Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

Assurant is a leading global business services company that supports, protects, and connects major consumer purchases. They are seeking a Lead IT QA Analyst responsible for developing functional requirements, testing applications, and leading quality assurance efforts, with a focus on AI-assisted software development and testing.

Responsibilities:

• Actively participate in elaboration sessions to understand requirements
• Design and develop comprehensive test strategies and approaches for user stories and defects
• Create detailed test scenarios and test cases aligned with acceptance criteria
• Write SQL queries for test data setup and validation of test results
• Collaborate with Product Owners and Business Analysts to clarify acceptance criteria and obtain sign-off on test cases
• Execute test cases, manage defects, and ensure timely resolution through re-testing and regression
• Conduct feature demonstrations and walkthroughs
• Perform non-functional testing including security, performance, load, stress, multitenancy, and disaster recovery
• Document defects clearly with reproducible steps and expected outcomes
• Coordinate with the automation team to identify test cases for automation and contribute to script development
• Execute end-to-end testing across integrated systems and domains
• Collaborate with offshore QA teams for task hand-offs, including participation in off-hours calls when necessary
• Support various testing phases such as regression, integration, smoke, and platform testing
• Identify opportunities where AI can reduce manual effort and improve test cycle efficiency
• Lead adoption of AI-first QA practices within the team and mentor QA engineers on effective use of Copilot and related tools
• Collaborate with development and DevOps teams to embed AI-assisted testing practices across the SDLC
• Measure and report on productivity and quality gains enabled by AI adoption
• Provide leadership across the QA lifecycle, including test planning, execution, defect tracking, and reporting
• Guide and oversee the design, implementation, and execution of test cases
• Assess team capabilities and allocate tasks to leverage individual strengths
• Coordinate onshore and offshore QA efforts, including off-hours collaboration as needed
• Monitor defect status and ensure timely re-testing and closure
• Adapt to shifting priorities and support agile delivery timelines
• Collaborate with Scrum Masters to track sprint progress using key QA metrics
• Promote early quality practices by integrating QA into the initial stages of development
• Define strategies for non-functional testing and ensure their execution
• Leverage GitHub Copilot and AI tools to accelerate test case design, automation scripting, and documentation activities
• Drive adoption of AI-assisted testing practices, enabling faster test creation, improved defect detection, and enhanced test coverage
• Utilize AI to generate test scenarios, test data, and automation scripts, ensuring inclusion of edge cases and negative paths
• Validate and refine AI-generated outputs to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with enterprise standards
• Encourage use of shared prompt libraries and reusable AI patterns to standardize QA processes across teams
• Identify opportunities to reduce manual effort and improve QA efficiency using AI-driven solutions
• Apply AI techniques for defect analysis, root cause identification, and test optimization
• Ensure adherence to AI governance, security, and compliance guidelines, including data protection and human validation
• Track and report productivity and quality metrics derived from AI adoption
• Advocate for and implement test automation to enhance regression coverage and reduce risk
• Architect and enhance automated test frameworks and lead automation initiatives
• Integrate AI capabilities into test automation frameworks and CI/CD pipelines to improve scalability and efficiency
• Integrate automation hooks into the development codebase for seamless testing
• Work closely with development staff to design automation hooks into main code base
• Research, suggest, and implement tools (including AI-enabled tools) to enhance test efficiency and effectiveness
• Work with release management to track code deployments and test environment readiness
• Collaborate with developers, product managers, and stakeholders to align quality goals with business needs
• Ensure effective integration testing across domains by collaborating with other QA leads
• Communicate progress, risks, and blockers during daily stand-ups
• Actively contribute to sprint retrospectives to improve team performance and QA processes
• Maintain traceability across all QA activities
• Participate in sprint planning, estimation, and commitment of QA tasks
• Estimate and manage test efforts across test cycles
• Lead test automation initiatives
• Lead and mentor a team of QA Analysts and testers, including coaching on effective use of AI and Copilot tools
• Participate in performance reviews and provide feedback for QA team members
• Suggest and implement QA process improvements, including AI-driven continuous improvement initiatives
• Document and communicate test results, issues, and activities clearly
• Analyze requirements/user stories for testability and completeness
• Interpret user requirements/user stories and extend them into test cases
• Communicate technical concepts in everyday language
• Understand the needs of the user community

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science is desired
• 8+ years of experience of application quality assurance testing
• 3+ years leading teams
• 4+ years of automation testing experience using Selenium, Load Runner, JMeter and/or other automation tools
• 4+ years of experience with Python and writing SQL queries in SSMS
• Comfortable in using DB and Infrastructural monitoring tools (Solarwinds, Datadog, Dynatrace, Fortify, Graylog)
• Exposure to testing Data Migration, Data Quality
• Experience testing WCF and REST services within a Service Oriented Architecture
• Experience in ADO, Visual Studio for test
• Exposure on using Visual Studio code, VS for leveraging AI capabilities
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Ability to mentor and develop junior QA team members
• Familiarity with the insurance industry is desired