Quality Assurance Engineer

Caterpillar; Irving (TX); On-site; USD 113,000 - 183,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

PTO

401(k)

HSA

FSAs

Career development

Bonus

Job summary

Caterpillar Inc. is seeking a skilled Test Automation Engineer to join MineStar modernization efforts in Irving, TX. You will design and maintain automated tests across API, backend, and UI layers, leveraging Playwright, TypeScript, and contract testing against REST and Protobuf endpoints.

The role emphasizes shift-left practices, CI/CD integration with GitHub Actions, and collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams to ensure high-quality software in a containerized environment on Kubernetes.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of software development life cycle and Agile delivery.
• Experience with shift-left testing and quality gates; familiar with BDD frameworks.
• Proficiency in testing REST APIs, contracts, and RBAC considerations.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain automated tests across API, business-flow, and end-to-end UI layers.
• Author contract and operation tests against REST and Protobuf endpoints, covering happy paths and errors.
• Build business-flow API tests that stitch operations across services to prove correct behavior.
• Automate end-to-end user journeys through the AngularUI WebApp using Playwright and RBAC permutations.
• Contribute to and evolve the Playwright and TypeScript framework; extend locator library and Page Object Model.
• Configure and maintain CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions) for PRs, monitor daily runs, and reduce flakiness.
• Write maintainable tests that survive surface changes and are reusable.
• Assist test environment readiness and data management on containerized platforms (Kubernetes).
• Collaborate with engineers via shift-left practices and code reviews; mentor team members.

Skills

TypeScript

Java

Python

C#

API testing

CI/CD

Tools

Playwright

Protobuf

gRPC

Kubernetes

GitHub Actions

Azure Pipelines

Jenkins

Job description

Career Area: Technology, Digital and Data

Job Description: Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc. When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it. Caterpillar products generate and process large amounts of data from sensors, on-board models, and control algorithms in real-time creating real-world machine usage information. As part of the overall digital strategy Caterpillar has developed an integrated family of machine-based information technology products that interconnect machines to provide real time guidance, tracking, monitoring and supervisory control of the operational mining fleet. This family of products is branded MineStar. The MineStar product range links with other mining and business information systems and is an integral part of the Mining Technology Enabled Solutions vision. We are seeking a skilled and experienced Test Automation Engineer to join our multi-disciplinary delivery teams building world class mining software solutions. As MineStar is modernized from a long-standing monolith into containerized microservices, this role focuses on test automation and technical testing: designing, building, and maintaining automated test suites that prove modernized services behave correctly and preserve legacy behavior. This is a hands‑on engineering role, writing tests that run in CI and catch real defects, embedded within a high performing, self-managing delivery team.

What You Will Do:

Design, build, and maintain automated tests across API, business-flow, and end-to-end UI layers for modernized MineStar microservices.

Author contract and operation tests against REST and Protobuf endpoints, covering happy paths, negative and boundary cases, error handling, response schema validation, and event (MQTT) side‑effects.

Build business-flow API tests that stitch operations across services to prove the system behaves correctly, including parity checks that compare modernized and legacy behavior.

Automate end‑to‑end user journeys through the AngularUI WebApp using Playwright, with API-first test setup and role-based access control (RBAC) permutations.

Contribute to and evolve the Playwright and TypeScript automation framework, including the shared locator library, extendable Page Object Model, reusable fixtures, and parallel execution.

Configure and maintain CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions) so automated tests run on every pull request, monitoring daily execution, triaging failures, and driving down flakiness to root cause.

Write outcome‑based, maintainable tests that survive surface changes, rather than step‑coupled scripts tied to a single UI.

Support test environment readiness and test data management for automation on the containerized (Kubernetes) platform.

Partner with engineers through shift‑left practices, three‑amigos conversations, and code reviews to build quality in early.

Hand finished per-domain automated suites to embedded scrum‑team QAs, mentoring them to own and extend the suites and actively removing single points of failure through documentation.

Communicate quality status, automation coverage, and risk clearly to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

What You Will Have:

Software Development Life Cycle: Knowledge of software development life cycle; ability to use a structured methodology for delivering and managing new or enhanced software products to the marketplace. Strong understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and Agile delivery, embedding quality early through shift‑left testing, definition of done, and quality gates. Experience applying shift‑left practices, three‑amigos conversations, and code reviews to build quality throughout the development lifecycle. Experience with Cucumber or BDD frameworks where BDD is used as a collaboration practice (three‑amigos), not Gherkin syntax layered over automation. Collaborative approach, partnering with engineers and product roles to continuously improve quality practices and outcomes. Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate quality status, automation coverage, and risk to technical and non‑technical stakeholders. Experience mentoring team members on automated testing practices, framework ownership, and documentation to promote long‑term sustainability and knowledge sharing.

Technical Troubleshooting:

Knowledge of technical troubleshooting approaches, tools and techniques; ability to anticipate, recognize, and resolve technical issues on hardware, software, application or operation. Experience configuring and troubleshooting CI/CD pipelines, including GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, or Jenkins. Strong troubleshooting skills to triage defects and automation failures to root cause, improving stability and reducing flaky tests across environments and data sets. Ability to monitor automated test execution, analyze failures, and drive quality improvements through root cause identification and resolution. Experience supporting test environment readiness and test data management within containerized platforms.

Programming:

Knowledge of relevant programming languages and tools; ability to test, write, design, debug, troubleshoot and maintain source codes and computer programs. Proficiency in TypeScript, or strong JavaScript with a credible TypeScript ramp, and the ability to build and maintain test automation code (strong typed‑language depth in Java, C#, or Python with type hints also considered). Automate end‑to‑end user journeys through the AngularUI WebApp using Playwright, with API-first test setup and role-based access control (RBAC) permutations. Contribute to and evolve the Playwright and TypeScript automation framework, including the shared locator library, extendable Page Object Model, reusable fixtures, and parallel execution.

Software Product Testing:

Knowledge of software product testing; ability to design, plan, and execute testing strategies and tactics to ensure software product quality and adherence to stated requirements. Experience designing, implementing, and maintaining automated test suites that provide fast, reliable feedback in CI. Strong capability in automated testing across API, business‑flow, and end‑to‑end UI layers for modernized microservices architectures. Hands‑on testing of REST APIs and contracts, including positive and negative scenarios, error handling, response content and schema validation, and authorization / role‑based access control (RBAC). Experience authoring contract and operation tests against REST and Protobuf endpoints, covering happy paths, negative and boundary cases, error handling, response schema validation, and event side‑effects. Strong business‑flow test design skills, including validating system behavior across services and performing parity checks between modernized and legacy solutions. Outcome‑based test design, with the ability to write maintainable tests that survive surface changes. Strong test analysis and design capability, including risk‑based and exploratory testing, and translating requirements into clear, maintainable automated scenarios.

Considerations For Top Candidates:

Protobuf or gRPC experience, used as the schema source of truth for modernized services. MQTT or event‑driven testing, validating event side‑effects published via the message broker. Kubernetes or containerized platform testing, including reading logs across pod restarts and reasoning about mTLS, certificate, and RBAC failures. Java reading literacy to support parity test design against the legacy MineStar codebase (writing Java not required). Mining, industrial automation, or other safety‑critical domain background. Performance and load testing experience (e.g. k6, JMeter, or Gatling), including designing scenarios, establishing baselines, and interpreting latency and throughput results. Ability to integrate performance checks into CI and flag regressions against agreed thresholds, complementing functional automation.

Additional Information:

This position requires the candidate to work full‑time at the Irving, TX office. Domestic relocation assistance is available for this position. Visa sponsorship is available with this position. This position will require up to 10% travel. #LI Summary Pay Range: $112,710.00 - $183,140.00 Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job‑related knowledge, skills, individual performance and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Caterpillar.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits*


• Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holidays, Volunteer, etc.)*


• 401(k) savings plans*


• Health Savings Account (HSA)*


• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*


• Health Lifestyle Programs*


• Employee Assistance Program*


• Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts*


• Career Development*


• Incentive bonus*


• Disability benefits Life Insurance*


• Parental leave Adoption benefits Tuition Reimbursement *

These benefits also apply to part‑time employees.

This position requires working onsite five days a week. Relocation is available for this position. Visa sponsorship is available for eligible applicants.

Posting Dates:

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply.