Software Engineer in Quality, Automation & AI

Software Engineer in Quality, Automation & AI 

Role Summary

The Software Engineer in Quality, Automation & AI ,at inKind plays a critical role in ensuring the quality, performance, and reliability of the applications that power seamless dining experiences for our restaurant partners and their guests. You’ll design automation frameworks, perform exploratory testing, and help shape the future of quality engineering at inKind.You will be embedded in a cross-functional product pod, owning quality for a specific area of the platform.

This is a hands-on, engineering-focused role that blends automation, manual testing, and modern AI-powered testing approaches. You will work closely with product and engineering teams to identify risks early, build high-quality systems, and elevate the entire QA function. As part of a fast-moving dev environment, you will be encouraged to think beyond traditional QA boundaries and contribute to broader product and engineering goals.

Who You Are

• Technically Fluent: You have strong programming fundamentals and can build robust automation with modern tooling
• Curious & Exploratory: You dig deep to uncover edge cases and understand how systems behave under real-world conditions
• AI-Inspired: You’re  excited to explore Generative AI and AI-powered testing tools to improve efficiency and coverage
• Quality-Focused: You balance automation with hands-on testing, choosing the right approach for the problem
• Startup-Minded: You adapt quickly, work autonomously, and thrive in an environment where quality ownership is shared across teams
• Collaborative & Clear: You partner closely with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to deliver exceptional user experiences

Responsibilities

Test Automation & Engineering

• Design, build, and maintain scalable, reusable automation frameworks for web, mobile, and API testing
• Implement automated suites that integrate into CI/CD pipelines and improve release confidence
• Leverage AI- and ML-powered testing tools to enhance coverage, speed, and overall QA intelligence

Manual & Exploratory Testing

• Conduct hands-on functional, regression, and exploratory testing across inKind’s apps and platform
• Identify edge cases, user experience gaps, and defects through deep investigative testing
• Apply risk-based testing practices to prioritize where time and focus matter most

Pod-Based Collaboration

This role will be embedded within a cross-functional product pod (engineering, product, design) and will spearhead quality for the product area within the pod. The Quality Engineer is expected to actively contribute throughout the development lifecycle — from requirement validation and test strategy to automation, exploratory testing, and production readiness. You'll thrive with ambiguity, turning evolving requirements into clear test strategies and artifacts.

Quality Leadership & Collaboration

• Partner with engineering and product teams to define testing strategies throughout the development lifecycle
• Advocate for quality by raising risks early, validating requirements, and improving testability
• Take ownership of quality outcomes for your product area within a cross-functional pod, from design through production

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Experiment with Generative AI tools to enhance efficiency and expand automation coverage
• Drive improvements to test frameworks, tooling, and processes across engineering teams
• Contribute ideas that impact product functionality, reliability, and customer experience, not just QA processes

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of combined automation and manual testing experience
• Proficiency in at least one programming language: TypeScript, Java, Python, or JavaScript
• Experience with modern automation tools such as Playwright or testRigor; familiarity with mobile automation (Appium, Maestro) and AI-based testing platforms is a plus
• Strong understanding of manual testing,