Principal Software Development Engineer in Test

Overview

The Principal SDET will be a core member of the eClinical Solutions R&D Team, primarily responsible for architecting and evolving automation frameworks and infrastructure, providing technical leadership, and driving the migration of existing tests and infrastructure onto a new testing platform. This position reports to the Senior Director, Software Quality Assurance.

What you'll do

• Design and implement AI-assisted workflows, copilots, or intelligent automation features
• Work with agentic AI patterns (e.g., task orchestration, tool-using agents, workflow automation)
• Apply prompt engineering, evaluation techniques, and guardrails to ensure reliability and compliance
• Collaborate with data and platform teams to operationalize AI, not just prototype it
• Design, develop, and maintain scalable enterprise-level test automation frameworks from scratch
• Lead framework and infrastructure evolution initiatives as part of the global SQA automation team
• Drive migration initiatives for existing automation frameworks, test suites, and infrastructure onto modern testing platforms
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to automation engineers and SDET teams
• Automate web-based applications using Playwright (PW) with C#/.NET
• Automate REST API testing, service validation, and integration testing
• Validate database integrity, backend data consistency, and end-to-end data flows using SQL-based verification techniques
• Drive Shift-Left testing practices by integrating automated quality validation early in the software development lifecycle
• Design, build, and maintain ephemeral test environments for scalable and isolated automated testing workflows
• Test applications in ephemeral/containerized environments as part of CI/CD pipelines
• Review and audit automation code for quality, maintainability, performance, and adherence to coding standards
• Review automation execution reports and proactively follow up on discrepancies and failures
• Train and mentor team members on framework usage, coding standards, automation best practices, and engineering principles
• Drive adoption of Active Coding practices, clean code principles, and object-oriented programming (OOP) methodologies
• Collaborate with development teams, architects, DevOps engineers, and stakeholders to improve product quality and delivery efficiency
• Design and implement parallel and distributed test execution capabilities
• Contribute to CI/CD pipeline implementation and continuous testing strategies
• Work with Docker containerization technologies for scalable automation execution environments
• Participate in automation solutioning aligned with modern industry trends including cloud-native technologies, AI/ML-assisted testing, and scalable distributed systems
• Support API and integration testing efforts involving HTTP/REST services, authentication, and secure communication protocols including TLS
• Provide technical guidance on systems architecture, automation infrastructure, and engineering best practices
• Create and maintain technical documentation, standards, architecture diagrams, and Confluence documentation

What you'll need

• BS in Computer Science and/or equivalent (preferred)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• 8–15 years of hands-on experience in software development engineering in test (SDET), automation engineering, or quality engineering (preferred)
• Strong experience designing enterprise automation frameworks and scalable automation infrastructure
• Strong understanding of QA concepts, software testing methodologies, automation tools, and modern engineering practices
• Expertise in designing and implementing scalable automation frameworks and infrastructure
• Strong programming expertise in C#/.NET and object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts
• Hands-on experience with Active Coding practices and modern software engineering standards
• Strong understanding of SQL and database validation techniques
• Good understanding of HTTP/REST APIs, web services, and network communication fundamentals
• Knowledge of TLS/security concepts and secure communication protocols
• Strong understanding of systems architecture and distributed application design
• Hands-on experience with Docker containers and containerized execution environments
• Practical experience implementing Shift-Left testing strategies across the SDLC
• Strong experience building, managing, and testing within ephemeral environments
• Experience integrating ephemeral environments into CI/CD and automated testing workflows
• Experience with CI/CD tools, build management systems, cloud-native platforms, and DevOps practices
• Experience using source control and project management tools such as Git, Bitbucket, Jira, and AWS services/platforms
• Expertise in Playwright (PW) automation including framework design, tooling, infrastructure, and parallel execution
• Strong experience in API automation testing using REST services and service-layer validation
• Strong understanding of database testing, data integrity validation, and backend system verification
• Ability to evaluate and recommend suitable technologies, tools, and automation strategies aligned with current industry trends