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Software Development Engineer In Test Jobs in Los Angeles, CA

loanDepot

Sr. SDET (Selenium/Automation)

Irvine, CA

The Senior Software Development Engineer in Test is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining automated testing solutions that improve software quality, reduce production risk, and ...

Software Technology Inc

SDET

El Segundo, CA · On-site

$53.25 - $68.75/hr

Advanced skills in Java development and testing * Advanced skills in automation and tools like, android SDK, Appium, REST api automation, bash/Unix * Advanced skills in Head end or web services or ...

Damco

SDET

Encino, CA · On-site

$52.50 - $67.50/hr

... programming languages like Java Excellent problem-solving skills and end to end quantitative ... and test cases End 2 End quality certification of changes Experience driving UATs Expertise in ...

SonSoft

SDET (.NET Developer)

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

SDET (.NET Developer) SonSoft is an IT Staffing and consulting firm and duly organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Georgia. We are growing at a steady pace specializing in the fields of ...

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All JobsSoftware Development Engineer In Test JobsSoftware Development Engineer In Test Jobs in Los Angeles, CA

Software Development Engineer In Test information

See Los Angeles, CA salary details

$12

$59

$80

How much do software development engineer in test jobs pay per hour?

As of Jul 1, 2026, the average hourly pay for software development engineer in test in Los Angeles, CA is $59.01, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $51.83 and $66.83 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

Is SDET in high demand?

Software Development Engineers in Test (SDETs) are in high demand due to the increasing emphasis on quality assurance and automation in software development. Companies seek SDETs skilled in programming, testing frameworks, and tools like Selenium and Jenkins to improve product reliability and speed up release cycles.

What is the role of a software development engineer in testing?

A Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) designs, develops, and maintains automated test frameworks and scripts to ensure software quality. They collaborate with developers to identify testing requirements, write test cases, and use tools like Selenium or JUnit to execute tests, often integrating testing into continuous integration pipelines.

What engineers make $500,000?

Software Development Engineers In Test (SDETs) in senior or specialized roles at large tech companies can earn $500,000 or more annually, especially with bonuses, stock options, and other compensation. High earnings typically require extensive experience, advanced skills in automation and testing tools, and often involve working in competitive tech environments or leadership positions.

What is the difference between Software Development Engineer In Test vs Software Engineer?

AspectSoftware Development Engineer In TestSoftware Engineer
Primary FocusDesigning and developing automated tests, ensuring software qualityDeveloping software applications and features
Skills & CertificationsProgramming, testing frameworks, automation toolsProgramming, software design, system architecture
Work EnvironmentQuality assurance teams, development teams, testing labsDevelopment teams, product teams, engineering environments
Industry UsageTech companies, software firms, QA departmentsTech 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?

As an SDET, you'll work closely with both software developers and quality assurance teams throughout the development process. Your role involves participating in design and code reviews to ensure testability, creating automated test frameworks, and writing test cases alongside developers. You'll also help identify bugs early, contribute to continuous integration pipelines, and facilitate communication between development and QA to ensure high-quality releases. This collaborative environment allows you to bridge the gap between coding and testing, making you a key player in delivering reliable software.

What is a Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET)?

A Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) is a professional who combines software development skills with expertise in testing to ensure the quality of software products. SDETs design, develop, and maintain automated test frameworks, write test scripts, and work closely with developers to identify and resolve defects early in the software development lifecycle. They play a critical role in integrating testing into the development process, improving test coverage, and enabling continuous integration and delivery. SDETs often have strong programming abilities and a deep understanding of both software engineering and quality assurance best practices.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Software Development Engineer in Test, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET), you need a solid background in software engineering principles, programming skills (often in languages like Java, Python, or C#), and a strong understanding of testing methodologies. Familiarity with automated testing frameworks (such as Selenium, JUnit, or TestNG), CI/CD tools, and sometimes certifications like ISTQB are typically required. Analytical thinking, attention to detail, and effective communication are essential soft skills that help SDETs collaborate with developers and identify issues efficiently. These skills are crucial to ensure robust, scalable, and high-quality software products through efficient test design and automation.

Will QA or SDET get replaced by AI?

Software Development Engineers in Test (SDETs) and QA professionals perform complex testing tasks that require critical thinking, creativity, and understanding of system design, which AI currently cannot fully replicate. While AI tools can automate repetitive testing and assist in identifying issues, human oversight remains essential for designing test strategies, interpreting results, and ensuring software quality. Therefore, AI is more likely to augment rather than replace SDET roles in the foreseeable future.
What are the most commonly searched types of Software Development Engineer In Test jobs in Los Angeles, CA? The most popular types of Software Development Engineer In Test jobs in Los Angeles, CA are:
What cities near Los Angeles, CA are hiring for Software Development Engineer In Test jobs? Cities near Los Angeles, CA with the most Software Development Engineer In Test job openings:
Software Development Engineer In Test jobs near you
Infographic showing various Software Development Engineer In Test job openings in Los Angeles, CA as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 97% Full Time, 2% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 93% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $122,734 per year, or $59 per hour.
Sr. SDET (Selenium/Automation)

Sr. SDET (Selenium/Automation)

loanDepot

Irvine, CA

Other

Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO

Posted 18 days ago

Key responsibilities

  • Design, develop, and maintain automated test frameworks and test suites for web, mobile, API, integration, and end-to-end testing.

  • Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines and provide test results to support build, deployment, and release decisions.

  • Troubleshoot complex application, automation, data, and integration issues in collaboration with Engineering, DevOps, QA, and business teams.

loanDepot rating

7.8

Company rating: 7.8 out of 10

Based on 15 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

Job description

Position Summary:

The Senior Software Development Engineer in Test is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining automated testing solutions that improve software quality, reduce production risk, and strengthen release confidence across enterprise applications. This is a hands-on technical role focused on test automation, framework development, API and integration validation, data validation, CI/CD quality controls, and production-readiness testing. The successful candidate will work closely with Engineering, QA, DevOps, Product, and business stakeholders to ensure applications are testable, reliable, scalable, and aligned with business requirements.
The Sr. SDET requires strong ownership, technical depth, and a quality-first mindset. The Senior SDET is expected to proactively identify quality risks, improve automation coverage, troubleshoot complex failures, and help raise engineering quality standards across the team.

Responsibilities:

Test Automation & Framework Development
  • Design, develop, and maintain automated test frameworks for web, mobile, API, service-level, integration, and end-to-end testing.
  • Build reliable, reusable, scalable, and maintainable automated tests using modern engineering practices.
  • Develop automation strategies that improve test coverage, reduce manual testing dependency, and increase release confidence.
  • Create and maintain automated regression, smoke, functional, integration, and workflow validation suites.
  • Analyze automation failures, identify root causes, reduce test flakiness, and improve automation reliability.
  • Evaluate and recommend commercial and open-source testing tools, frameworks, and libraries based on project needs.
  • Use AI-assisted engineering tools where appropriate to accelerate test creation, framework development, defect analysis, and productivity.
API, Integration & Data Validation
  • Design and implement automated tests for APIs, services, databases, third-party integrations, and complex business workflows.
  • Validate application behavior beyond the user interface, including service responses, data transformations, event flows, and downstream system impacts.
  • Use SQL and other validation techniques to confirm data accuracy, consistency, and integrity across systems.
  • Create test data strategies to support automation, regression testing, integration testing, and production-like validation.
  • Partner with Engineering and Architecture teams to identify quality risks in system design, data flows, and integration patterns.
CI/CD & Release Quality
  • Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines and ensure test results provide meaningful feedback for build, deployment, and release decisions.
  • Collaborate with DevOps and Engineering teams to define quality gates, pipeline validation, and environment promotion criteria.
  • Support release-level validation by ensuring automated tests reflect actual release scope, dependencies, integrations, and business workflows.
  • Participate in release readiness activities by providing clear test results, risk indicators, defect analysis, and quality recommendations.
  • Support planned production releases and critical off-hours deployments as needed, in alignment with team release schedules.
Troubleshooting & Production Validation
  • Investigate complex application, automation, data, integration, and environment issues.
  • Use logs, metrics, traces, monitoring tools, and application telemetry to troubleshoot failures and improve test coverage.
  • Partner with Engineering, DevOps, QA, and business teams to diagnose defects and validate fixes.
  • Contribute to root cause analysis and identify opportunities to prevent similar issues in future releases.
  • Validate application behavior under realistic conditions, including dependency failures, latency, service degradation, and recovery scenarios.
Collaboration, Coaching & Quality Ownership
  • Work with business and technical stakeholders to understand requirements and ensure functional and technical validation is built into the delivery process.
  • Review requirements, designs, user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical changes to identify testing needs and quality risks.
  • Coach and mentor QA engineers, SDETs, and development teams on test automation, testability, framework usage, and quality engineering practices.
  • Promote engineering practices that make applications more testable, observable, reliable, and maintainable.
  • Proactively identify automation gaps, process improvements, quality risks, and opportunities to improve delivery outcomes.
  • Maintain strong responsiveness and dependability when supporting team needs, stakeholder questions, release validation, and urgent quality issues.

