Lead QA Automation Engineer

ABOUT YOU

We are seeking an experienced Lead QA Automation Engineer with deep technical expertise in building, maintaining, and scaling backend automation systems. This role requires a leader who influences, acts as a senior individual contributor, and shapes testing strategy, mentors engineers, and ensures automation excellence across multiple teams.

You will be comfortable working with distributed systems, including monolith and microservices architectures, and adept at designing comprehensive testing approaches for APIs, data flows, integrations, and edge cases. We are looking for an engineer who communicates like a leader and demonstrates ownership in building world-class quality infrastructure.

A pragmatic approach is essential, continuously evaluating new tools, including AI-powered solutions, to drive efficiency while upholding strong engineering fundamentals.

As a QA Lead, you will oversee and guide a team of QA engineers, ensuring the delivery of high-quality software across projects. Responsibilities include defining and enforcing testing standards, managing defect governance, and driving automation strategies. You will foster collaboration among cross-functional teams, mentor and develop QA engineers, and allocate resources effectively. This role ensures testing processes align with organizational goals and timelines, acts as the primary point of contact for stakeholders, and provides clear communication on quality metrics, risks, and progress. You will also continuously improve workflows to enhance efficiency, reliability, and team performance.

ABOUT US

Xsolla is a global commerce company providing robust tools and services to help video game developers overcome industry challenges. From indie to AAA studios, companies partner with Xsolla for funding, distribution, marketing, and monetization of their games. Committed to the future of video games, Xsolla strives to create opportunities and make new resources available to creators. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Xsolla operates as the merchant of record, having supported over 1,500+ game developers worldwide in reaching more players and growing their businesses. We offer more paths to profits and ways to win, ensuring developers have everything needed to succeed in the game industry.

For more information, visit xsolla.com.

Responsibilities:

• Define and manage test plans, test cases, and execution schedules for projects.
• Ensure comprehensive test coverage across functional, regression, integration, performance, and security testing.
• Validate deliverables against specified requirements and acceptance criteria.
• Enforce QA standards, methodologies, and best practices within the team.
• Ensure defects are logged, tracked, and resolved efficiently.
• Monitor key quality metrics such as defect density, test coverage, and release readiness.
• Act as the primary liaison between QA, development, product, and operations teams.
• Provide clear reporting on test progress, identified risks, and overall quality status to stakeholders.
• Support cross-functional alignment to embed quality throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Drive the adoption of automation frameworks and tools where appropriate.
• Balance manual and automated testing strategies to optimize efficiency.
• Ensure test environments are properly configured and maintained.
• Identify gaps in current QA processes and propose continuous improvements.
• Stay updated on emerging QA practices and tools, integrating them into workflows.
• Promote a culture of quality ownership across the team.
• Lead the design, development, and maintenance of backend-focused automated test frameworks (e.g., Jest, Playwright, custom solutions).
• Work as a hands-on individual contributor leader, setting automation standards, driving adoption, and mentoring engineers as needed.
• Develop robust automated tests for REST APIs, services, and integrations across monolithic and microservices architectures.
• Create and maintain test suites across integration, contract, and end-to-end layers using modern automation practices.
• Utilize mocking and service virtualization techniques to isolate systems and increase test reliability.
• Collaborate closely with backend developers, DevOps, and product teams to understand system design and ensure complete test coverage.
• Review engineering code (PHP/Golang) to better understand logic, identify risk areas, and design stronger tests.
• Build CI/CD test pipelines, write and optimize YAML configurations, and ensure automation stability in the delivery flow.
• Improve observability and reporting across automated tests, including dashboards, logs, alerts, and coverage insights.
• Introduce and evaluate tools such as AI-assisted or non-AI-assisted testing solutions to enhance test development speed and depth of validation.
• Act as a quality advocate in architecture discussions, sprint planning, and release readiness reviews.
• Lead initiatives that improve engineering workflows, automation reliability, and long-term maintainability.
• Support teams in debugging complex production issues and guiding root-cause analysis.

Qualifications & Skills:

• 10+ years of experience in Quality Assurance and Agile methodologies.
• 2+ years of experience as a QA Lead.
• Expertise in backend and API automation using tools like Jest, Postman, and modern REST testing practices.
• Solid experience with Playwright, JEST, Karate, Cucumber, or equivalent test automation frameworks.
• Strong understanding of monolith architecture and microservices-based systems.
• Hands-on experience designing CI/CD pipelines and working with YAML-based configuration.
• Strong understanding of mocking, stubbing, service virtualization, and contract testing (e.g., Pact or similar tools).
• Experience building test frameworks from the ground up or significantly enhancing existing ones.
• Comfortable using AI tools as accelerators while applying critical thinking to validate output.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across engineering, product, and QA teams.
• Proactive, self-driven, and able to take ownership of automation direction with minimal supervision.

Nice to Have:

• 5+ years of experience in QA Automation, including strong hands-on technical leadership.
• Experience with cloud environments (AWS/GCP).
• Familiarity with containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Knowledge of performance testing tools (Locust, JMeter, k6).
• Experience working with GitLab/GitHub Actions CI pipelines.
• Exposure to security testing fundamentals.
• Experience driving automation architecture during system decomposition (monolith to microservices).
• Ability to read and understand backend code, especially PHP and/or Golang.

Benefits

We are passionate about fostering a supportive environment for our team, prioritizing the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of our employees through a comprehensive Benefits Program. This includes unlimited Flexible Time Off and a personalized career roadmap for each employee. By investing in professional development through training and educational opportunities, we ensure that our team thrives both personally and professionally. Together, we’re not just building a business; we’re cultivating a community that values creativity, collaboration, and the transformative power of play.

The duties and responsibilities of this position may evolve over time to support the organization’s goals and individual growth. This job description is intended to outline the general nature and level of work being performed and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required.

By submitting your application, you consent to Xsolla conducting background checks, where permitted by law, after the final interview stage. All checks will comply with local regulations, and your information will be handled confidentially.

Xsolla takes your privacy seriously and will not sell or externally distribute any personal data received during the hiring process. In accordance with applicable data protection laws, Xsolla is committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy.

For any inquiries related to data privacy, please contact: [email protected]

Explore more opportunities at: https://xsolla.com/careers

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.