We are seeking an experienced SDET (Subject Matter Expert) to lead and drive the transition from traditional QA to a modern, automation-first Quality Engineering model. This role will be instrumental in defining strategy, establishing best practices, and enabling teams to adopt scalable, high-quality engineering standards across platforms.
Pay rate: $75-$80/hour W2. The rate may be negotiable based on experience, education, geographic location, and other factors.
The ideal candidate combines a development background, deep hands-on automation expertise, test architecture skills, and strong leadership in transformation initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
1. SDET Transformation Leadership
- Lead the shift-left transformation from manual QA to SDET/Quality Engineering practices
- Define and drive automation-first testing strategy across applications and platforms
- Establish standards, frameworks, and governance for test engineering
- Mentor QA teams to evolve into SDETs (coding, automation, CI/CD integration)
- Act as a change agent to embed quality within engineering culture
2. Test Architecture & Automation Strategy
- Design and implement scalable automation frameworks (UI, API, data, performance)
- Define test pyramid strategy (unit, API, integration, UI optimization)
- Ensure reusability, maintainability, and modular design of test assets
- Drive adoption of BDD, TDD, and contract testing where applicable
- Standardize tooling across teams (e.g., Playwright, Selenium, Cypress, REST Assured, etc.) --- TOOL agnostic approach/more about the way to transform the team/tech approach
3. CI/CD & DevOps Integration
- Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins)
- Enforce quality gates, coverage thresholds, and release readiness criteria
- Enable continuous testing practices across the SDLC
- Partner with DevOps teams to ensure test execution at scale
4. Quality Engineering & Observability
- Define and track quality metrics (defect leakage, automation coverage, MTTR, etc.)
- Implement test reporting, dashboards, and insights
- Enable synthetic monitoring and production validation
- Advocate for resilience, reliability, and performance testing
5. Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
- Partner with engineering, product, and architecture teams
- Influence design for testability and quality best practices early in the lifecycle
- Provide technical leadership and hands-on support for critical initiatives
- Communicate progress, risks, and maturity improvements to leadership
Required Qualifications
- 8–12+ years in Dev/ QA / Test Engineering / SDET roles
- Proven experience leading QA to SDET transformation initiatives
- Strong programming skills (Java, Python, or TypeScript preferred)
- Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks and tools
- Deep understanding of API testing, microservices, and distributed systems
- Experience integrating testing into CI/CD pipelines
- Familiarity with cloud environments (Azure, AWS, GCP)
- Strong knowledge of test strategy, architecture, and design patterns
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with AI-driven testing tools or intelligent test automation
- Knowledge of performance testing
- Exposure to security testing and DevSecOps practices
- Experience in data validation, ETL, or AI/ML testing (RAG, LLM validation)
- Certifications in Agile, DevOps, or Quality Engineering
What Good Looks Like in This Role
- Teams operate with automation as the default, not an afterthought
- Quality is embedded within engineering—not a separate function
- Test frameworks are scalable, reusable, and integrated into pipelines
- Developers and SDETs collaborate on shared quality ownership
- The organization moves toward continuous testing and release readiness
Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled
Benefit offerings available for our associates include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, additional voluntary benefits, an EAP program, commuter benefits, and a 401K plan. Our benefit offerings provide employees the flexibility to choose the type of coverage that meets their individual needs. In addition, our associates may be eligible for paid leave including Paid Sick Leave or any other paid leave required by Federal, State, or local law, as well as Holiday pay where applicable. Disclaimer: These benefit offerings do not apply to client-recruited jobs and jobs that are direct hires to a client.
To read our Candidate Privacy Information Statement, which explains how we will use your information, please visit https://www.akkodis.com/en/privacy-policy.
The Company will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and/or security clearance requirements, including, as applicable:
· The California Fair Chance Act
· Los Angeles City Fair Chance Ordinance
· Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers
· San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance