The Staff SDET will guide a small team of engineers while remaining actively involved in designing and building scalable automation frameworks and validation platforms. The role focuses on building ...
The Staff SDET will guide a small team of engineers while remaining actively involved in designing and building scalable automation frameworks and validation platforms. The role focuses on building ...
Automation Test Engineer / SDET / Software Development Engineer in Test Location: San Diego, CA Duration: 12 months Type : Contract-W2 Interview Mode: Phone/Skype Work Exp.: 4-5 Years ***Need ...
Automation Test Engineer / SDET / Software Development Engineer in Test Location: San Diego, CA Duration: 12 months Type : Contract-W2 Interview Mode: Phone/Skype Work Exp.: 4-5 Years ***Need ...
... test results against expectations, and collaborating with engineering teams to debug observed battery life issues in order to ensure products and software releases are of the highest quality . You ...
... test results against expectations, and collaborating with engineering teams to debug observed battery life issues in order to ensure products and software releases are of the highest quality . You ...
In this role, you will be a software developer first and foremost, building production-quality frameworks that push the boundaries of tools and app development and test automation. Experience with ...
In this role, you will be a software developer first and foremost, building production-quality frameworks that push the boundaries of tools and app development and test automation. Experience with ...
In this role, you will be a software developer first and foremost, building production-quality frameworks that push the boundaries of tools and app development and test automation. Experience with ...
In this role, you will be a software developer first and foremost, building production-quality frameworks that push the boundaries of tools and app development and test automation. Experience with ...
Automation QA /SDET
San Diego, CA · On-site
Company Description 360 IT Professionals is a Software Development Company based in Fremont ... The Quality Engineering team is seeking applicants with strong test automation skills and ...
Automation QA /SDET
San Diego, CA · On-site
Company Description 360 IT Professionals is a Software Development Company based in Fremont ... The Quality Engineering team is seeking applicants with strong test automation skills and ...
Manage multiple teams of Manual/SDET test engineers. Mange Design Control and Software Test initiatives to develop appropriate Design History File documents for FDA Class II and Class III medical ...
Manage multiple teams of Manual/SDET test engineers. Mange Design Control and Software Test initiatives to develop appropriate Design History File documents for FDA Class II and Class III medical ...
... SDET test engineers. • Mange Design Control and Software Test initiatives to develop appropriate Design History File documents for FDA Class II and Class III medical devices. • Responsible for ...
... SDET test engineers. • Mange Design Control and Software Test initiatives to develop appropriate Design History File documents for FDA Class II and Class III medical devices. • Responsible for ...
Sr. Software Engineer in Test
San Diego, CA · Hybrid
$199K - $251K/yr
... in agile software development processes, including sprint planning, retrospectives, and daily scrum meetings; and performing root cause analysis of test failures and production issues while ensuring ...
Sr. Software Engineer in Test
San Diego, CA · Hybrid
$199K - $251K/yr
... in agile software development processes, including sprint planning, retrospectives, and daily scrum meetings; and performing root cause analysis of test failures and production issues while ensuring ...
... software, including on device AI models and Siri intelligence, working directly with development ... from developer telemetry submission to validated, integrated test coverage Identify gaps in ...
... software, including on device AI models and Siri intelligence, working directly with development ... from developer telemetry submission to validated, integrated test coverage Identify gaps in ...
Sr. Software Engineer in Test
San Diego, CA · Hybrid
$199K - $251K/yr
... in agile software development processes, including sprint planning, retrospectives, and daily scrum meetings; and performing root cause analysis of test failures and production issues while ensuring ...
Sr. Software Engineer in Test
San Diego, CA · Hybrid
$199K - $251K/yr
... in agile software development processes, including sprint planning, retrospectives, and daily scrum meetings; and performing root cause analysis of test failures and production issues while ensuring ...
Company Description 360 IT Professionals is a Software Development Company based in Fremont ... The Quality Engineering team is seeking applicants with strong test automation skills and ...
