Principal Quality Engineer: AI-Driven Automation Leader

United Airlines; Chicago, Northern (IL, KY); Hybrid; USD 141,000 - 192,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life

Accident & disability

Parental leave

Employee assistance program

Commuter

Paid holidays

Paid time off

401(k)

Flight privileges

Job summary

United Airlines is seeking a Principal Quality Engineer to lead enterprise automation, AI-powered testing, and agentic quality initiatives across the SDLC. You will define standards, roadmaps, and governance for scalable automation, partnering across Engineering, Product, Platform, DevOps, Security, and Data teams.

The role drives innovation, AI-enabled testing, and quality intelligence to improve software delivery speed and reliability across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field (CS/Engineering/Business).
• 5+ years of management experience in Quality Engineering or IT leadership related role.
• 5+ years of experience implementing Test Automation frameworks.
• 5+ years of experience in supporting release automation (CICD) and application performance testing.
• Strong project organizations skill, including prioritization, planning and organization.
• Experience with cloud, distributed, microservice, mainframe and desktop-based technology.
• Understanding of AI-driven innovation and deployment of Agentic AI solutions for Autonomous test execution, Intelligent defect triage, risk prediction and Test prioritization.
• Experience in application development and testing, multiple major projects delivering med-large scale projects/programs.
• Strong Programming Skills: Java, Selenium, Python or SQL.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship.
• Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification.
• Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the enterprise technical strategy, architecture, standards, and roadmap for Quality.
• Engineering, Automation, and Agentic Testing capabilities.
• Design and implement scalable automation frameworks and AI-powered quality platforms that improve software quality, engineering productivity, and delivery efficiency.
• Drive the adoption of Agentic Quality Engineering practices to improve efficiency, coverage, and delivery speed.
• Establish governance, engineering standards, and best practices for automation, AI-enabled testing, quality intelligence, and continuous testing solutions.
• Partner with Engineering, Product, Platform, Security, DevOps, and Data teams to embed quality, automation, and observability throughout the SDLC.
• Leverage quality analytics, observability, production telemetry, and predictive models to continuously improve reliability and efficiency.
• Lead innovation initiatives, evaluate emerging technologies, mentor engineering teams, and influence enterprise-wide quality transformation.

Skills

Quality Engineering leadership

Test Automation

Agentic Testing

AI-driven innovation

Observability

Cross-functional collaboration

Java

Selenium

Python

SQL

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

AWS

Job description

United Airlines is seeking a Principal Quality Engineer to lead enterprise automation, AI-powered testing, and agentic quality initiatives across the SDLC. You will define standards, roadmaps, and governance for scalable automation, partnering across Engineering, Product, Platform, DevOps, Security, and Data teams.

The role drives innovation, AI-enabled testing, and quality intelligence to improve software delivery speed and reliability across the organization.