QA Engineer / SDET (Python, GraphQL, Cloud-Native)

QA Engineer / SDET (Python, GraphQL, Cloud-Native)

Our client is seeking a Senior QA Automation Engineer to join their company for a 12-month contract. The QA Engineer will focus on functional and end-to-end testing across an AI lead platform using Python, automated UI/API testing, data and model validation, LLM/AI feature evaluation, performance and reliability testing, CI/CD quality gates, and cloud-native environments (Docker/Kubernetes, AWS/Azure/Google Cloud Platform).

• Location: Remote (Eastern work hours)
• Compensation: This job is expected to pay about $75-85/hr W2 plus benefits
• The client is not open to C2C. This contract must be W2.

What You ll Do:

• Define and drive the quality strategy for complex services, covering data, services, and UI layers
• Design and implement robust test approaches, including functional, regression, performance, and usability testing
• Build and maintain automation frameworks in Python to accelerate test coverage and reliability
• Establish and monitor quality gates within CI/CD pipelines to ensure high-confidence releases
• Develop and execute test plans, test cases, and test scripts to validate software against requirements
• Collaborate with engineers, data scientists, and cross-functional teams to align testing with project objectives and catch defects early
• Leverage observability signals (logs, metrics, traces) and evaluation data to drive actionable improvements in system reliability and safety
• Document and track defects, perform root cause analysis, and partner with developers on timely resolution
• Maintain and manage test environments, configurations, and test data for accurate results
• Stay current with industry trends, tools, and best practices in software testing and quality engineering

What Gets You the Job:

• 5 8+ years in QA/SDET roles testing backend services, data-intensive systems, and web applications in fast-paced environments
• Strong Python skills (Pytest/Unittest); able to develop maintainable test suites, utilities, and harnesses
• Expertise in automated API testing (REST/GraphQL), including schema/contract validation, auth/SSO flows, and negative scenarios
• Web UI automation with Playwright or Cypress, applying pragmatic test pyramid strategies and flake reduction
• Data and model testing, including validation of data pipelines, drift/robustness checks, and AI/LLM feature evaluation
• Performance and reliability testing (load, soak, latency, scalability) with tools such as Locust, k6, or JMeter
• CI/CD integration and quality gates (GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins), with experience in parallelization and test impact analysis
• Observability-driven testing: logs, metrics, and traces (OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana); synthetic and canary testing
• Cloud and container fluency (AWS/Azure/Google Cloud Platform, Docker, Kubernetes) with ephemeral test environments and infrastructure as code
• Solid database and messaging fundamentals (SQL, schema evolution, migrations, Kafka/Pub/Sub)
• Security/privacy awareness in QA (PII handling, secrets, vulnerability scanning) and strong collaboration with engineering and compliance teams

If we are still actively screening for this role, our AI Recruiter, Avery will email you to schedule a virtual meeting to learn more about your background.

Irvine Technology Corporation (ITC) is a leading provider of technology and staffing solutions for IT, Security, Engineering, and Interactive Design disciplines servicing startups to enterprise clients, nationally. We pride ourselves in the ability to introduce you to our intimate network of business and technology leaders bringing you opportunity coupled with personal growth, and professional development! Join us. Let us catapult your career!

Irvine Technology Corporation provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Irvine Technology Corporation complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities.