Lead QA Automation Engineer with AI and Playwright experience

Cognizant

Annapolis, Maryland, USFull-timeLead71,000 - 113,000Posted Jun 29, 2026

PlaywrightREST AssuredJavaScriptTypeScriptAzureSQLJIRACI/CD

Best fit for

This role is best for senior QA engineers or SDETs with hands-on experience in Playwright, REST API testing, GraphQL, RestAssured open to working from Annapolis, Maryland, US.

Skills you need for this role

Detected from the job title, description, and tags.

Automation skills

Playwright — Modern cross-browser automation with auto-waits — increasingly the default at product companies.

API / backend testing

REST API testing — Almost every QA role now expects you to validate JSON contracts and status codes.
GraphQL — Different query semantics from REST — expect targeted API-testing questions.
RestAssured — Common Java-first API automation library, often paired with TestNG.

CI/CD and DevOps

GitHub Actions — Default CI for teams on GitHub — YAML workflows and matrix builds.
Azure — Common in enterprise / Microsoft-shop QA roles.

Programming languages

JavaScript / TypeScript — Required for Playwright, Cypress, and modern front-end test tooling.
SQL — Data validation and back-office QA rely on solid SQL.

Domain & process

Performance testing (JMeter / k6 / LoadRunner) — Different discipline from functional QA — expect scenario and metrics questions.
Agile / Scrum — You'll be expected to describe how you fit QA into short iterations.
Test management (Jira / Zephyr / TestRail) — Process fluency — writing test cases, tracing coverage, and reporting defects.
AI in testing — Employers increasingly ask how you use AI copilots to speed up QA work.

Job description

About the role As a Lead QA Automation Engineer with AI & Playwright experience, you will make an impact by driving quality through advanced automation, modern testing practices, and emerging AI‑driven solutions. You will be a valued member of the QA engineering team and work closely with developers, product owners, and DevOps teams to ensure scalable, high‑quality software delivery. In this role, you will

Develop and maintain automation scripts and scalable testing frameworks to improve test efficiency and coverage.
Design and implement AI‑driven solutions, including Generative AI agents, to enhance testing capabilities and productivity.
Perform both automated and manual testing across web applications and service layers.
Design test cases, execute test plans, and ensure comprehensive validation across functional and integration scenarios.
Track and report testing progress, defects, and quality metrics to stakeholders in a timely manner. Work model We strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a remote position open to qualified applicants in Dearborn - MI USA. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work‑life balance through our various wellbeing programs. The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations. What you need to have to be considered
7+ years of experience in IT Quality Assurance, with strong exposure to both manual and automation testing.
Hands‑on experience with modern automation tools such as Playwright
Strong proficiency with test management tools such as Azure DevOps or JIRA
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and version control systems (e.g., GitHub, GitHub Actions, TeamCity).
Proficiency in at least one programming language such as TypeScript or JavaScript
Experience in web services testing, including REST and/or GraphQL APIs.
Strong SQL skills for data validation and backend testing.
Solid understanding of test design, execution, and reporting practices. These will help you stand out
Experience using AI‑assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot or similar.
Hands‑on experience developing automation frameworks from scratch.
Exposure to Generative AI use cases within testing or software engineering.
Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and problem‑solving skills.
Experience working in Agile environments with distributed teams. Salary and Other Compensation The annual salary for this position is between $71,100 to 112,500 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate. This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans. Benefits
Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
401(k) plan and contributions
Long‑term/Short‑term Disability
Paid Parental Leave
Employee Stock Purchase Plan Cognizant will only consider applicants for this position who are legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship. Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Job highlights

•Role: Lead QA Automation Engineer with AI and Playwright experience
•Company: Cognizant
•Location: Annapolis, Maryland, US
•Type: Full-time
•Experience: Lead
•Compensation: 71,000 - 113,000
•Seniority: Lead
•Posted: Jun 29, 2026

Key skills: Playwright · REST Assured · JavaScript · TypeScript · Azure · SQL · JIRA · CI/CD

How to prepare for this interview

A 5-step prep plan tailored to this job's stack.

1Revise Playwright deeply — locator strategy, waits, parallelisation, and how you'd structure the framework from scratch. Playwright interview Q&A →
2Practice API-testing scenarios — auth flows, contract validation, and running collections in CI. API testing Q&A →
3Warm up on SQL joins, group-bys, and window functions — most QA rounds include a data-validation query. SQL Q&A →
4Run a senior-level mock interview covering system design for test frameworks and CI strategy. AI Mock Interview →
5Run your CV through the ATS review so it clears keyword filters for this role before you apply. Resume ATS Review →

Likely interview questions for this role

Tuned to the stack we detected on this job.

Q1.How does Playwright's auto-waiting differ from Selenium's explicit waits?
Q2.Walk through how you'd parallelise Playwright tests in CI with sharding.
Q3.How do you design a test suite for a REST API from an OpenAPI spec?
Q4.How do you handle authentication (OAuth / JWT) inside automated API tests?
Q5.How do you test GraphQL error handling vs REST 4xx responses?

Rehearse with AI Mock Interview Full interview prep guide

Salary context

Compensation disclosed by the employer.

71,000 - 113,000

Cognizant has disclosed compensation for this senior role. Compare it against our QA salary benchmarks before you negotiate — pay varies significantly by location and stack.

See QA/SDET salary benchmarks →