Lead Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

AI overview

Lead efforts to elevate software quality and automation for critical systems, defining testing strategies and mentoring QA engineers while collaborating closely with developers and product teams.
Stand Together is a philanthropic community that helps America’s boldest changemakers tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems, from education to the economy, broken communities, and toxic division, among dozens of other pressing issues. We provide our partners with access to resources including funding, thought leadership, a network of peers, and a playbook for applying proven principles to transform lives and society.  As a Lead Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET), you will lead the effort to elevate software quality and automation for our content management systems, Single-page applications, and Salesforce applications.  This role ensures the reliability, usability, and scalability of content-heavy, mission-critical systems that power our digital presence. You will define testing strategy, build automation, and mentor QA engineers while working closely with developers and product teams to embed quality throughout the development lifecycle. How You Will Contribute
  • Lead quality and test automation strategy for our web and Salesforce applications. 
  • Design and maintain automated tests within our CMS platforms for content workflows, templates, modules/plugins, roles, permissions, and publishing states. 
  • Perform and automate QA testing within Salesforce, including validation of custom objects, workflows, permissions, and releases. 
  • Build end-to-end and API tests covering connected services. 
  • Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines to support frequent, reliable deployments. 
  • Partner with engineering teams to define quality standards, acceptance criteria, and release readiness. 
  • Mentor QA engineers and promote quality-first practices across content and platform teams. 
  • Drive root-cause analysis of defects and improve test coverage over time. 
  • What You Will Bring
  • 10+ years of experience in software development and/or test automation, including technical leadership or mentorship. 
  • Strong programming skills in PHP, Python, Java, and/or JavaScript/TypeScript. 
  • Strong experience with non-relational and relational databases and advanced SQL to support test automation, data validation, and root-cause analysis for SPAs, CMS and Salesforce-based systems.   
  • Hands-on experience testing Contentful, Drupal and/or WordPress, including custom modules/plugins and content workflows. 
  • Experience performing QA and/or automation for Salesforce applications, including custom objects, workflows, and permissions. 
  • Experience with web and API test automation tools (e.g., Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, AccelQ). 
  • Experience testing modern single-page applications (SPAs), including React-based applications using NextJS and Node, with an 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. 
  • Proven experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines. 
  • Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to influence across technical and non-technical teams. 
  • Enthusiasm to contribute to Stand Together's vision and principled approach to solving problems, and a commitment to stewarding our culture, which champions values including transformation and innovation, entrepreneurialism, humility, and respect.
  • Stand Out Candidates Will Bring
  • Experience supervising, coaching, and developing engineers or SDETs, including performance feedback, goal-setting, and day-to-day 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 is different from many other organizations. Our culture is deeply rooted in Principle Based Management® (PBM®), a framework guided by the principles that drive human progress, such as dignity, openness, and bottom-up empowerment. PBM® empowers our employees to be entrepreneurial, to innovate, and to continually drive transformation.   

    We believe diversity fuels creativity, broadens knowledge, and helps drive success, and that is why we’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and strive to treat all employees and applicants with honesty, dignity, respect and sensitivity.

    Stand Together is a philanthropic community that equips changemakers with the resources, connections, and strategies needed to address critical societal challenges in America. By focusing on areas like education and healthcare, we empower our partners to create meaningful, long-lasting change through collaboration and proven principles.

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