities.
• Identify quality and security risks proactively, particularly across products and SDKs where reliability, integrity, and secure operation are critical.

Requirements

• 6+ years of professional experience in software test automation, including experience defining automation strategy and leading or mentoring other engineers.
• Demonstrated experience designing, building, and maintaining test automation frameworks from the ground up, including architecture, reusable components, abstraction layers, test data, and fixtures.
• Strong hands-on mobile automation expertise in at least one major stack, such as iOS with Swift/XCTest/XCUITest or Android with Kotlin/Compose Test/Espresso/UI Automator, with the ability and willingness to expand across platforms.
• Experience building and owning test infrastructure, including integrations with real-device cloud testing services.
• Strong practical experience with GitLab CI, YAML-based pipelines, Bash scripting, and Gradle.
• Solid understanding of Git, branching strategies, pull requests, and modern software development workflows.
• Comfortable working across multi-language, multi-platform codebases and quickly learning unfamiliar programming languages, frameworks, and tools.
• Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities, with the ability to influence technical direction without relying on formal authority.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to present testing strategies, quality metrics, risks, and recommendations to engineering leadership.
• Analytical and risk-focused mindset, with the ability to identify meaningful quality gaps across complex technical environments.
• Self-directed approach to learning, with a demonstrated ability to identify and close tooling or skills gaps independently.
• Experience with Java, Spring/Spring Boot, and JUnit 4/5 is a plus.
• Experience with .NET/C# and automation for server-side components is a plus.
• Background testing security-sensitive products, such as anti-tampering or threat-detection technologies, or experience in regulated/security-conscious environments is advantageous.
• Previous experience establishing or leading a QA automation function from an early stage is also beneficial.

Benefits

• Opportunity to take ownership of QA automation strategy across a complex, multi-platform security product portfolio.
• Hybrid working environment in India.
• Senior technical leadership and mentoring responsibilities with broad engineering visibility.
• Hands-on exposure to iOS, Android, .NET, and Java-based technologies and testing environments.
• Opportunity to work with modern CI/CD tooling, real-device cloud testing, and AI-assisted development tools.
• Ability to influence automation architecture, testing standards, engineering processes, and long-term quality strategy.
• Collaborative environment working alongside automation engineers, QA specialists, and software developers.
• Professional growth through exposure to advanced security-focused software and evolving testing technologies.