QA Automation Engineer (Karate Framework)

Job Title: QA Automation Engineer (Karate Framework)

Location: Plano, TX (Onsite Only)
In-Person Interview Required (Mandatory)**

Job Description:
We are seeking a highly experienced QA Automation Engineer with deep hands-on expertise in testing microservices, verifying service contracts, and validating Level 2/Level 3 APIs. This onsite role in Plano, TX requires an expert-level automation engineer who can architect robust automation frameworks, collaborate closely with engineering and product teams, and ensure quality across a complex distributed systems environment.

The ideal candidate will bring 10+ years of QA experience, strong proficiency in the Karate framework (mandatory), and a proven track record of leading automation efforts within modern microservices ecosystems. Experience with contract testing, DDD concepts, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-native systems is highly preferred.

Key Responsibilities:
Automation Framework Leadership
Design, build, and maintain scalable automation frameworks tailored for microservices, including integration, contract, and end-to-end testing layers.
Ensure automation suites are maintainable, reliable, and aligned with continuous deployment pipelines.

API & Service Contract Quality
Collaborate with architects and developers to validate service contracts, schemas, versioning rules, and performance standards.
Develop and manage automated test suites for Level 2 and Level 3 APIs using tools such as Karate (mandatory), REST Assured, Postman, or equivalent.
Execute contract testing (Pact or similar) to guarantee compatibility across microservices.

Domain-Driven Design (DDD) Alignment
Translate domain models, bounded contexts, and business language into test scenarios and acceptance criteria.
Partner with business and domain experts to ensure tests reflect real-world workflows and domain rules.

CI/CD Integration & Operational Excellence
Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps) to provide continuous quality feedback.
Monitor test pipeline performance, identify inefficiencies, and drive optimization initiatives.

Quality Metrics & Observability
Define, track, and report on quality KPIs like test coverage, stability, pass/fail ratios, and defect patterns.
Work with SRE/DevOps teams to connect automated testing with logging, monitoring, and alerting systems.

Performance & Reliability Engineering
Build and execute performance, load, and stress test suites to validate scalability and resilience.
Investigate reliability issues, perform root-cause analysis, and collaborate with engineering teams on remediation.

Team Collaboration & Mentorship
Coach and guide junior QA engineers on automation best practices, API testing strategy, and DDD principles.
Conduct knowledge-sharing sessions to promote continuous improvement across teams.

Risk Management
Identify testing gaps and architectural risks early, particularly in integration points and cross-service boundaries.
Work with PMs and engineering leads to prioritize and mitigate high-impact risks.

Qualifications:
Education & Experience
Bachelor s/Master s in Computer Science, Engineering, IT, or equivalent experience.
10+ years of QA/Test Automation experience, with at least 5 years in microservices environments.

Technical Expertise
Strong hands-on experience with microservices testing (integration, contract, end-to-end).
Deep understanding of Level 2/3 APIs and related testing methodologies.
Mandatory expertise in Karate Framework.
Experience with REST Assured, Postman, Selenium/Cypress, and other automation tools.
Working knowledge of cloud-native architectures (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform) and Kubernetes.
Experience with Git, CI/CD pipelines, and testing in distributed systems.
Familiarity with IaC tools (Terraform, Ansible) is a plus.

Soft Skills
Strong communication and ability to work closely with cross-functional teams.
Analytical mindset with exceptional attention to detail.
Proven mentorship and leadership capabilities within QA teams.
Ability to adapt testing strategies within Agile/Scrum environments.

Bonus Skills
Experience with BDD tools such as Cucumber or SpecFlow.
Knowledge of performance tools (JMeter, Gatling, K6, or similar).
Exposure to security testing or chaos engineering is advantageous.