Senior Technical Engineering Manager, Software Development Engineer in Test

Job Description

Position Overview As a Senior Technical Engineering Manager, SDET at Alkami, you will lead, mentor, and scale a team of Software Development Engineers in Test (SDETs) responsible for delivering high-quality, scalable, and reliable automation frameworks and testing solutions. This role blends technical leadership with hands-on execution ? you?ll spend approximately 20?30% of your time coding, reviewing frameworks, and contributing to automation architecture. You will own and evolve Alkami?s quality engineering strategy, driving quality-first practices across multiple product domains. Partnering closely with Engineering, Product, DevOps, and Security, you will embed quality early in the lifecycle through shift-left testing, continuous validation, and observability-driven feedback loops. As a senior leader, you?ll focus on scaling people, processes, and platforms to enable reliable, fast, and secure software delivery at enterprise scale. Key Responsibilities Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of SDETs focused on automation across Web, Mobile, and API layers. Contribute hands-on (20?30%) to the design, architecture, and development of automation frameworks, tools, and libraries. Architect and evolve scalable automation frameworks and testing infrastructure to enhance reliability, maintainability, and execution velocity. Define and execute enterprise-level quality strategies covering functional, regression, integration, exploratory, and performance testing. Collaborate with cross-functional leaders to design and implement holistic testing strategies that support rapid, high-quality releases. Integrate automation into CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins or GitHub Actions to enforce quality gates and early defect detection. Drive performance, load, and scalability testing (e.g., JMeter, Gatling) and incorporate observability metrics into quality dashboards. Define and monitor key quality KPIs (e.g., defect escape rate, automation coverage, stability). Champion modern testing practices such as shift-left testing, mocking, service virtualization, and risk-based validation. Ensure test environment reliability, test data management, and automation scalability for rapid delivery cycles. Lead hiring, onboarding, and upskilling initiatives for SDETs, fostering a culture of inclusion, ownership, and continuous learning. Represent Quality Engineering in enterprise programs, influencing architecture and design decisions to strengthen reliability and customer trust. Qualifications Required Bachelor?s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience). 10+ years of experience in software or quality engineering, including 5+ years in technical leadership or management of SDET/QA teams. Proficiency in Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, or Python. Deep expertise with automation tools such as Playwright, Selenium, Appium, JUnit/TestNG, RestAssured, and Postman. Proven track record in designing and scaling test automation frameworks in microservices or cloud-based architectures. Experience integrating automation into CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, etc.). Strong understanding of performance testing (e.g., JMeter, Gatling) and analyzing system-level metrics. Solid grasp of testing pyramid principles, service virtualization, and test data management. Exceptional communication, collaboration, and influencing skills across teams and stakeholders. Analytical and data-driven approach to improving product quality and release velocity. Preferred Experience in cloud-native environments (AWS preferred: Lambda, EKS, CloudFront, etc.). Familiarity with observability and monitoring tools (Datadog, Grafana, CloudWatch). Background in regulated domains (e.g., FinTech), with exposure to compliance testing and secure test data management. Understanding of modern reliability practices such as chaos engineering, contract testing, and canary deployments. Why Join Alkami Be part of a high-growth FinTech innovator building the future of digital banking. Work with cutting-edge technology and modern quality engineering practices. Lead an impactful team that shapes the reliability and performance of products used by millions.