SDET / Automation Engineer (AI / Automation)

Mindlance

Washington, District of Columbia, USContractMidPosted Recently

SeleniumPlaywrightJenkinsDockerKubernetesJavaPythonJavaScriptTypeScriptAWSSQLCI/CD

Best fit for

This role is best for mid-level QA engineers with hands-on experience in Selenium, Playwright, Jenkins, Docker open to working from Washington, District of Columbia, US.

Skills you need for this role

Detected from the job title, description, and tags.

Automation skills

Selenium — Still the most-asked browser automation framework in QA interviews and legacy suites.
Playwright — Modern cross-browser automation with auto-waits — increasingly the default at product companies.

CI/CD and DevOps

Jenkins — Legacy CI still widely deployed — expect pipeline-as-code questions.
Docker — Needed to containerise test environments and spin up dependencies.
Kubernetes — Test infra + preview environments increasingly run on K8s.
AWS — Common cloud target for test infra + service integration testing.

Programming languages

Java — Dominant language for enterprise QA + Selenium/RestAssured stacks.
Python — Popular for API testing, data validation, and Playwright/Pytest suites.
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

AI in testing — Employers increasingly ask how you use AI copilots to speed up QA work.

Job description

Hybrid Onsite at Washington, DC. Must be local to DMV area. Contract to Hire- Must be eligible to convert in future Looking for Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) - AI/Automation Focus Position Overview We are seeking a mid-level SDET with 5+ years of experience to join our team and drive innovation in AI-powered test automation. This role focuses on building and maintaining intelligent test automation infrastructure on AWS and CloudBees, with emphasis on self-healing scripts and AI-driven testing solutions. Key Responsibilities " Design, develop, and maintain automated test scripts and frameworks " Deploy and configure reliable automation assets in CloudBees CI/CD pipelines " Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with automation infrastructure " Create AI-based automation solutions using AWS Bedrock and frameworks like LangChain " Integrate AI agents and solutions with existing automation platforms " Implement self-healing test scripts and Intelligent Test Automation (ITA) strategies " Apply context engineering to ensure AI-driven testing relevance and coverage Required Technical Skills " Programming Languages: Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, SQL, Unix Shell " AI/ML Frameworks: AWS Bedrock, LangChain, Pandas, and other popular Machine Learning libraries " Test Automation: Selenium, Playwright, API testing frameworks " Cloud & DevOps: AWS services, Docker, Kubernetes, Git " CI/CD: CloudBees, Jenkins, pipeline automation " Infrastructure: Test environment setup and maintenance Key Qualifications " Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, or related field " 5+ years of experience in software testing and test automation " Proven experience with AI tools for test generation, refactoring, and self-healing " Strong understanding of DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines " Experience building and scaling testing agents " Knowledge of context engineering for AI-driven testing Preferred Skills " Experience with modern testing frameworks beyond Selenium " Background in machine learning or AI applications " Experience with microservices and containerized applications Soft Skills " Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities " Excellent communication and collaboration skills " Adaptability to rapidly evolving AI and automation technologies " Strategic thinking with focus on testing efficiency and coverage " Self-motivated with ability to work independently What We Offer " Opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI and automation technologies " Collaborative environment focused on innovation " Professional development in AI/ML and cloud technologies EEO: Mindlance is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of Minority/Gender/Disability/Religion/LGBTQI/Age/Veterans. Skills: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Analysis Skills, Application Programming Interface (API), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) Agents, Automation, Automation Engineering, Cloud Computing, Communication Skills, Computer Science, Consulting, Continuous Deployment/Delivery, Continuous Integration, DevOps, Docker, Git, Identify Issues, Java, JavaScript, Jenkins, Machine Learning, Problem Solving Skills, Programming Languages, Python Programming/Scripting Language, Refactoring, SQL (Structured Query Language), Scripting (Scripting Languages), Selenium, Software Design for Test (SDET), Software Engineering, Software Testing, Team Player, Test Automation, Test Harness, Test Scripts, Test Tools, Testing, Unix Operating Systems, Unix Shell Programming About the Company: Mindlance

Job highlights

•Role: SDET / Automation Engineer (AI / Automation)
•Company: Mindlance
•Location: Washington, District of Columbia, US
•Type: Contract
•Experience: Mid
•Seniority: Mid
•Posted: Recently

Key skills: Selenium · Playwright · Jenkins · Docker · Kubernetes · Java · Python · JavaScript · TypeScript · AWS

How to prepare for this interview

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

1Revise Selenium deeply — locator strategy, waits, parallelisation, and how you'd structure the framework from scratch. Selenium interview Q&A →
2Read through the general QA/SDET interview prep guide to refresh core testing concepts. Job Interview Prep →
3Warm up on SQL joins, group-bys, and window functions — most QA rounds include a data-validation query. SQL Q&A →
4Do at least one AI mock interview end-to-end so you're comfortable narrating your answers under time. 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.Explain the Page Object Model and how you'd structure it in Selenium.
Q2.How do you handle dynamic waits without using Thread.sleep in Selenium?
Q3.How does Playwright's auto-waiting differ from Selenium's explicit waits?
Q4.Walk through how you'd parallelise Playwright tests in CI with sharding.
Q5.Write a SQL query to find duplicates across two columns and how you'd fix them in test data.

Rehearse with AI Mock Interview Full interview prep guide

Salary context

Compensation not disclosed.

Mindlance hasn't disclosed a salary range for this mid-level role. Check our QA/SDET salary benchmarks to anchor your ask for Washington, District of Columbia, US.

See QA/SDET salary benchmarks →