Principal Quality Engineer

Columbia Sportswear Company • Portland, OR

21h • Hybrid

About The Position

This position is designated as a hybrid role based out of our headquarters near Portland, Oregon. The current expectation is for employees to work onsite four days per week, subject to change based on business needs. This in-office requirement may be adjusted at the discretion of the company. OUTGROWN YOUR OWN BACKYARD? COME PLAY IN OURS. At Columbia, we’re as passionate about the outdoors as you are. And while our gear is available worldwide, we’re proud to be based in the Pacific Northwest, where natural wonders are our playground. Every product we make and every task we undertake is inspired by the famous words of our founder, Gert Boyle: “It’s perfect. Now make it better.” As pioneers of relentless improvement, we are constantly evolving. We believe the outdoors is ours to protect, and we’re committed to keeping our planet healthy. We believe in empowering people to explore the outdoors to the fullest. And we believe in you. ABOUT THE POSITION Although we are an apparel- and footwear-focused company, technology is central to everything we do. CSC Digital Technology (CDT) teams deliver and support technology infrastructure across four global brands, an e-commerce platform, a global supply chain, and more than 500 geographically dispersed stores. These teams enable in-store, mobile, e-commerce, data, and supply chain platforms to continually enhance customer experience and service in an ever-evolving industry. The Principal Quality Engineer leverages deep software engineering expertise in cloud automation, continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD), scripting, and development languages to design and implement automation solutions independently. This role requires strong command-line (CLI) and operating system knowledge, along with experience in development environments and tooling, to actively support software projects, releases, and processes. Success in this role requires keen attention to detail, strong problem-solving skills, and mature communication abilities in a highly collaborative enterprise environment.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree (preferably in Computer Science, Informatics, or Engineering) or equivalent professional experience.
• 10+ years of quality engineering experience supporting web-based applications and environments.
• Strong programming skills in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
• Proven ability to create robust test automation using the Playwright framework (JavaScript).
• Expertise in designing and building automation frameworks from the ground up.
• 5+ years of experience working with continuous integration tools such as Jenkins, CircleCI, or GitHub Actions.
• Demonstrated experience planning, developing, and collaborating on automated test frameworks and test suites.
• Strong experience with Git, GitFlow, pull requests, and distributed version control system (DVCS) concepts.

Nice To Haves

• Well-versed in modern browsers, operating systems, and mobile form factors.
• Knowledgeable in web technologies and programming concepts, including JavaScript, CSS, XML, and JSON.
• A collaborative team player with strong communication skills, a solid work ethic, and experience working with cross-functional and distributed teams.
• A natural mentor who elevates others through guidance, coaching, and knowledge sharing.
• An effective communicator with the ability to influence technical direction and quality outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Architect, build, and maintain scalable and reusable automation frameworks for UI, API, and microservices testing.
• Partner closely with engineering teams to design and implement continuous integration environments and test harnesses for cross-browser and cross-operating-system testing.
• Develop test automation strategies and implement automated tests using Playwright.
• Design, execute, and maintain test scenarios and scripts, performing functional testing for code changes and production releases across multiple browsers and platforms.
• Ensure comprehensive end-to-end automated regression test coverage.
• Evangelize modern quality engineering and DevOps practices by embedding with enterprise teams and delivering automated solutions.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to team members, supporting the growth and development of junior engineers.
• Research, evaluate, recommend, and implement modern testing tools to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Establish testing standards, runbooks, and documentation that support operational excellence.
• Mentor analysts and engineering teams on testing methodologies, quality best practices, and QA rigor.

Benefits

• 401k plan plus a generous company match
• medical, dental, vision, life Insurance, disability, flexible spending accounts, health savings account
• an assortment of voluntary benefit offerings (accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and legal services)
• EAP + which is free and confidential 24/7/365 counseling services
• extensive wellness benefits
• employee discounts
• a generous time off program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal