Senior Engineer in Test, Alpaca

• The ideal candidate will have a strong background in software development, a passion for quality, and deep expertise in testing modern web and mobile applications in a fast-paced, agile SaaS environment
• Strong proficiency in JavaScript/TypeScript and familiarity with modern React/React Native development
• Hands-on experience with frontend testing tools such as Playwright (required), Jest or Vitest
• Experience with mobile test automation frameworks (e.g., Detox, Appium, Maestro, or similar)
• Experience designing UI testing strategies for frontend architectures, including routing, state management, API mocking, and asynchronous flows
• Experience with REST/gRPC API testing and contract validation (OpenAPI/Protobuf)
• Strong understanding of CI/CD workflows (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.)
• Familiarity with modern cloud environments (GCP, AWS, etc.) in the context of leveraging dev/test environments
• Understanding of containerized development workflows (Docker), not as a primary responsibility but as a useful skill
• Knowledge of web security basics including authentication (JWT/OAuth) and negative testing patterns
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities with a strong attention to detail
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain testing concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Collaborative mindset with experience working in agile, cross-functional teams
• Demonstrated leadership in testing practices and the ability to mentor team members effectively
• Adaptability and comfort in fast-paced SaaS product environments
• 5+ years as an SDET, Fullstack QA Engineer, or Quality Engineer with significant automation experience
• Proven track record of testing high-quality web and/or mobile applications (preferably React/TypeScript and React Native) and SaaS products
• Demonstrated experience designing and building automated test frameworks from the ground up
• Experience testing systems where errors have real financial or regulatory impact (e.g., trading, payments, ledgering, or custody systems)
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Experience or understanding of financial markets

Desirable

• Alpaca is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Engineer in Test (SDET) to join our dynamic and growing team
• In this pivotal role, you will be instrumental in ensuring the quality, reliability, and scalability of our frontend applications and the APIs that power them
• You will be a key contributor to our engineering culture, championing best practices in test automation, applications quality, and developer enablement
• As a Senior Engineer in Test, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and executing comprehensive testing strategies for our React/TypeScript applications, along with supporting backend services where appropriate
• You will work closely with software developers, product managers, and other stakeholders to identify testing requirements and build robust UI, integration, end-to-end and mobile automation testing frameworks that ensure exceptional user experience and product quality
• You will serve as the subject matter expert for testing across the organization—enabling teams to upskill, adopt effective testing practices, and ramp up their automation efforts
• Your leadership will help elevate our approach to frontend and full-stack quality, ensuring our products are both reliable and delightful to use
• Design, develop, and implement comprehensive test strategies for our React/TypeScript applications, supporting services and public facing APIs
• Ensure strong coverage of functional and non-functional requirements in collaboration with Product Engineering teams
• Define testing approaches for component, integration, and end-to-end user flows
• Build, maintain, and evolve our automated testing frameworks using tools such as Playwright, React Testing Library, and Jest/Vitest
• Establish patterns, utilities, fixtures, and best practices that scale across multiple teams and applications
• Integrate automated testing into CI pipelines to ensure fast, reliable feedback loops
• Develop robust automated E2E test suites for core user journeys, error paths, authentication flows, and complex UIs
• Improve reliability, consistency, and speed of UI tests by refining mocking strategies, API stubbing, and data setup
• Ensure cross-browser and cross-device test coverage when relevant
• Implement and maintain API integration tests used by frontend applications
• Implement and maintain API and contract tests for high-performance, low-latency public facing APIs
• Validate frontend–backend interactions with a focus on user-facing behavior, correctness, consistency and idempotency when applicable
• Enhance CI build pipelines for frontend test execution, parallelization, and reporting
• Optimize test reliability, flakiness detection, and runtime performance
• Work closely with frontend and full-stack engineers to embed testing best practices into the development lifecycle
• Participate in design reviews, grooming sessions, and architecture discussions to ensure quality considerations are addressed early
• Advocate for a strong quality engineering culture across the organization
• Mentor engineers in writing effective unit, integration, and E2E tests for React/TypeScript applications
• Provide sample tests, pair-programming sessions, documentation, and workshops to help teams adopt the testing frameworks
• Champion a mindset of continuous improvement