Lead Software Engineer in Test

Creating a world where pets live longer, healthier lives, from their very first meal.

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We’re Looking For A(n): Lead Software Engineer in Test

Location: Remote or Hybrid (El Segundo, CA and/or Burbank/North Hollywood, CA)

What You’ll Be Doing: The Lead Quality Engineer is a hands-on technical leader owning test automation strategy. This person designs scalable automation frameworks, integrates testing into CI/CD pipelines, mentors, and directly influences the organization’s ability to ship frequently, reliably, and with confidence. The role balances strategic test architecture with day-to-day leadership.

*Occasional off-hours availability may be required to support business needs.

Test Strategy & Architecture

• Own the end-to-end test automation strategy across unit, integration, acceptance, and non-functional testing layers
• Design and maintain scalable automation frameworks for APIs, web, and mobile platforms
• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines for rapid feedback
• Leverage AI-powered tools to accelerate test creation, expand coverage, and reduce test maintenance burden

Engineering Quality Culture

• Champion a culture where quality is a shared responsibility across engineering
• Lead exploratory and usability testing practices throughout the delivery process
• Advocate for testable, loosely coupled architecture in design reviews and technical planning
• Analyze application logs, monitoring data, and production incident patterns to inform and expand test coverage strategy
• Reduce change failure rate and shorten lead time by improving test coverage and feedback speed
• Identify and eliminate testing bottlenecks that slow the delivery pipeline
• Report quality trends and risk to engineering leadership; serve as escalation point for QA matters
• Provide technical leadership through code reviews, framework design guidance, and best-practice documentation
• Foster a learning culture: run knowledge-sharing sessions, stay current on testing tools, and drive adoption of AI-assisted test generation to multiply the team’s output

Qualifications (Note: We strongly encourage you to apply even if you don’t tick ALL of these boxes.):

• Technical depth with strategic thinking — Can architect frameworks and also zoom out to align testing strategy with business delivery goals
• Quality ownership mindset — Views quality as a system-level outcome; advocates for building quality in rather than inspecting it out
• Coaching & influence — Elevates the testing capability of QA engineers through pairing, mentoring, and clear documentation
• Cross-functional collaboration — Works effectively across Development, DevOps, Product, and Security to embed quality throughout delivery
• Data-driven decision making — Uses metrics (coverage, defect trends, pipeline health) to prioritize improvements and communicate quality posture
• Continuous improvement orientation — Relentlessly improves processes, tools, and test suites; never satisfied with the status quo
• Communication — Translates technical quality concepts into business-relevant language for stakeholders at all levels

Required Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience)

Preferred Education: Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience)

• Required Experience:

• 5+ years in QA/test engineering, with 3+ years in a lead or senior IC automation role.
• Hands-on experience designing and building automation frameworks (not just writing scripts).
• Strong proficiency in at least one programming language (Typescript, Javascript, Python, Java, C#)
• Expertise with modern test frameworks (e.g., Playwright, Jest, Selenium, Cypress, Appium, RestAssured).
• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI).
• Demonstrated experience using AI-powered tools (e.g., LLM-based code assistants, AI test generators) to create, maintain, or expand automated test suites
• Experience using observability tools (logs, monitoring, APM) to identify production issues and inform test strategy
• Strong understanding of TDD and BDD practices.
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and influence testing culture across an organization.

• Preferred Experience:

• 7+ years in QA/test engineering, with 3+ years in a lead or senior IC automation role
• Load testing experience
• Microservices and distributed systems testing
• Security testing integration (shift-left security).
• Experience in regulated environments or with compliance requirements

Golden Perks & Benefits:

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage – We cover 100% of premiums for medical, dental, and vision plans for employee-only plans.
• Annual bonus
• We match up to &nbs