Principal Automation Engineer (Remote)

$150,000 - $170,000/Yr

Patterson Companies - Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN

Full-time - Principal

Remote - Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN

Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods

About the position

We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Automation Quality Engineer to join our team and lead our test automation efforts. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience with test automation frameworks, particularly Microsoft Playwright and Selenium, and a strong background in both front-end and back-end testing. In addition, we are looking for someone with knowledge of microservices architecture and experience in service layer migration. As a Principal Automation Quality Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and optimizing automation frameworks to ensure quality across our systems. You'll work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to improve product reliability and deliver exceptional user experience, ensuring robust testing of new features, enhancements, and overall system performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee the design, development, and maintenance of test automation frameworks using Microsoft Playwright and Selenium.
• Develop, implement, and maintain test cases and automation scripts for both front-end and back-end testing.
• Collaborate with development, product, and DevOps teams to integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines, ensuring high-quality releases.
• Drive testing strategies in a microservices environment, focusing on API testing, service reliability, and integration stability.
• Support service layer migration projects by identifying potential impacts on test automation and designing scalable solutions.
• Perform regular performance, load, and stress testing to evaluate system resilience and scalability.
• Provide mentorship to junior team members, promoting best practices in test automation and quality engineering.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in software quality engineering, with at least 4 years focused on test automation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Playwright and Selenium for automation testing.
• Strong understanding of microservices architecture and service layer migration processes.
• Extensive experience with front-end and back-end testing, including API testing and database validations.
• Skilled in designing isolated tests for UI and backend components using frameworks like React Testing Library, Enzyme, JUnit, NUnit, or Pytest.
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools like Jenkins and version control systems such as Git.
• Solid understanding of Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum or Kanban.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to communicate effectively across teams.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with other automation frameworks like Cypress, JMeter, or Postman.
• Knowledge of containerization and orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes.
• Familiarity with cloud services such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Domain in Dental Engineering is a Plus.

Benefits

• Robust remote work culture with well-established virtual collaboration practices.
• Equal opportunities for career advancement and professional growth, regardless of physical location.
• Periodic travel to corporate sites (Quarterly or so).
• Periodic on call rotations and availability outside of normal business hours during critical production release or issue escalation periods.