Company Description 360 IT Professionals is a Software Development Company based in Fremont ... The Quality Engineering team is seeking applicants with strong test automation skills and ...
About the Opportunity Avenue Technologies is seeking a Mid-Level Test Development Engineer to ... Helpful Skills * software development * requirements Qualifications * Bachelor's degree in a STEM ...
About the Opportunity Avenue Technologies is seeking a Mid-Level Test Development Engineer to ... Helpful Skills * software development * requirements Qualifications * Bachelor's degree in a STEM ...
Under general supervision, the Software Development Engineer II designs, develops, debugs, tests and implements software enhancements. Responsibilities include correcting defects in existing ...
Under general supervision, the Software Development Engineer II designs, develops, debugs, tests and implements software enhancements. Responsibilities include correcting defects in existing ...
What you'll do As an experienced software engineer in test automation, you will need to think ... Knowledge of current test software development industry tools and standard methodologies.
What you'll do As an experienced software engineer in test automation, you will need to think ... Knowledge of current test software development industry tools and standard methodologies.
Work and chip in toward the engineering of Apple's innovative products involving video, audio, and ... development and test engineers to reliably produce test results Preferred Qualifications ...
Work and chip in toward the engineering of Apple's innovative products involving video, audio, and ... development and test engineers to reliably produce test results Preferred Qualifications ...
Senior Software Development Engineer (Java/Web Technologies)
San Diego, CA · On-site
$132K - $174K/yr
Champion Test-Driven Development (TDD) practices and promote engineering rigor across development ... Participate in Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, backlog refinement, code reviews, and ...
Senior Software Development Engineer (Java/Web Technologies)
San Diego, CA · On-site
$132K - $174K/yr
Champion Test-Driven Development (TDD) practices and promote engineering rigor across development ... Participate in Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, backlog refinement, code reviews, and ...
Software Test Engineer
San Diego, CA · On-site
$92K - $166K/yr
The Software Test Engineer will be part of a dynamic team working in an agile software development environment that is building a user application to run on mobile device form factors. The Software ...
Software Test Engineer
San Diego, CA · On-site
$92K - $166K/yr
The Software Test Engineer will be part of a dynamic team working in an agile software development environment that is building a user application to run on mobile device form factors. The Software ...
Software Test Engineer
$73K - $132K/yr
The Software Test Engineer will be part of a dynamic team working in an agile software development environment that is building a user application to run on mobile device form factors. The Software ...
Software Test Engineer
$73K - $132K/yr
The Software Test Engineer will be part of a dynamic team working in an agile software development environment that is building a user application to run on mobile device form factors. The Software ...
Software Test Engineer
$92K - $166K/yr
The Software Test Engineer will be part of a dynamic team working in an agile software development environment that is building a user application to run on mobile device form factors. The Software ...
Software Test Engineer
$92K - $166K/yr
The Software Test Engineer will be part of a dynamic team working in an agile software development environment that is building a user application to run on mobile device form factors. The Software ...
Software Development Engineer In Test information
See Carlsbad, CA salary details
$11.97 - $17.91
2% of jobs
$17.91 - $23.85
0% of jobs
$23.85 - $29.79
0% of jobs
$29.79 - $35.73
2% of jobs
$35.73 - $41.67
5% of jobs
$41.67 - $47.61
9% of jobs
$49.30 is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$47.61 - $53.55
22% of jobs
The median wage is $55.98 / hr.
$53.55 - $59.48
23% of jobs
$63.11 is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$59.48 - $65.42
19% of jobs
$65.42 - $71.36
13% of jobs
$71.36 - $77.30
5% of jobs
$11
$56
$77
How much do software development engineer in test jobs pay per hour?
Is SDET still in demand?
What is the role of a software development engineer in testing?
Is SDET a good career?
