QE Automation Lead

Kapitus•Washington, DC

2h•$117,800 - $189,000

About The Position

Kapitus is building a modern quality-engineering practice centered on automated regression and is hiring a hands-on QE Automation Lead to own its strategy, framework, and team. The role sets automation standards, architects and governs the framework, mentors engineers, and makes release readiness measurable in partnership with Product, Development, DevOps, Architecture, and Leadership. It will lead the transition from largely manual regression to reliable, pipeline-gated automation so Kapitus can release faster with greater confidence. The lead provides technical direction across multiple QE teams, products, and delivery streams; remains hands-on developing and reviewing automated tests; and establishes quality practices, metrics, and risk-based decision-making. The role also coordinates distributed delivery, mentors QE engineers, advances shift-left quality, and governs evaluation of emerging and AI-assisted testing tools. Remote candidates may be considered if they reside in states where Kapitus or a subsidiary has an established physical presence.

Requirements

At least 8 years of software quality-engineering experience, including 3 or more years leading automation initiatives or providing technical leadership across multiple teams.
Ability to lead, influence, and align distributed QE teams without relying solely on direct reporting relationships.
Advanced hands-on experience designing, coding, debugging, and reviewing automation using Playwright with TypeScript or comparable modern technologies.
Demonstrated success building scalable automation frameworks and reusable libraries across UI, API, integration, end-to-end, and data layers.
Strong grasp of software architecture, object-oriented programming, test-design patterns, clean code, and maintainable automation practices.
Experience integrating automation with CI/CD platforms and implementing quality gates, parallel execution, cross-browser coverage, reporting, and failure diagnostics.
Experience defining and communicating quality KPIs and using metrics to drive decisions, prioritization, and continuous improvement.
Strong knowledge of API testing, test-data management, backend validation, SQL, and service-integration testing.
Experience testing Salesforce solutions and full-stack applications across UI, API, integration, and data layers.
Proven mentoring, coaching, and technical-review skills that raise engineering standards across teams.
Excellent executive-level communication and stakeholder-management skills, including clearly presenting quality status, risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, prioritization, and decision-making skills in complex delivery environments.
Solid command of Agile and Scrum, DevOps, shift-left testing, risk-based testing, and the full software development lifecycle.
Experience with Jira, Confluence, Zephyr Scale, Git-based workflows, and modern CI/CD tooling.
Experience in financial services, regulated environments, or high-availability platforms is strongly preferred.
Advanced Playwright and TypeScript framework knowledge, including reusable fixtures, page and component models, parallel execution, cross-browser testing, tracing, and reporting.
Experience automating functional, regression, API, integration, end-to-end, contract, and data-validation tests.
Experience with Salesforce and full-stack applications spanning front-end, back-end, API, integration, and data layers.
Experience with Postman, Swagger and OpenAPI, REST and JSON, SQL, and backend validation.
Experience with GitHub or Bitbucket, pull-request workflows, and pipeline integration using Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or comparable tools.
Knowledge of quality metrics including automation coverage, pass rate, flaky-test rate, defect trends, escaped defects, execution duration, and release-readiness reporting.
Working knowledge of Jira, Confluence, and Zephyr Scale for test management and collaboration.
Working knowledge of security, accessibility, and performance testing principles.

Nice To Haves

Additional experience with Python, JavaScript, SQL, Java, Selenium, Cypress, Pytest, Rest Assured, or Cucumber.
Experience with AWS services, containerized test execution, cloud-based test environments, and observability platforms.
Performance-testing experience with JMeter or k6, and familiarity with accessibility testing standards and tools.
Experience migrating legacy automation suites to Playwright or consolidating multiple frameworks.
Experience applying AI-assisted testing responsibly to improve test design, coverage, maintenance, or defect analysis.
Relevant certifications such as ISTQB, AWS, Agile, or DevOps.

Responsibilities

Own the automation strategy and technical direction across multiple QE teams, products, and delivery streams.
Align quality priorities, delivery risks, and release-readiness expectations with Product, Development, DevOps, Architecture, and Leadership.
Design, evolve, and govern scalable automation frameworks and reusable components using Playwright with TypeScript.
Establish standards for test design, code quality, reviews, branching, test data, maintainability, reporting, and framework adoption.
Develop, review, debug, and optimize automated tests across UI, API, integration, end-to-end, and data-validation layers.
Integrate automated tests and quality gates into CI/CD pipelines to provide fast, reliable feedback, and advance automation in the Definition of Done.
Define and report actionable quality and automation metrics, including coverage, pass rate, defect trends, escape rate, flaky-test rate, execution time, and automation effectiveness.
Use data and risk-based analysis to prioritize automation investment, identify quality gaps, and communicate product risk and release readiness to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Lead root-cause analysis for complex failures and recurring defects, distinguishing application, environment, test-data, integration, and automation issues.
Guide, review, pair with, and develop QE engineers, raising engineering standards across the team.
Coordinate work across distributed teams, remove roadblocks, and drive consistent execution and accountability.
Improve story testability, acceptance criteria, test planning, and in-sprint automation to move quality earlier in the delivery process.
Lead the transition from manual to automated regression, retiring manual effort as automated coverage is proven and runs green in CI, and capturing manual test cases in automation.
Evaluate emerging tools and AI-assisted testing approaches, applying governance and quality controls before adoption.
Track fintech trends, regulatory considerations, cloud technologies, and modern quality-engineering practices.

Benefits

Annual incentive compensation eligibility of up to 10%.
Comprehensive medical, dental, and employer-paid vision plans through UnitedHealthcare, with multiple coverage levels.
UnitedHealthcare perks including Sweat Equity, a free Calm App subscription, UHC rewards, Real Appeal, and Quit For Life.
Flexible Spending Account for qualified medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, or dependent-care expenses.
Lifestyle Spending Account reimbursement for physical, mental, and financial well-being expenses.
Company-paid basic short-term and long-term disability insurance and vision insurance.
Available voluntary supplemental life insurance and enhanced short- and long-term disability coverage through Mutual of Omaha, as well as Colonial Accident and Hospitalization insurance.
Company-paid maternity and parental leave beyond state-mandated leave policies.
Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits.
LifeBalance membership with discounts on outdoor activities, arts, health, and fitness.
Pet and car insurance discounts.
Access to LegalShield financial services.
Relaxation and stress-management tools.
Plum Benefits discounts on shows, travel, car rentals, and other offerings.
Tuition reimbursement of up to $5,000 annually, plus opportunities to attend relevant conferences and career-development events through the Kapitus Academy LSA plan.
Travel reimbursement for work-related travel.
Paid time off and sick time.
401(k) plan managed through Fidelity, with a 25% company match on contributions up to 6% of annual salary.