Founding SDET

Join our rapidly growing AI startup as a Founding SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test) and own the end-to-end quality strategy for our product. This role is for an exceptional engineer who combines strategic test planning with hands-on automation, enabling us to deliver reliable, scalable AI-powered experiences to our rapidly expanding customer base. As a founding team member, you’ll work closely with our founders and product teams to define, build, and scale Plotline’s QA processes from the ground up.

Plotline is backed by Elevation Capital and powers user experiences for customers like Dream11, Upstox, Zepto, and more.

Why This Role Matters

• Build the QA vision and systems for a high-growth, product-led AI company

• Work directly with founders to influence core product architecture and release processes

• Ensure every user touchpoint is robust, reliable, and delightful at scale

We’re seeking a rare mix of deep technical expertise, hands-on test engineering, and entrepreneurial drive to set our quality bar high from day one.

About This Role

Key challenges you’ll solve:

• Quality Velocity: Delivering high test coverage with fast iteration and minimal bottlenecks

• Infrastructure from Scratch: Designing scalable and maintainable automation frameworks for end-to-end and integration testing

This is an opportunity to shape our entire approach to shipping bulletproof products and develop expertise in testing complex AI-driven systems at a scaling startup.

Outcomes Expected

• Q1 Objectives: Set up robust automation frameworks and integrate them into the CI/CD pipeline

• Year 1 Objectives: Build processes and tooling that enable fast, safe, and reliable product delivery, with quality metrics showing measurable improvements

Responsibilities

Test Engineering & Automation

• Test Strategy: Develop and implement comprehensive QA strategies across functional, integration, and system testing

• Automation Ownership: Architect, build, and maintain automated testing frameworks for web, APIs, and backend systems

• CI/CD Integration: Ensure that quality gates and automated checks are integral to the deployment pipeline

• Tooling: Evaluate, introduce, and maintain testing tools tailored to our product and scale

Product Quality & Release Engineering

• Bug Prevention: Engage early in product design and architecture reviews to reduce defects before code is written

• Test Case Development: Write and maintain detailed, reusable, and effective test cases

• Performance & Security: Design tests for scalability, performance, and security, especially for AI/ML features

• Release Readiness: Define release criteria, support releases, and ensure smooth rollouts

Collaboration & Culture

• Developer Productivity: Partner with engineers to make testing easy, fast, and effective

• Documentation: Drive creation of testing documentation and best practices

Requirements

Professional Experience

• 4–6 years of experience in test engineering (SDET, QA Automation, or equivalent roles)

• Proven track record building automation frameworks and driving QA for B2B SaaS or AI/ML products

• Experience as a founding or early team QA/SDET is a major plus

Technical Proficiency

• Languages & Frameworks: Deep proficiency in at least one programming language (Python, JavaScript, Java, or similar)

• Automation Tools: Hands-on experience with modern test automation tools (Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, or similar)

• CI/CD: Familiarity with CI/CD tooling (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CircleCI, etc.)

• API Testing: Strong command of REST API and load/performance testing

Core Competencies

Quality Leadership

• Pragmatic Ownership: Balances test coverage with speed and business needs

• Process Builder: Establishes scalable test and release processes that will grow with the team

Technical Execution

• Framework Design: Engineers holistic, maintainable automation systems

• Hands-On Delivery: Personally implements and maintains test automation with high code quality

• Debugging: Skilled at identifying root causes of complex failures

Collaboration & Communication

• Team Player: Works side-by-side with developers, product, and ops to drive a quality culture

• Clarity: Explains complex technical concepts clearly, in writing and meetings

Startup Agility

• Fast Iteration: Acts quickly on feedback and balances perfection with speed

• Resourcefulness: Delivers results with lean resources and creative approaches

Growth Mindset

• Continuously evolves testing strategies as the product and team scale

Ready to define how a fast-growing AI company ships faultless products? If you’re passionate about building the foundations for product quality and reliability—from zero to one and beyond—we want to talk!