Lead Testing & Automation Engineer

Job Title: Lead Testing & Automation Engineer
Location: Herndon, VA
Work Mode: Onsite 5 Days/Week
Employment Type: Contract (Potential for Extension)

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled Lead Testing & Automation Engineer to drive end-to-end quality engineering across scalable, cloud-native platforms. This role requires deep expertise in Java, Spring Boot, AWS, and API automation using Karate, along with hands-on leadership in leveraging AI to modernize and transform testing practices.

The ideal candidate will lead automation initiatives while defining and scaling AI-driven testing capabilities that improve efficiency, test coverage, and release confidence across complex distributed systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of API automation frameworks using Karate for microservices-based architectures.
• Build and support backend services using Java and Spring Boot to enable scalable and testable systems.
• Develop and maintain automated test suites for REST APIs and distributed applications.
• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines to support continuous delivery.
• Assess current QA/testing capabilities, tools, automation maturity, and processes.
• Define and implement a future-state AI-driven testing strategy.
• Design and deploy AI-powered testing solutions for:
  • Test generation
  • Test data management
  • Regression optimization
  • Defect detection and analysis
• Develop and execute a phased roadmap for AI adoption in testing, from pilot initiatives to enterprise rollout.
• Use AI to analyze logs, failures, and test results to improve root cause analysis and system reliability.
• Drive continuous improvements in test coverage, execution efficiency, and defect leakage reduction.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, product, and DevOps teams in Agile environments.
• Mentor engineers and establish best practices for automation and AI-driven quality engineering.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in QA Automation, Testing, or SDET roles, including leadership responsibilities.
• Strong programming expertise in Java and Spring Boot.
• Hands-on experience with Karate for API automation testing.
• Deep understanding of REST APIs, microservices, and distributed systems.
• Experience working with AWS services such as Lambda, ECS, S3, and CloudWatch.
• Proven experience integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI/ML or Generative AI in testing or software engineering workflows.
• Experience using AI tools for:
  • Test case generation
  • Test suite optimization
  • Automated failure analysis
• Ability to define and lead implementation of AI-driven testing strategies across teams.