MOBILE APPS QA - SENIOR AUTOMATION ENGINEER(Only Locals to NJ)

Role Objective
We are looking for a highly hands-on Mobile Automation Engineer with strong real-world experience building and maintaining Appium-based automation frameworks for iOS and Android applications.
This role is 70 80% hands-on automation coding.
Mandatory Core Requirements (Non-Negotiable) 1. Strong Hands-On Mobile Automation (Appium Mandatory)
Candidate must have:

• 3+ years of hands-on Appium automation
• Built or significantly contributed to a mobile automation framework
• Automated native or hybrid apps on iOS and Android
• Experience running automation on real devices and/or device farms
• Debugged flaky mobile tests and improved stability

Must clearly explain:

• How framework was structured
• How drivers were initialized
• How locators were handled (XPath, accessibility id, etc.)
• How parallel execution was achieved
• How failures were handled

2. Strong Programming Skills

• Proficient in Java (mandatory)
• Experience using TestNG or JUnit
• Understanding of object-oriented design
• Experience implementing Page Object Model or similar design pattern

Candidate must be able to:

• Write automation code live if required
• Explain framework design decisions

3. Real Project-Level Mobile Testing Experience
Must have tested:

• Native mobile apps (iOS and Android)
• API-integrated mobile features
• End-to-end user journeys

Experience in:

• Handling dynamic elements
• Synchronization issues
• Handling network delays
• Validating mobile-specific behavior (gestures, scroll, swipe)

4. CI/CD Integration Experience
Hands-on experience integrating mobile automation into:

• Jenkins or similar CI tool
• Git-based version control
• Nightly regression execution

Must explain:

• How automation was triggered
• How reports were generated
• How failures were analyzed

Good to Have (Secondary Not Primary Focus)

• Performance testing exposure
• Charles / Fiddler debugging
• SQL basics
• API automation exposure
• Agile environment experience

What We Are NOT Evaluating Primarily
The following are NOT core selection criteria:

• Coaching / mentoring
• KPI reporting
• Knowledge management
• Test plan documentation leadership
• Offshore coordination
• Security testing certifications
• Process-heavy QA management

These are secondary and will not compensate for weak Appium expertise.
Experience Required

• 5+ years overall QE experience
• Minimum 3+ years deep hands-on Appium mobile automation
• Experience working on production-grade mobile applications

What a Strong Candidate Should Demonstrate in following area:

• Clear know-how on:
• Complete Appium setup flow
• How tests are structured
• How test data is managed
• How parallel execution is handled
• Candidate has debugged real production mobile issues.
• Candidate understands:
• Difference between mobile web vs native automation
• Android vs iOS automation differences
• Real device vs emulator challenges
• Candidate speaks from real implementation experience not theoretical knowledge.