What is the difference between Software Development Engineer In Test vs Software Engineer?
| Aspect | Software Development Engineer In Test | Software Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Designing and developing automated tests, ensuring software quality | Developing software applications and features |
| Skills & Certifications | Programming, testing frameworks, automation tools | Programming, software design, system architecture |
| Work Environment | Quality assurance teams, development teams, testing labs | Development teams, product teams, engineering environments |
| Industry Usage | Tech companies, software firms, QA departments | Tech companies, startups, software product companies |
While both roles require strong programming skills, Software Development Engineer In Test focuses on automation and testing to ensure software quality, whereas Software Engineers primarily develop new features and applications. Both roles are integral to software development but serve different aspects of the product lifecycle.
How does a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) typically collaborate with developers and QA teams during the software development lifecycle?
What is a Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET)?
What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Software Development Engineer in Test, and why are they important?
Will QA or SDET get replaced by AI?

Full-time
Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO
Posted 27 days ago
Job description
Position Overview:
We are seeking a Staff Software Development Engineer in Test, Cloud Applications to lead the design and evolution of quality engineering architecture across our web applications, cloud services, mobile platforms, and data systems.
This role combines deep technical leadership with hands-on engineering, operating as a working lead responsible for both architectural quality initiatives and the mentorship and management of a team of SDETs. The Staff SDET will guide a small team of engineers while remaining actively involved in designing and building scalable automation frameworks and validation platforms.
The role focuses on building engineering-grade automation, quality platforms, and validation strategies that enable teams to deliver reliable systems at scale. The Staff SDET acts as a quality architect, partnering with engineering, platform, and product teams to embed validation directly into system design, CI/CD pipelines, and data workflows.
The ideal candidate combines strong software engineering skills in Python with deep expertise in distributed systems testing, cloud-native environments, mobile testing platforms, and data validation frameworks.
Essential Job Functions:
Automation Platform Development
- Design and implement scalable automation frameworks and validation platforms using Python
- Build reusable automation libraries and developer-facing tooling that enable teams to validate functionality earlier in the development cycle
- Architect automated validation strategies across:
- Modern web applications
- APIs and microservices
Distributed cloud systems - Mobile platforms
- Data pipelines and analytics platforms including ML outputs.
- Integrate automation frameworks into CI/CD pipelines to enable rapid feedback and high-confidence releases
Mobile Platform Validation
- Architect automated testing strategies for mobile applications across iOS and Android platforms
- Leverage cloud device platforms such as BrowserStack to enable scalable cross-device testing
- Integrate mobile automation into CI/CD pipelines to support validation across devices, operating systems, and configurations
- Define strategies for mobile UI testing, API validation, and end-to-end workflow testing
Cloud & Distributed Systems Validation
- Design validation strategies for cloud-native microservices architectures
- Enable automated testing for service interactions through contract testing, integration validation, and environment simulation
- Partner with infrastructure and DevOps teams to embed quality gates within deployment pipelines
- Drive improvements in system reliability, performance, and resilience testing
Data Platform Quality Engineering
- Architect automated validation for data pipelines, data transformations, and data platform services
- Establish frameworks to validate data integrity, schema evolution, lineage, and reproducibility
- Partner with Data Engineering teams to ensure quality is built into analytics and machine learning
- Partner with data science and ML Ops teams to ensure reproducibility, monitoring, and validation of ML models within production systems, including drift detection and model performance validation
Technical Leadership & Engineering Influence
- Act as a technical leader across engineering teams, influencing architecture and engineering practices to improve product quality and system reliability
- Collaborate with product management, development, and DevOps teams to align testing strategies with product goals
- Facilitate the adoption of AI/ML/LLM-enabled testing strategies where appropriate
- Contribute to system and design reviews to ensure new components are observable, testable, and resilient
- Shape the direction of the Quality Engineering discipline, driving adoption of modern testing approaches and tooling workflows
Working Lead & Team Leadership
- Serve as a working lead and manager for a team of SDETs, providing architectural guidance and mentorship
