Lead Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

Stand Together is a philanthropic community dedicated to helping America’s changemakers address the root causes of critical national issues, including education, economic challenges, community breakdown, and societal division. We empower our partners with essential resources such as funding, thought leadership, a peer network, and a proven framework for transforming lives and society.

As a Lead Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET), you will spearhead initiatives to enhance software quality and automation across our content management systems (CMS), Single-page applications (SPAs), and Salesforce applications.

This pivotal role ensures the reliability, usability, and scalability of our content-heavy, mission-critical systems that drive our digital presence. You will be responsible for defining comprehensive testing strategies, building robust automation frameworks, and mentoring QA engineers. Collaboration with development and product teams will be key to embedding quality throughout the entire software development lifecycle.

How You Will Contribute

• Lead the quality and test automation strategy for web and Salesforce applications.
• Design and maintain automated tests within CMS platforms, covering content workflows, templates, modules/plugins, roles, permissions, and publishing states.
• Execute and automate QA testing within Salesforce, including validation of custom objects, workflows, permissions, and releases.
• Develop end-to-end and API tests for connected services.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines to facilitate frequent and reliable deployments.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to establish quality standards, acceptance criteria, and release readiness.
• Mentor QA engineers and champion quality-first practices across content and platform teams.
• Conduct root-cause analysis of defects and continuously improve test coverage.

What You Will Bring

• 10+ years of experience in software development and/or test automation, including technical leadership or mentorship.
• Strong programming proficiency in PHP, Python, Java, and/or JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Extensive experience with non-relational and relational databases, including advanced SQL, for test automation, data validation, and root-cause analysis in SPAs, CMS, and Salesforce systems.
• Hands-on experience testing Contentful, Drupal, and/or WordPress, including custom modules/plugins and content workflows.
• Proven experience performing QA and/or automation for Salesforce applications, encompassing custom objects, workflows, and permissions.
• Proficiency with web and API test automation tools such as Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, and AccelQ.
• Experience testing modern Single-page applications (SPAs), including React-based applications utilizing NextJS and Node, with a solid understanding of component lifecycles, client-side state, and asynchronous behavior.
• Deep understanding of modern software testing practices, frameworks, and architecture for distributed systems.
• Knowledge of data-driven testing and test observability patterns.
• Experience with performance, accessibility, and security testing for public-facing websites and CRM platforms.
• Demonstrated experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to influence technical and non-technical teams.
• Enthusiasm for Stand Together's vision and principled problem-solving approach, coupled with a commitment to fostering a culture that values transformation, innovation, entrepreneurialism, humility, and respect.

Stand Out Candidates Will Bring

• Experience supervising, coaching, and developing engineers or SDETs, including performance feedback, goal-setting, and daily work prioritization.
• Familiarity with headless CMS architectures and API-first content delivery.
• Experience building and maintaining automation within cloud-native environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) frameworks like Terraform.

Our Values

Working at Stand Together offers a unique cultural experience, deeply rooted in Principle Based Management® (PBM®). This framework is guided by principles that drive human progress, such as dignity, openness, and bottom-up empowerment. PBM® empowers our employees to be entrepreneurial, innovate, and continually drive transformation.

We believe that diversity fuels creativity, broadens knowledge, and contributes to success. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are committed to treating all employees and applicants with honesty, dignity, respect, and sensitivity.

We may utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support various stages of the hiring process, including application review, resume analysis, or response assessment. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. For more information regarding data processing, please contact us.