Requirements:

  • Minimum seven (7)+ years of experience in software testing, test automation, software development, or quality engineering.
  • Strong hands-on experience designing and developing automated tests and test frameworks.
  • Strong programming or scripting experience in one or more languages such as C#, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, or similar.
  • Experience with modern automation tools and frameworks such as Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Appium, NUnit, xUnit, JUnit, TestNG, SpecFlow, Cucumber, Postman/Newman, REST Assured, or similar.
  • Strong experience with API testing, service-level validation, integration testing, and end-to-end workflow validation.
  • Strong SQL and data validation experience.
  • Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, TeamCity, or similar.
  • Experience analyzing test failures, troubleshooting complex defects, and improving automation reliability.
  • Experience with test management, defect tracking, and collaboration tools such as JIRA, Azure DevOps, Confluence, or similar.
  • Strong understanding of software development lifecycle practices, agile delivery, release validation, and quality engineering principles.
  • Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Strong sense of ownership, accountability, and commitment to delivering a reliable user experience.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Information Systems, or a related field preferred.
  • Experience in Mortgage, Financial Services, Lending, or another highly regulated industry preferred.
  • Experience with performance, resiliency, security, accessibility, or contract testing preferred.
  • Experience using observability tools, logs, metrics, traces, or production telemetry to troubleshoot issues and improve test coverage preferred.
  • Experience leveraging AI-assisted tools to improve test automation, test design, framework development, or defect analysis preferred.
  • Experience working with distributed systems, microservices, event-driven architectures, or complex enterprise integrations preferred.

Why work for #teamloanDepot:

  • Competitive compensation package based on experience, skillset and overall fit for #TeamloanDepot.
  • Inclusive, diverse, and collaborative culture where people from all backgrounds can thrive
  • Work with other passionate, purposeful, and customer-centric people
  • Extensive internal growth and professional development opportunities including tuition reimbursement
  • Comprehensive benefits package including Medical/Dental/Vision
  • Wellness program to support both mental and physical health
  • Generous paid time off for both exempt and non-exempt positions

About loanDepot:

loanDepot (NYSE: LDI) is a digital commerce company committed to serving its customers throughout the home ownership journey. Since its launch in 2010, loanDepot has revolutionized the mortgage industry with a digital-first approach that makes it easier, faster, and less stressful to purchase or refinance a home. Today, as the nation's second largest non-bank retail mortgage lender, loanDepot enables customers to achieve the American dream of homeownership through a broad suite of lending and real estate services that simplify one of life's most complex transactions. With headquarters in Southern California and offices nationwide, loanDepot is committed to serving the communities in which its team lives and works through a variety of local, regional, and national philanthropic efforts.
Base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay for this roles is between $112,000 and $154,000. Your base pay will depend on multiple individualized factors, including your job-related knowledge/skills, qualifications, experience, and market location.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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