Software Development Engineer in Test

Plaud Inc.; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 114,000 - 176,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful Ownership (ESOP)

Competitive Compensation

High-Impact Environment

Cutting-Edge AI Tools

Best-in-Class Equipment

Team & Culture

Job summary

Plaud Inc. is seeking a Software Engineer in Test (SDET) to build quality engineering from the ground up.

You will own test automation across Plaud's consumer and enterprise platforms, embedding quality into the development process and enabling engineers to ship with confidence. This is an engineering-first role focused on building an end-to-end automation platform, shifting testing left, defining quality metrics, and leading release readiness for major launches.

Qualifications

• 6+ yrs in software testing with a strong automation focus.
• Proficiency in Playwright for web e2e testing.
• Test code in Python or TypeScript.
• API testing experience.
• CI/CD integration.
• Experience working in an agile product/engineering team.
• Curiosity about or early experience with AI/LLM tools applied to testing.
• Ramps up fast - curious, self-directed, product-obsessed.

Responsibilities

• Build an end-to-end automation framework covering Plaud's D2C consumer platform and B2B Teams product.
• Embed testing into the SDLC from day one, review requirements, define acceptance criteria, and flag testability gaps.
• Be the voice of quality in planning, sprint reviews, and design discussions; coach engineers on testable code.
• Own key KPIs: test coverage, defect escape rate, regression pass rate; report quality health to leadership.
• Lead release sign-off for major launches across consumer and enterprise products.
• Manually test critical user flows for 3–6 months while automation is built.

Skills

Automation

Playwright

Python

TypeScript

API testing

CI/CD

Agile

AI/LLM testing

Quality mindset

Tools

Playwright

Job description

About Plaud Inc.

Plaud is building the real-world AI interface for professionals to amplify intelligence, elevate productivity and performance, loved by over 2,500,000 users worldwide since 2023. With a mission to amplify human intelligence, Plaud captures, structures, and compounds the intelligence generated in conversations — so humans can think better, decide faster, and execute with clarity.

Plaud Inc. is a Delaware-incorporated, San Francisco-based company pushing the boundary of human–AI intelligence through a hardware–software combination. With full ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 2, GDPR, EN18031, and HIPAA compliances, Plaud is committed to the highest standards of data security and privacy protection.

To learn more about Plaud, please visit https://www.plaud.ai and follow along on Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube

Why You Should Join Us

Plaud is building the next generation intelligence infrastructure and interfaces to capture, extract, and utilize intelligence from what people say, hear, see, and think.

• Plaud is a bootstrapped, skyrocketing, profitable company with a $300M revenue run rate achieved in just three years.

• Define the next-gen paradigm for human-AI interaction.

• Gain exposure to cutting-edge AI for Pro tools and play a direct role in our global expansion.

• Work with passionate teammates who value innovation, collaboration, and customer success.

• Grow your career in a culture that champions continuous learning and fast career development.

• Market-competitive compensation, global exposure, and a vibrant, creativity-fueled work atmosphere.

What you will do

About the Role

• We're looking for a Software Engineer in Test (SDET) to build our quality engineering function from the ground up. You'll own test automation across our consumer and enterprise platforms, embed quality into every stage of the development process, and help build a culture where engineers ship with confidence. This is an engineering role first. We expect you to build, not just test.
  1. Build the Test Automation Platform
  Build an end-to-end automation framework covering Plaud's D2C consumer platform (plaud.ai, web.plaud.com) and B2B Teams product. Integrate tests into CI/CD for continuous feedback. You'll also pioneer the use of AI-agentic tools — LLM-driven test generation, agent-based exploratory testing — to scale coverage in ways traditional approaches can't.
  2. Shift Testing Left Embed into the SDLC from day one — review requirements, define acceptance criteria, and flag testability gaps before code is written. Partner with PMs and engineers so quality is a design input, not an afterthought.
  3. Evangelize a Quality-First Engineering Culture Be the voice of quality in planning, sprint reviews, and design discussions. Coach engineers on writing testable code and owning quality in their own work. Make quality visible across the team.
  4. Define and Track Quality Metrics
  Own key KPIs: test coverage, defect escape rate, regression pass rate. Report quality health to engineering leadership and build dashboards that give the team real-time release readiness visibility.
  5. Own the Release Quality Bar
  Be the go/no-go voice on release readiness. Lead release sign-off for major launches across consumer and enterprise products.
  6. Manual Testing (Short-Term)
  For the first 3–6 months while the automation framework is being built, cover critical user flows manually and write clear, reproducible bug reports.

Skills, qualifications and experience we look for

Required:

1. 6+ yrs in software testing with a strong automation focus

2. Proficiency in Playwright for web e2e testing

3. test code in Python or Typescript

4. API testing experience

5. CI/CD integration

6. Expeirence working in an agile product/engineering team

7. Curiosity about or early experience with AI/LLM tools applied to testing

8. Ramps up fast - curious, self-directred, product-obssessed

Preferred:

Subscription billing, D2C platform, or enterprise SaaS experience

What we offer

1. Meaningful Ownership An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that gives a real stake in Plaud’s long-term success.

2. Competitive Compensation $114K-176K base salary+performance bonus+Equity.

3. High-Impact Environment Work in a fast-moving, product-driven environment where your ideas directly shape the future of AI productivity.

4. Cutting-Edge AI Tools for Productivity Access to best-in-class AI tools, including Cursor, GPT models, Gemini, Claude, and other frontier AI systems to maximize engineering and execution efficiency.

5. Best-in-Class Equipment Choice of top-spec laptops, high-performance workstation setups, and cutting-edge Plaud devices for all new hires.

6. Team & Culture Annual company offsites, team events, and a culture that values craftsmanship, ownership, and velocity.