Principal Test Engineer

About the role

The Principal Test Engineer is a technical authority responsible for advancing software quality across assigned products and projects. The role develops and influences test strategies for complex features and releases, identifies and communicates quality risks, improves test coverage and automation, and ensures reliable customer outcomes. It works closely with Software Engineering, Product Management and other cross-functional teams, and may lead testing activities across multiple projects and provide technical direction to other testers. It is a senior individual-contributor role.

Key responsibilities

• Own and influence test strategy for complex products, major features and cross-functional projects, and develop test plans, estimates, coverage approaches and risk assessments.
• Drive automated testing and use AI-assisted development tools to build, maintain and improve test automation, validating generated code and tests.
• Lead functional, integration, system, regression, exploratory and non-functional testing, and evaluate coverage and communicate quality risks and release-readiness recommendations.
• Take part in requirements and design reviews, challenge requirements and designs, and investigate, reproduce and isolate complex, intermittent issues.
• Partner with Software Engineering and Product Management on defect triage, root-cause analysis and resolution.
• Lead automated regression testing, coordinate testing activities for multiple testers, and establish and promote testing standards, processes, tools and best practices.
• Serve as a subject matter expert, mentor less-experienced testers, and create knowledge-management materials and documentation.
• Maintain test cases, test results and defect records in project and test management systems, and stay current with testing practices and automation technologies.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically 10 or more years of experience in software testing, quality assurance, test engineering or a related discipline.
• Significant experience developing test strategies for complex software products and advanced experience in functional, integration, regression, exploratory and non-functional testing.
• Expert-level knowledge of an assigned product or product line, or the ability to develop it quickly.
• Ability to lead technical work and influence decisions without formal management authority, and strong communication skills with technical and non-technical audiences.

Required skills

• Advanced knowledge of test automation principles, frameworks, tools and design patterns, and experience developing automated regression tests.
• Expert knowledge of at least one scripting or programming language, and strong working knowledge of another.
• Experience with test management, defect tracking and documentation tools.
• Strong technical knowledge of relevant platforms such as Windows, Linux, IBM i, SQL, APIs, databases and web services.