Test Lead

Job Description - Senior Test Engineer / QA Lead
Key Responsibilities

• Own and drive test automation strategy across functional, regression, integration, API, end-to-end, and platform testing.
• Design, develop, and maintain scalable automation frameworks using Python, Shell scripting, and Playwright.
• Lead automation initiatives to improve test coverage, execution time, reliability, security validation, and overall product quality.
• Integrate automation suites with Jenkins CI/CD pipelines and establish automated quality gates.
• Drive testing across RHEL, Azure, Docker, and Kubernetes environments, including containerized and cloud-native applications.
• Define and execute automated testing for RHEL platform security, hardening, security configurations, and compliance requirements.
• Validate platform security controls and security compliance requirements through automated and manual test scenarios.
• Analyze automation failures, security/compliance test failures, perform root-cause analysis, and work closely with development, DevOps, platform security, and product teams to resolve quality issues.
• Define test plans, test strategy, automation approach, quality metrics, security validation approach, and release-readiness criteria.
• Identify testing and security validation gaps and proactively introduce process and automation improvements.
• Mentor and guide junior/mid-level QA engineers and conduct code/design reviews.
• Evaluate and adopt AI-assisted engineering tools such as Cursor, Claude, and Gemini to improve productivity, test generation, debugging, code quality, and automation coverage.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure quality, security, and compliance are built into the SDLC and CI/CD lifecycle.
• Provide technical leadership and actively participate in release planning, risk assessment, security/compliance reviews, and production-quality reviews.

• 8-10 years of experience in Software Testing / Test Automation / SDET / QA.
• Strong hands-on programming experience in Python and Shell scripting.
• Strong expertise in Playwright and modern web test automation.
• Strong experience with Jenkins and CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong working knowledge of RHEL/Linux platforms, including installation, configuration, troubleshooting, patching, and system-level validation.
• Good understanding of RHEL platform security, security hardening, secure configurations, access controls, and vulnerability remediation.
• Understanding of security compliance requirements and compliance validation/testing for enterprise platforms.
• Working knowledge of Azure, Docker, and Kubernetes.
• Strong understanding of test automation frameworks, test strategy, test design, debugging, and defect management.
• Experience with API/REST automation and validation.
• Hands-on experience with Git/GitHub/GitLab.
• Practical experience using AI tools such as Cursor, Claude, and Gemini for software/test automation development.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, communication, and leadership skills.

• Ability to independently own QA for a product/module and drive quality, security validation, and compliance from requirement through release.
• Ability to define priorities, estimate QA effort, identify quality/security risks, and communicate status to stakeholders.
• Mentor engineers and promote automation best practices, coding standards, and quality engineering practices.
• Drive continuous improvement in automation maturity, security validation, CI/CD integration, compliance testing, and testing efficiency.
• Collaborate with platform/security teams to identify and address security and compliance gaps.

• Experience building automation frameworks from scratch.
• Hands-on experience with RHEL security hardening and compliance validation.
• Experience automating platform security checks and compliance test cases.
• Familiarity with security compliance frameworks, policies, and enterprise security requirements.
• Experience with microservices and cloud-native applications.
• Experience with Kubernetes-based deployments and troubleshooting.
• Experience with performance, security, or reliability testing.
• Experience implementing automated quality gates and reporting in CI/CD.
• Experience leading a small QA/automation team.
• Experience working with vulnerability/security scanning tools and interpreting security findings.

Role Summary
The ideal candidate is a hands-on Senior Test Engineer / QA Lead who can provide technical leadership while remaining deeply involved in automation development. The candidate should be capable of designing automation frameworks, driving CI/CD-based testing, validating RHEL platform security and security compliance, troubleshooting cloud-native environments, mentoring engineers, and leveraging AI tools to accelerate and improve QA engineering practices.