Sr. Software Engineer, Test (Software Development Engineer Test)

Ledgebrook is an InsurTech MGA on a mission to bring Specialty insurance into the modern era. Burdened with legacy technology and processes, the industry has not kept pace with the speed of innovation seen in other sectors. Positioned at the cutting edge of the next generation of InsurTech, Ledgebrook offers the best of both worlds: innovative world-class technology deployed by a leadership team armed with over 100 years of insurance expertise.

Our long-term vision is to become a diversified full stack Specialty re/insurer competing with legacy carriers in product lines & markets across the globe. To get there, Ledgebrook will build our premium base by rolling out a new Specialty product every ~6 months until we prove enough traction to raise a balance sheet, become a full stack carrier and eventually compete in the reinsurance markets. Our initial product will be domestic primary and excess GL E&S policies sourced via wholesale brokers.

At Ledgebrook, everything we do is driven by our culture: Care, Strive, Thrive Together. To succeed in modernizing the industry, we must first succeed in changing the way we do business. Talent density is our north star—fewer, better people working together as one. To that end we’ve replaced all individual incentives with generous equity packages—we play as a team, we win as a team. Everyone benefits handsomely from Ledgebrook’s success. 

Ledgebrook is a fully-remote US based company backed by top venture investors including Brand Foundry & American Family Ventures.

About the Role

We are seeking a meticulous Quality Assurance Engineer to join our dynamic team and take ownership of ensuring the quality and reliability of our software products. As a Quality Assurance Engineer, you will play a crucial role in designing, implementing and executing test strategies, executing test plans, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to keep and improve the automation coverage and identify and address eventual defects. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of groundbreaking insurance solutions in a fast-paced startup environment.

What you’ll do

Architect Automation Frameworks: Design, develop, and maintain scalable automated testing frameworks using Playwright and TypeScript/JavaScript.

Implement Design Patterns: Apply industry-standard test design patterns (e.g., Page Object Model, Screenplay Pattern,  App Actions, or Singleton) to ensure a maintainable and robust codebase.

Optimize CI/CD Integration: Integrate automated suites into CI/CD pipelines to provide rapid feedback loops for the engineering team.

Technical Collaboration: Partner with Software Engineers during the design phase to advocate for "testability" and influence the development of features from the ground up.

Advanced Locator Strategy: Develop and enforce sophisticated locator strategies to ensure test stability and reduce flakiness across dynamic web applications.

Quality Analytics: Analyze test execution data to identify quality bottlenecks in any of the application areas and provide actionable insights to the team.

Version Control Mastery: Manage test code through Git, participating in code reviews to ensure the quality of the automation suite itself.

Continuous Quality Improvement: Continuously identify opportunities to enhance testing processes and improve efficiency.

Documentation: Document test procedures, test results, and defects in a clear and concise manner.

Living Documentation & BDD: Advocate for and implement Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) using Gherkin syntax to create "living documentation." Transform requirements into executable specifications that clearly communicate test procedures, results, and defects to both technical and business stakeholders.

Strategic Manual Testing: Conduct targeted manual or exploratory testing when necessary, primarily for new feature discovery or complex edge cases that aren't yet ready for automation.

Be a Team Player: Be always proactive, participate in Agile development processes, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and sprint reviews.

Mentor Developers: Partner with software engineers to provide training and guidance on writing effective unit, integration, and smoke tests, elevating overall code quality and reducing downstream automation needs.

Product Roadmap Alignment: Collaborate closely with Product Managers to review upcoming features and roadmaps, proactively designing test strategies that anticipate new functionality and ensure seamless quality coverage from the outset.

About you

Here at Ledgebrook we are passionate about creating a team that is on a continuous learning journey and that shares our excitement about building a company from the ground up. We don’t just want someone to follow a checklist; we want a builder who is:

• Innovative: You aren't satisfied with the status quo and constantly seek to optimize test execution time and reliability.
• Growth-Oriented: You have a hunger for mentorship and staying current with the evolving JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem.
• Agile & Urgent: You balance the "keener sense of urgency" with the architectural discipline to "do it right" the first time.
• Principled: You hold yourself and your code to high standards, maintaining a "do the right thing" mentality in a high-performing, non-toxic environment.
• Proactive: A strong drive and desire to win together as a high-performing team

Requirements

Must haves

• Automation Expertise: Proven experience as an SDET or Automation Engineer with a special focus on Playwright and/or Serenity-JS.
• QA Expertise: Proven experience in software quality assurance, with a strong understanding of QA methodologies, types of testing and best practices.
• Code Foundation: Strong foundations in TypeScript and JavaScript, with the ability to write modular, reusable, and maintainable code for end-to-end, integration, and unit testing layers.
• Strategic Test Design: Deep understanding of test design patterns and how to structure a test suite for long-term maintenance.
• Locator Strategies: Expert-level knowledge of CSS selectors, XPath, and different locators strategies to handle complex DOM structures.
• Version Control: Advanced knowledge of Git (branching, merging, pull requests).
• SDLC/Agile: A solid understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle and how automation fits into a fast-paced Sprint cycle.
• Analytical Mindset: The ability to debug complex failures and differentiate between environment issues, script flakiness, and genuine application bugs.
• Restful APIs: Strong knowledge in testing APIs.
• Communication Skills: Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a team environment.

Nice to haves

• Python Skills: Experience with Python for scripting
• Other Automation Frameworks: Selenium, Serenity-BDD, Cypress
• Full-Stack Testing: Experience testing mobile, mobile-responsive web applications and APIs (RESTful/GraphQL).
• DevOps Exposure: Experience configuring GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or similar CI/CD tools.
• Performance Testing: Familiarity with load testing tools (e.g., k6 or Artillery).
• Industry Experience: Prior experience in the Insurtech or Fintech sectors.
• Education: A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Virtualization: Experience with Docker, docker-compose and/or any other virtualization tool

Benefits