Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

Flex; New York (NY); On-site; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company equity

401(k) with match

Unlimited PTO

Parental leave

Free Flex subscription

Health benefits

Job summary

Flex, headquartered in NYC, is hiring a Staff SDET in New York, NY. You will lead quality strategy, build scalable automation, and mentor SDETs across multiple teams to improve reliability and efficiency.

You will collaborate with senior engineering and product stakeholders to implement advanced testing methodologies, data-driven testing, and observability practices, enabling faster, safer shipping of major products.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of experience in software quality engineering and test automation.
• Expert-level proficiency in multiple programming languages and automation frameworks.
• Deep knowledge of CI/CD systems and infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Strong skills in test framework optimization and technical leadership.
• Experience with enterprise-level observability, monitoring, and analytics tools.
• Proficiency in complex data analysis and advanced SQL.
• Excellent communication, influence, and cross-team mentorship abilities.
• Ability to set and enforce quality standards and best practices at scale.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead quality strategy and test automation direction for major products and platforms.
• Architect, implement, and optimize scalable automation frameworks across products and services.
• Set best practices for advanced testing methodologies, test data generation, and data-driven testing.
• Drive adoption of new tools and emerging technologies to improve testing effectiveness and coverage.
• Lead and coordinate cross-team quality and automation initiatives with significant business impact.
• Collaborate closely with senior engineering, product, and leadership stakeholders to align quality goals and strategies.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to SDETs and engineers across multiple teams.
• Identify and resolve large-scale, complex quality challenges, proactively anticipating risks.
• Establish and enforce quality standards, best practices, and documentation across the organization.
• Analyze and report on quality metrics, test coverage, and areas for continuous improvement.
• Advocate for a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.

Skills

Quality engineering

Test automation

Programming languages

CI/CD

Observability

SQL

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS or related

Tools

Automation frameworks

CI/CD systems

Infrastructure as code

Observability tools

Advanced SQL

Job description

Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

New York, NY

Flex is a growth-stage, NYC headquartered FinTech company that is creating the best rent payment experience. It’s hard to believe that it’s 2026 and paying rent on time is expensive, inflexible, and difficult. We’re here to change that! Flex enables our users to pay rent throughout the month on a schedule that better fits their finances and budget. Our mission is to empower as many renters as possible with flexibility over their most significant recurring expense. After deliberately keeping a stealth profile as we built up unprecedented investor support and an enthusiastic user base, we are looking for motivated individuals to help us keep our mission growing. Will you be a part of the team?

About the role

As a Staff SDET at Flex, you will operate as a technical leader within the Quality Engineering team, shaping quality strategy, standards, and automation frameworks for major products and platforms. You will collaborate across engineering, product, and cross-functional stakeholders to solve complex quality challenges and drive initiatives that raise the bar for software reliability and efficiency across the organization.

What you’ll do

• Define and lead quality strategy and test automation direction for major products and platforms


• Architect, implement, and optimize scalable, maintainable automation frameworks across products and services


• Set best practices for advanced testing methodologies, test data generation, and data-driven testing


• Drive adoption of new tools and emerging technologies to improve testing effectiveness and coverage


• Lead and coordinate cross-team quality and automation initiatives with significant business impact


• Collaborate closely with senior engineering, product, and leadership stakeholders to align quality goals and strategies


• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to SDETs and engineers across multiple teams


• Identify and resolve large-scale, complex quality challenges, proactively anticipating risks and ambiguities


• Establish and enforce quality standards, best practices, and documentation across the organization


• Analyze and report on quality metrics, test coverage, and areas for continuous improvement


• Advocate for a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and technical excellence


• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience


• 8+ years of experience in software quality engineering and test automation


• Expert-level proficiency in multiple programming languages and automation frameworks


• Advanced experience architecting scalable, maintainable automation solutions across products and platforms


• Expertise in advanced testing methodologies, test data generation, data-driven testing, and other industry emerging technologies


• Deep knowledge of CI/CD systems and infrastructure-as-code tools


• Strong skills in test framework optimization and technical leadership


• Experience with enterprise-level observability, monitoring, and analytics tools


• Proficiency in complex data analysis and advanced SQL


• Excellent communication, influence, and cross-team mentorship abilities


• Ability to set and enforce quality standards and best practices at scale

Compensation

Flex takes a market-based approach to pay, and compensation may vary depending on your primary work location. Work locations are categorized into one of three tiers based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be commensurate with their experience, qualifications, and Flex’s internal leveling guidelines and benchmarks.

$160,000 - $200,000 USD

$144,000 - $180,000 USD

Tier 3 (Salt Lake City, all other USA cities)

$136,000 - $170,000 USD

Life at Flex

We understand that it takes a diverse team of highly intelligent, curious, determined, empathetic, and self aware people to grow a successful company. Our HQ is located in New York City, but we have employees located throughout the US, Australia, Canada and South America. We are growing quickly, but deliberately, with a focus on building an inclusive culture. Our dynamic team has incredible perspectives to share, just as we know you do, and we take great pride in being an equal opportunity workplace.

Offices

Roles posted in New York, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City are hybrid positions with on-site expectations of 2-3 days per week in our local offices. For candidates outside of these areas, you may be eligible for our relocation assistance program.

For full-time U.S. employees we offer:

• Competitive medical, dental, and vision


• Company equity


• 401(k) plan with company match


• Unlimited paid time off + 13 company paid holidays


• Parental leave


• Free Flex subscription

For full-time non-U.S. employees, we offer:

• Competitive compensation + company equity


• Unlimited PTO

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For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Flex’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A “disabled veteran” is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

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An “active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An “Armed forces service medal veteran” means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

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Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

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A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

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