- Conduct performance reviews, support career development, and foster engineering excellence within the team
- Guide the team's technical direction while remaining hands-on in framework design and automation architecture
- Coordinate quality engineering initiatives across projects to ensure alignment with organizational priorities
Data-Driven Quality Insights
- Establish metrics, dashboards, and observability strategies that provide real-time visibility into product health and release readiness
- Provide engineering leadership with data-driven insights into system reliability, defect trends, and risk areas
- Investigate system behaviors and diagnostic data to identify root causes and drive cross-team issue resolution
- Ensure traceability between requirements, implementation, and verification
Education and/or Work Experience Requirements:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
- 7+ years of experience in software engineering or SDET roles working with complex distributed systems, with at least 3 years in a technical leadership role
- Strong software development skills in Python, including building automation, tooling, or validation systems
- Demonstrated experience designing and implementing automation frameworks or validation platforms across multiple layers of the stack (UI, API, service, integration, and data)
- Strong experience validating web applications, APIs, and distributed microservices architectures
- Demonstrated ability to integrate automated validation strategies into CI/CD pipelines
- Strong understanding of modern software testing methodologies and quality engineering practices, including functional, integration, and system testing
- Experience implementing browser automation frameworks such as Playwright or Cypress
- Strong debugging and analytical skills, including the ability to investigate complex failures and support root cause analysis
- Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and influence engineering practices within a team or product area
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and technical documentation skills
- Proven capability in utilizing AI/ML-assisted testing techniques to enhance coverage, diagnostics, and defect detection
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience validating data platforms and data pipelines, including SQL-based systems, data warehouses, and ETL/ELT workflows
- Experience implementing contract testing or service-level validation strategies in distributed systems
- Experience building or improving quality dashboards, metrics, or reporting systems used to evaluate system health and release readiness
- Experience testing mobile applications and working with cross-device testing platforms
Things that make a difference:
- Master's degree in Computer Science, CE, EE.
- Experience validating machine learning systems or ML-enabled applications, including model inference services, training data pipelines, or model output validation
- Experience with simulation-based testing environments, such as NVIDIA Isaac Sim or similar robotics simulation platforms
- Experience working in environments that combine cloud services, mobile applications, and data platforms
- Experience in mobile robotics or industrial automation is a plus
- Experience with common sensors used in robotics, including cameras (RGB and Depth), LIDARs, IMUs and Sonars is a plus
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The physical activity of this position includes, kneeling; reaching; pushing; pulling; sitting, standing and walking for periods of time; using hands to finger and grasp; repetitive motion; talking and hearing. close visual acuity to prepare and analyze data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, and/or operation of machines; use of measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication parts at distances close to the eyes; push or pull up to 20 pounds.
Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate. Employees are exposed to the typical office environment with computers, printers and telephones.
Salary Range:
The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in San Diego, California is $133,500 to $155,000. The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type and length of experience within the industry, education, etc. Brain Corp is a multi-state employer and this salary range may not reflect positions that work in other states.
In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of:
- A discretionary annual target bonus
- Stock options
- 401(k) plan with match (no waiting period and immediate vesting)
- Comprehensive suite of insurance benefits for employees (and their families) to include a variety of medical plan options (including an HSA with employer contribution), dental, vision, life and disability insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Legal/Identity support plans, pet insurance.
- Access to Flexible Spending Accounts (Medical and Dependent Care)
- Generous paid time off including flexible vacation, Paid Sick Leave, time off for volunteering in the community, 10 paid company holidays, and a winter company shutdown
Additional Perks include:
- Daily on-site lunch available in the San Diego office
- On-campus gym including pool and tennis courts in the San Diego office
- Opportunities to connect with colleagues including monthly game nights, hikes, wellness challenges, and community events
- Internal continuous learning events
- Opportunities to share your own interests and hobbies with the Company