Lead Software Engineer in Test

Purpose of Position

Serving as a hands-on "player-coach," the Lead Software Engineer in Test sets the Testing direction for quality across a highly complex, multi-application business domain. You will champion application quality, driving the evolution of our manual and exploratory testing suites while remaining actively engaged in our functional and non-functional automation frameworks to ensure comprehensive quality.   

Because navigating this complex legacy and greenfield ecosystem is our biggest challenge, deep internal domain knowledge is weighed equally to formal automation experience. You will possess, or have the proven ability to rapidly learn, a deep understanding of the Training Experience domain and how our applications are used by our customers, leveraging this knowledge to better develop test cases and guide development

Tasks and Responsibilities

Leverage deep system and business knowledge of the Training Experience domain to ensure testing strategies map accurately to real-world user workflows and complex downstream data impacts. 
•    Own the requirements reviews and help Test Automaters design, develop, and maintain robust, scalable automation frameworks (utilizing Playwright where applicable) across UI, backend, API, and Mobile using behavior-driven and test-driven development practices. 
•    Architect and maintain continuous testing pipelines within Azure DevOps, implementing intelligent test execution strategies (e.g., subset testing, parallelization) to optimize build times. 
•    Mentor and coach QA engineers on scrum teams to adopt modern Test Automation techniques such as Behavior Driven Development, apply design patterns, etc. 
•    Define and implement our organizational AI strategy for QA, establishing guidelines and tool recommendations for leveraging AI to improve testing efficiency securely. 
•    Collaborate with functional test engineers to automate test cases and ensure efficient execution of automation tests. 
•    Enable a value-driven and risk-based approach to testing across the organization. 
•    Establish organization-wide best practices and standards for Test Automation. 
•    Recommend appropriate tools and architectures for the organization’s Test Automation needs across all functional domains. 
•    Lead test automation delivery of projects, collaborate with resource managers, technical leads, and DevOps to ensure alignment on quality goals and test automation efforts. 
•    Prioritize and manage workload, issues, and risks. 
•    Limited travel when required
 

Minimum Education

•    Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or equivalent industry experience

Minimum Experience

•    8+ years of experience in software quality engineering OR 8+ years of deep, hands-on domain experience within FlightSafety’s operational, technical support, or product ecosystems. 
•    Demonstrated technical aptitude through previous scripting, troubleshooting complex system logic, or a proven track record of rapidly upskilling in programming and automation frameworks. 
•    5+ years of hands-on experience troubleshooting, navigating, or manually validating complex custom applications. 
•    Experience in a Scrum/Agile software development environment. 
•    Familiarity or experience with Mobile Application testing (e.g. Appium) is a plus. 

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

•    Domain & System Mastery: Exceptional understanding of FlightSafety’s Training Experience domain, complex legacy applications, and multiple data sources is highly preferred and can offset formal automation tenure. 
•    Inquisitive Problem-Solver: Takes ownership of difficult challenges and rapidly learns new technologies, domains, and complex business logic. 
•    Technical Ecosystem: Proficiency (or ability to rapidly upskill) in programming languages such as Java, Python, C#, or JavaScript/Dart. Familiarity with our managed tech stacks, including advanced test automation frameworks (Playwright), xUnit, Nodejs, Selenium, Cucumber, Appium, .NET Core/Framework, PHP, and Flutter. 
•    Expertise in functional and non-functional test automation in at least one tech stack, or the proven technical capacity to learn it quickly. 
•    Expertise in test data generation and management. 
•    Background in implementing or coaching Test Driven Development and Behavior Driven Development practices. 
•    Fluent in Scrum Practices, author user stories and acceptance criteria with GHERKIN. 
•    Practitioner of Agile Methodologies, eXtreme Programming, Software Craftsmanship, DevOps, Continuous Delivery, Domain Driven Design. 
•    Ability to drive transformational change in an emergent agile culture without relying on direct managerial authority. 
•    Understands how to leverage static and dynamic code scanning results. 
•    Strong communication and interpersonal skills with ability to lead and mentor. 

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met and/or encountered by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.