Senior QA Engineer – Performance Testing

About Appen

Appen is a leader in AI enablement for critical tasks such as model improvement, supervision, and evaluation. To do this we leverage our global crowd of over one million skilled contractors, speaking over 180 languages and dialects, representing 130 countries. In addition, we utilize the industry's most advanced AI-assisted data annotation platform to collect and label various types of data like images, text, speech, audio, and video.

Our data is crucial for building and continuously improving the world's most innovative artificial intelligence systems and Appen is already trusted by the world's largest technology companies. Now with the explosion of interest in generative AI, Appen is helping leaders in automotive, financial services, retail, healthcare, and governments the confidence to deploy world-class AI products.

At Appen, we are purpose driven. Our fundamental role in AI is to ensure all models are helpful, honest, and harmless, so we firmly believe in unlocking the power of AI to build a better world. We have a learn-it-all culture that values perspective, growth, and innovation. We are customer-obsessed, action-oriented, and celebrate winning together.

At Appen, we are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

As a Senior QA Engineer / Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET), you will play a pivotal role in maintaining the high-quality standard of our software products. This involves in-depth involvement in the entire software development life cycle (SDLC), primarily focusing on the design and implementation of testing frameworks and the execution of automated tests evaluating the performance of the applications. You should be capable of creating robust test plans, cases, and strategies, and working closely with cross-functional teams to ensure product requirements are met. You will be expected to take a proactive role in identifying, reporting, and troubleshooting software issues. If you have a passion for delivering high-quality, reliable software, and enjoy working in a fast-paced, agile environment, this position could be a perfect fit for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Collect non-functional test requirements, analyze data and developing workload patterns, develop performance strategy and implement
• Establish, maintain, and update Performance Test plans and Test cases/ Test scripts.
• Design realistic test scenarios that simulate real-world usage patterns
• Establish performance baselines and benchmarks
• Execute various types of performance tests (Load, Stress, Spike, Endurance, Scalability)
• Monitor system resources (CPU, Memory, Network, Database) during test execution
• Collect and analyze performance metrics and KPIs
• Identify performance bottlenecks and degradation patterns, root causes of performance issues
• Experience with APM tools and performance monitoring
• Identify, document, and communicate software defects to cross-functional teams and ensure timely resolution
• Analyse test results and generate comprehensive performance reports
• Provide recommendations for performance optimization
• Collaborate with development and platform engineering teams to implement performance improvements
• Mentor junior team members, providing guidance on performance testing, defect detection, bug reporting, and debugging.
  
  

Qualification Requirements

• 5-8 years of experience in a Performance Test Engineering role, ideally with an SDET background.
• Undergraduate/Post Graduate Degree in Computer Science or a related technical field.
• Comprehensive understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and established test methodologies.
• Proficiency in performance testing tools (especially JMeter)
• Experience with monitoring and profiling tools (especially New Relic)
• Knowledge of web technologies and protocols (HTTP/HTTPS, WebSocket, REST APIs)
• Experience in Planning and Execution of Performance Testing.
• Understanding of database performance and optimization
• Experience with cloud platforms and distributed systems
• Familiarity with containerization and microservices architecture
• Self-motivated and detail-oriented with strong problem-solving skills. Capable of working both independently and collaboratively to resolve complex issues.
• Experience and having an ability to work in a high-paced, dynamic environment, adapting to rapid changes in web application technology in scrum-based agile environment.
• Experience with mobile app performance testing
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines
• Understanding of security testing and its impact on performance
• Continual learner with a passion for new technologies.
  
  

Appen is the global leader in data for the AI Lifecycle with more than 25 years’ experience in data sourcing, annotation, and model evaluation. Through our expertise, platform, and global crowd, we enable organizations to launch the world’s most innovative artificial intelligence products with speed and at scale. Appen maintains the industry’s most advanced AI-assisted data annotation platform and boasts a global crowd of more than 1 million contributors worldwide, speaking more than 235 languages. Our products and services make Appen a trusted partner to leaders in technology, automotive, finance, retail, healthcare, and government. Appen has customers and offices globally.