IT Software Engineer 4 (Senior SDET)
Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid – 3 days onsite; anticipated transition to full onsite)
Duration: 12-Month Contract with Potential Extension
Compensation: $89.00-$95.00/hr W2 plus medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) match
Overview
We are seeking an experienced IT Software Engineer 4 (Senior SDET) to join a large-scale enterprise software engineering organization. This role will focus on expanding and maintaining automated testing frameworks, designing and executing test strategies, and ensuring software quality across complex applications and integrations.
The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in Java-based test automation, API testing, performance testing, and end-to-end validation of enterprise software platforms. This individual will also serve as a technical mentor and quality engineering leader within a collaborative Agile environment.
Responsibilities
- Design, develop, and maintain automated testing frameworks using Java and BDD methodologies
- Extend and enhance existing test automation frameworks and infrastructure
- Develop automated functional, integration, and regression test suites
- Create and execute test strategies, test plans, test cases, and test data based on business requirements and acceptance criteria
- Build and maintain automated REST API testing solutions
- Develop scenario-based performance and load testing solutions using JMeter
- Execute end-to-end system integration testing across internal and third-party platforms
- Support Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) initiatives through automated testing
- Analyze test results, identify defects, and partner with development teams to drive resolution
- Perform exploratory and manual testing when appropriate
- Collaborate closely with Product Owners, developers, and business stakeholders
- Provide technical leadership and mentoring to onshore and offshore QA team members
- Promote testing best practices, quality standards, and automation excellence
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
- 8+ years of software testing and quality engineering experience
- 8+ years of experience designing and developing automation testing frameworks
- Strong Java development experience (3-5+ years)
- Experience with Cucumber, JBehave, or similar BDD frameworks
- Strong REST API and web services testing experience
- Experience creating test scripts, test cases, test plans, and reusable test data
- Strong SQL and relational database querying skills
- 3+ years of performance testing experience using JMeter
- Experience with full-stack and integration testing
- End-to-end enterprise system integration testing experience
- Excellent troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving abilities
- Strong communication and collaboration skills
Preferred Qualifications
- Python development experience
- AWS cloud experience
- Jenkins, Git, and CI/CD pipeline experience
- Experience with DevOps practices and automated deployment pipelines
- Experience with Apigee or similar API gateway technologies
- Understanding of microservices architecture
- Experience with Test Driven Development (TDD)
- Code review and continuous integration experience
- Agile/Scrum team experience
- Strong technical documentation skills
What We’re Looking For
- Ability to adapt quickly in complex enterprise environments
- Strong ownership mindset and willingness to lead quality initiatives
- Proactive, flexible, and creative problem solver
- Passion for automation and continuous improvement
- Ability to mentor and guide other test engineers
- Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills
Additional Information
- Hybrid work arrangement with onsite attendance required from day one
- Candidates must be local to the Chicago area or fully relocated before their start date
- Future transition to a full onsite schedule is anticipated
- Stable work history and demonstrated tenure are strongly preferred
- No fully remote option available
Work Location: Chicago, IL (540 W. Madison Street)
Start Date: August 2026
Team Size: 20+ engineering professionals
Interview Process: Two rounds with preference for in-person participation
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