Senior QA Automation Engineer- Hybrid- Des Moines, Iowa

Wellabe • Des Moines, IA

9h • Hybrid

About The Position

Wellabe is looking for a Sr. QA Automation Engineer to join our team. The Senior QA Automation Engineer is responsible for ensuring the quality, reliability, and scalability of Wellabe’s platform products through advanced test automation and quality assurance practices. This role serves as a hands-on technical lead who drives automation-first quality strategies across UI, API, integration, and regression layers. This position partners closely with Engineering, Product, and Architecture teams to embed quality throughout the delivery lifecycle. The Senior QA Automation Engineer designs, builds, and maintains robust automation frameworks, integrates testing into CI/CD pipelines, and leads the strategic adoption of intelligent and AI-driven testing approaches while remaining hands-on in their implementation to improve speed, coverage, and confidence in releases.

Requirements

• Expert-level experience with modern test automation tools and frameworks, including Playwright and API automation tools such as ReadyAPI, Postman or equivalent toolsets.
• Strong understanding of modern application architectures, including microservices, APIs, event-driven systems, and cloud-native or containerized environments.
• Proven experience designing and maintaining automation frameworks from the ground up.
• Deep knowledge of CI/CD, DevOps practices, and continuous testing strategies.
• Experience with performance, resilience, and non-functional testing methodologies.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to influence across Engineering, Product, and Architecture teams.
• Ability to strategically adopt and leverage AI tools daily while remaining hands-on in test development, troubleshooting, and continuous learning.
• Demonstrated technical leadership capabilities, including mentoring, coaching, and supporting the development of QA team members without formal people management responsibilities.
• Solid understanding of Agile and SAFe delivery models within large-scale enterprise environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field preferred. A combination of education and relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.
• Extensive experience in automation or performance testing as a primary responsibility.
• Proven success driving automation strategies across multiple test layers.
• Experience leading or influencing quality assurance practices within Agile and DevOps teams.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience introducing or scaling AI-based or intelligent test automation solutions preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable automation frameworks for UI, API, integration, and regression testing, with automation as the default testing approach.
• Perform functional, system integration, regression testing across complex applications.
• Develop and execute automated tests using modern tools and frameworks such as Playwright and AI automation solutions.
• Design and execute test strategies for iterative Agile development, validating individual features and integrations as they are delivered to testing environments, while ensuring full end-to-end system testing is completed prior to production release
• Lead test reviews, including unit and integration tests, and collaborate with developers to improve test coverage and reliability.
• Perform backend data validation by developing and executing SQL queries to ensure data accuracy and integrity.
• Create comprehensive test plans that include test strategies, timelines, capacity planning, estimates, and test environment planning.
• Establish and operationalize quality assurance standards, governance, and best practices across teams.
• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines and DevOps workflows using tools such as GitHub Actions to enable continuous testing and fast feedback.
• Introduce and scale AI-driven and intelligent testing solutions, including self-healing automation, test prioritization, and analytics-driven testing.
• Define, track, and analyze quality metrics, KPIs, and risk indicators to improve product quality and release confidence.
• Remain hands-on with complex testing scenarios, framework decisions, and automation design while providing technical guidance and mentorship to other QA team members.
• Ensure compliance with SDLC, regulatory, audit, and risk requirements in regulated or audit-heavy environments.

Benefits

• Hybrid availability
• 401(k) with company match
• Health insurance
• Paid time off, holidays
• Volunteer time off
• Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA)
• Paternity leave
• Growth opportunities
• LinkedIn Learning Premium access
• CliftonStrengths® assessment and coaching
• On-site and virtual workshops and cohorts featuring world-class content from FranklinCovey, Crucial Learning, Gallup, and more
• Free world-class insurance acumen courses through AHIP and LOMA
• Reimbursement and bonus opportunities for professional designations and certifications, including a tuition reimbursement program
• Opportunities to take part in Wellabe's mentorship programs

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree