Quality Assurance Automation Engineer

📱 Quality Assurance Automation Engineer 📍 Chicago, IL | 🏢 Hybrid | 💼 Full-TimeAt Sprocket Sports, we are currently seeking a Quality Assurance Automation Engineer to join our Team. The ideal candidate has a passion for youth sports and creating best-in-class software applications that will be used by thousands of youth sports club administrators, coaches, parents and players.About SprocketSprocket Sports is a fast-growing technology company based in Chicago and a national leader in the youth sports space. Our software and services help clubs streamline operations, reduce costs, and grow faster, so they can focus on what really matters: kids playing sports. We’re also proud to be a certified Great Place to Work® 2024, with a culture that balances high standards, accountability, and fun.Role Summary:Sprocket Sports is seeking an experienced QA Automation Engineer to take ownership of quality across our youth sports club management platform. This role is critical in ensuring a reliable, scalable, and high-quality experience across web, Android, and iOS applications. You will lead the design and expansion of our automated testing strategy, build robust test infrastructure, and act as the bridge between product requirements and test coverage. This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys building systems, improving developer workflows, and driving quality across the entire SDLC.Our platform powers youth sports organizations—where reliability directly impacts real families, teams, and communities. Quality isn’t optional. This role ensures we deliver a dependable, seamless experience across every device and user touchpoint.Responsibilities:Own and expand the end-to-end automated testing strategyBuild and maintain a scalable, reliable test automation frameworkEstablish and enforce quality gates within CI/CD pipelinesEnsure high test coverage across web and mobile platformsPartner closely with Product and Engineering to ensure features are testable and well-validatedWrite and maintain Playwright E2E tests for web and mobile webExpand Appium-based test coverage for native mobile interactionsSet up, optimize, and maintain CI/CD test pipelines in Azure DevOpsReview pull requests for testability and instrumentation (e.g., data-testid usage)Triage test failures and determine root cause:Product bug vs. flaky test vs. environment issueMaintain and evolve Page Object Models and test fixturesPerform exploratory testing on new features and releasesImplement and maintain visual regression testingCreate high-quality bug reports with clear reproduction steps and evidenceLeverage AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Playwright Codegen/MCP) to accelerate test developmentOwn and improve test data strategy:Seed dataAPI mockingTest environmentsRequired Qualifications:4+ years of experience in test automation or QA engineeringHands-on experience with PlaywrightProficiency in TypeScript or JavaScriptExperience testing modern web applications (Angular or similar frameworks)Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and automation workflowsStrong analytical and problem-solving skillsExcellent communication skills and ability to collaborate with engineering and product teamsPreferred Qualifications:Experience with Appium or mobile test automationFamiliarity with Ionic or hybrid mobile appsExperience testing .NET-based backendsKnowledge of Azure and Azure DevOps pipelinesExperience with visual regression toolsExposure to test data management and environment orchestrationBachelor's degree in a Computer Science or related field.Strong attention to detail and accountability.Why Join Us?✅ Certified Great Place to Work® 2024🤝 Mission-driven team with a big vision🚀 Fast-growing startup with room to grow💼 Competitive salary + equity📊 401(k) with company match🩺 Comprehensive medical and dental🎉 A culture built on Higher Standards, Greater Accountability, and More FunThe expected base salary range for this role is $110,000 - $140,000 annually, with additional bonus and equity opportunities. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.