Quality Assurance Engineer, API Testing

You are being hired as an SDET to join the founding quality engineering team of a consumer technology startup. The team is focused on delivering hyperlocal services with speed and reliability. Your role involves building systems from the ground up, with a critical emphasis on automation and backend testing. It is not a routine testing role; rather, the team seeks engineers who can challenge assumptions, break systems, and create robust automation for faster releases. **Core Requirements:** - Minimum 4 years of experience in software testing with a strong focus on automation. - Hands-on experience in backend testing and automation. - Proficiency in Rest Assured and API automation frameworks. - Strong programming skills in Java or Python. - Understanding of testing strategies, distributed systems, and backend architectures. - Ability to analyze failures across multiple services and systems with a strong debugging mindset. - Demonstrable depth of automation experience during technical discussions. **Candidate Profile:** You should: - Possess a "break the system" testing mindset. - Be able to challenge developers and identify edge cases confidently. - Have technical proficiency and hands-on experience with automation frameworks. - Prefer working in automation-first engineering environments. - Demonstrate stability in previous organizations to build system context. **Expected Work Environment for the next 4-5 months:** - Work location: Bengaluru office. - 6-day work week. - Flexibility to work beyond standard hours for the next 45 months as the team builds core systems and processes. This role suits individuals who thrive in high-ownership startup environments and enjoy building from scratch. **Key Responsibilities:** - Design, build, and scale automation frameworks focusing on backend and API testing. - Develop high-quality automation scripts using Java or Python, following coding and OOP principles. - Create and maintain API automation suites, with a preference for Rest Assured. - Ensure comprehensive test coverage across critical backend workflows and services. - Integrate automation into CI/CD pipelines for faster and reliable releases. - Investigate failures across services, APIs, environments, and data flows swiftly to identify root causes. - Collaborate closely with engineering teams to enhance system testability and reliability. - Continuously improve regression suites and automation stability based on production insights. *UI automation experience is beneficial but not mandatory as the role primarily focuses on backend tasks.* **Hiring Process:** - Round 1: 15-minute exploratory/culture conversation. - Round 2: Technical discussion. - Round 3: Final technical round. You are being hired as an SDET to join the founding quality engineering team of a consumer technology startup. The team is focused on delivering hyperlocal services with speed and reliability. Your role involves building systems from the ground up, with a critical emphasis on automation and backend testing. It is not a routine testing role; rather, the team seeks engineers who can challenge assumptions, break systems, and create robust automation for faster releases. **Core Requirements:** - Minimum 4 years of experience in software testing with a strong focus on automation. - Hands-on experience in backend testing and automation. - Proficiency in Rest Assured and API automation frameworks. - Strong programming skills in Java or Python. - Understanding of testing strategies, distributed systems, and backend architectures. - Ability to analyze failures across multiple services and systems with a strong debugging mindset. - Demonstrable depth of automation experience during technical discussions. **Candidate Profile:** You should: - Possess a "break the system" testing mindset. - Be able to challenge developers and identify edge cases confidently. - Have technical proficiency and hands-on experience with automation frameworks. - Prefer working in automation-first engineering environments. - Demonstrate stability in previous organizations to build system context. **Expected Work Environment for the next 4-5 months:** - Work location: Bengaluru office. - 6-day work week. - Flexibility to work beyond standard hours for the next 45 months as the team builds core systems and processes. This role suits individuals who thrive in high-ownership startup environments and enjoy building from scratch. **Key Responsibilities:** - Design, build, and scale automation frameworks focusing on backend and API testing. - Develop high-quality automation scripts using Java or Python, following coding and OOP principles. - Create and maintain API automation suites, with a preference for Rest Assured. - Ensure comprehensive test coverage across critical backend workflows and services. - Integrate automation into CI/CD pipelines for faster and reliable releases. - Investigate failures across services, APIs, environments, and data flows swiftly to identify r