SDET Engineer

SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test) – Job Description

An SDET is a software engineer who develops automated tests, builds testing frameworks, validates APIs, and helps ensure software quality through coding and CI/CD integration.

Sample SDET Job Description

Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

QA Automation

API Testing

CI/CD

Test Frameworks

Key responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain automated test scripts using Python, Java, or JavaScript.
• Build and enhance automation frameworks using Playwright, Selenium, Pytest, or TestNG.
• Perform functional, regression, integration, and end-to-end testing.
• Develop API automation tests using REST Assured, Python Requests, or similar tools.
• Validate web applications, backend services, databases, and API integrations.
• Integrate automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins or GitHub Actions.
• Perform database validation using SQL queries.
• Identify, report, reproduce, and troubleshoot defects using Jira or similar tools.
• Analyze test results, investigate failures, and collaborate with developers to resolve issues.
• Use AI-assisted coding tools to accelerate test development and validate AI-generated outputs where applicable.

Required technical skills

Skill area

Common technologies

Programming

Python, Java, or JavaScript

UI automation

Playwright, Selenium

Test frameworks

Pytest, TestNG, JUnit

API testing

Postman, REST Assured, Requests

CI/CD

Jenkins, GitHub Actions

Version control

Git, GitHub

Database

SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL

Test management

Jira, Zephyr

Performance testing

JMeter

Reporting

HTML reports, Allure, screenshots and traces

Experience and qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, or a related field.
• Typically 2–5 years of experience in software testing or test automation, depending on the role.
• Strong programming and debugging skills.
• Experience designing reusable automation frameworks.
• Understanding of SDLC, STLC, Agile, and defect life cycles.
• Knowledge of API testing, CI/CD, and source control.