Software Development Engineer in Test — Retail Engineering

Apple’s IS&T Retail Engineering team is seeking a SDET to own quality across our retail ecosystem — spanning eCommerce backend services, SAP integrations, and cross-functional end-to-end workflows. This is a hands-on technical leadership role: you’ll architect automation frameworks, lead testing strategy across multiple concurrent projects, and drive quality standards organization-wide.

Responsibilities

• You’ll work at the intersection of backend development, test automation, and program coordination — ensuring that features shipping to and supporting retail systems meet Apple’s bar for reliability, performance, and customer experience.

Test Architecture & Automation Infrastructure

• Design, architect, and maintain scalable, modular automated test frameworks (Java-based) for backend services, REST APIs, SAP workflows, and web/mobile applications.
• Build and integrate automation suites into CI/CD pipelines to support continuous deployment across retail platform environments.
• Drive API testing (REST Assured/Karate), UI testing (Playwright/Selenium), mobile testing (Appium/XCUITest), and enterprise SAP automation.
• Define end-to-end test data strategies, mock services, and environment setups for complex integration testing.

Backend Tooling & Systems Design

• Design and build custom backend test tooling, test harness applications, and execution infrastructure using Java and Spring Boot.
• Architect solutions for multi-threaded, high-throughput test execution environments to minimize build/test cycle times.
• Work with SQL and NoSQL databases for automated test data validation and system state verification.
• Maintain clean code standards, system design documentation, and framework guides.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Quality Strategy

• Lead and coordinate testing efforts across multiple concurrent retail projects with overlapping release schedules.
• Establish organization-wide QA standards, testing guidelines, and automation best practices.
• Coordinate cross-functional onsite and offshore engineering activities.
• Conduct risk assessments, define mitigation strategies, and present quality updates to Senior Management.
• Partner with Product Managers, Developers, and Business Stakeholders to translate complex requirements into robust test strategies.

Quality Advocacy & Continuous Improvement

• Advocate for "shift-left" testing practices, testability in software design, and high quality standards across teams.
• Monitor quality metrics, track automation coverage goals, and provide actionable status reports to stakeholders.
• Proactively identify technical bottlenecks, environment risks, and systemic blockers.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of professional experience in software development and test automation.
• 5+ years of hands-on development experience in Java, including building applications/tooling with Spring Boot or equivalent frameworks.
• 3+ years leading or coordinating cross-functional QA/testing initiatives across global teams.
• Hands-on experience architecting automated testing frameworks for backend APIs (REST Assured, Karate, or similar) and web/mobile UI (Playwright, Selenium, Appium, XCUITest).
• Experience with enterprise integration or SAP workflow automation (e.g., Worksoft, Tosca, or equivalent).
• Solid understanding of the SDLC, STLC, test data management, and CI/CD tools (Git, Jenkins, Docker/Kubernetes).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to articulate technical risks and strategy to Senior Management and cross-functional partners.

Preferred

• Experience testing large-scale eCommerce or enterprise retail platforms.
• Secondary scripting skills in Python for test data manipulation, automation scripting, or tooling.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) for distributed test execution environments.
• Exposure to messaging queues/event-driven architectures (Kafka, RabbitMQ) and microservice validation.
• Familiarity with AI/ML-assisted testing tools and frameworks (GenAI integrations).
• Track record of performance, load, and scalability testing in distributed environments.