[Hiring] QA Automation Engineer @Applaudo Studios

Role Description

You are a hands-on QA Automation Engineer who enjoys building reliable, maintainable test automation solutions while staying closely connected to the product and its users. You understand that effective quality assurance goes beyond automating test cases; it requires exploring applications, identifying risks, and designing meaningful tests that validate critical business workflows.

You are comfortable balancing automation development with functional testing as project priorities evolve. You bring strong analytical thinking, technical ownership, and a practical approach to test design, knowing when automation adds value and when hands-on testing is more effective. You enjoy collaborating with Developers, Technical Leads, and QA teams, continuously improving testing practices, and using AI-assisted tools with sound judgment.

Note: This position requires availability to work from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM US Eastern Time.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field is desired, or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong hands-on experience designing, building, and maintaining automated test suites using Playwright.
• Proven experience establishing test automation framework structures, including reusable components and maintainable test architecture.
• Proficiency in JavaScript, TypeScript, or a comparable programming language.
• Strong knowledge of test design principles, including the Page Object Model (POM), stable selectors, flaky test management, and test data strategies.
• Hands-on experience performing functional, exploratory, and regression testing of web applications.
• Experience using version control and code review workflows with GitHub, Azure DevOps, or similar tools.
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to identify quality risks, challenge assumptions, and prioritize meaningful test coverage.
• Ability to quickly understand new products, user workflows, and business requirements before designing automated tests.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical decisions, ask relevant questions, and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strong ownership, adaptability, and willingness to continuously improve testing practices.
• Practical understanding of AI-assisted testing tools, including the ability to evaluate generated test quality and identify limitations.
• Strong verbal and written English communication skills.

Requirements

• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines, including Azure Pipelines or similar tools.
• Familiarity with Azure DevOps and Azure Test Plans.
• Experience using Playwright MCP or similar AI-assisted testing tools.
• Strong understanding of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP).
• Working knowledge of SQL and relational databases such as PostgreSQL.
• Experience with API testing, including Playwright’s built-in API testing capabilities.
• ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certification.
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments and participating in planning, refinement, and retrospectives.
• Ability to communicate quality risks and test results to non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience working remotely with distributed teams and communicating asynchronously.

Responsibilities

• Perform exploratory testing to understand application functionality, user workflows, and critical business scenarios before developing automation.
• Design, build, and maintain scalable Playwright test suites using the Page Object Model and established automation best practices.
• Develop automated regression and core workflow tests based on documented test cases and the team’s automation strategy.
• Build reusable test components and maintain reliable automation structures through effective selectors, test data management, and flaky test handling.
• Integrate automated tests into existing CI/CD workflows to support continuous quality validation.
• Execute functional, exploratory, and regression testing for new features, bug fixes, and application changes as needed.
• Identify test coverage gaps, unreliable automated tests, and quality risks, communicating findings and recommendations to QA leadership.
• Collaborate with Developers, Technical Leads, and QA team members to clarify requirements, investigate defects, and improve testability.
• Prioritize testing efforts based on user impact, business risks, and project requirements.
• Review and improve automation code to ensure readability, maintainability, and long-term reliability.
• Use AI-assisted testing tools when appropriate, validating generated tests to ensure they provide meaningful coverage.
• Document testing activities, automation decisions, execution results, and identified defects.
• Adapt between automation development and hands-on testing according to team priorities and delivery needs.

Company Description

We Are Engineered Different.

At Applaudo, talented people design, build, and scale meaningful, AI-powered solutions that create real business impact. As an AI-native organization, we collaborate across design, development, cloud, data, and artificial intelligence to turn ideas into scalable products that transform how companies operate, make decisions, and grow.

We are building a high-performance culture grounded in five values:

• Empowering Excellence
• Collaborative Teamwork
• Unsolicited Respect
• Consistent Transparency
• Efficient Communication

These define how we work, how we support one another, and how we hold ourselves accountable.

Applaudo is a place for people who want to learn fast, take ownership, and work alongside strong teams they are proud to belong to. Joining us means being part of an organization that is evolving intentionally, investing in modern ways of working, and leading AI-native transformation at scale.