QA Automation Engineer

Applaudo Studios • Irvine, CA

4d • Onsite

About The Position

This role is for a hands-on QA Automation Engineer who enjoys building reliable, scalable automation solutions across mobile, backend, and cloud environments. The engineer will go beyond writing individual test scripts, bringing an engineering mindset to design frameworks, reusable components, and testing infrastructure. Responsibilities include validating complex end-to-end flows across Android applications, APIs, cloud services, containers, and data layers, and investigating failures across multiple parts of the technology stack. The role requires strong technical ownership, adaptability to new environments, and a continuous drive to improve automation reliability, coverage, maintainability, and overall product quality. This is an on-site role in Irvine, California, as a contractor for an initial 6-month project with potential for extension.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in Software Quality Engineering, Automation Engineering, SDET, or similar technical automation roles.
• Strong experience designing and building automation frameworks, reusable libraries, test infrastructure, reporting, and CI/CD integration.
• Hands-on mobile automation experience with Appium and Android APKs, including physical or virtual device validation.
• Strong programming skills in Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, or similar languages.
• Strong experience with REST API automation, AWS/cloud services, S3, Docker/containerized applications, and end-to-end data validation.
• Ability to work on-site in Irvine, California, operate independently, communicate progress and risks clearly, and deliver against defined project milestones.
• Advanced English proficiency, with strong verbal and written communication skills for effective collaboration with US-based stakeholders.
• 5+ years of Software Quality / Automation Engineering or SDET experience.
• Proven experience building automation frameworks from the ground up.
• Hands-on mobile automation experience with Appium and Android.
• Strong coding skills in Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, or Python.
• REST API automation, AWS/S3, and Docker/containerized environments.
• CI/CD integration and end-to-end automation experience.
• Advanced English proficiency.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps, or similar pipeline tools.
• Experience testing restaurant, retail, IoT, or device-integrated technology platforms.
• Track record improving automation stability, test data strategy, reporting, and maintainability.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain reusable automation frameworks and test components across API, backend, cloud, container, and mobile/tablet layers.
• Develop mobile automation using Appium and Android technologies, including APK installation, device interaction, synchronization, app state validation, and troubleshooting.
• Build end-to-end automation that validates data and functionality across AWS services, S3, REST APIs, Docker/containerized services, and mobile/tablet applications.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines and improve test reliability, execution speed, coverage, reporting, and maintainability.
• Investigate automation and application failures by analyzing APIs, cloud services, S3 data, container behavior, logs, and device behavior.
• Partner with QE, Engineering, and Product teams to identify quality risks, improve testability, and align automation with project priorities.
• Provide documentation, demos, and knowledge transfer so automation assets can be maintained by the internal QE team after the engagement.

What This Job Offers

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