SDET - Conversational AI

Job Summary

We are seeking a Mid to Senior Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) to join a team developing a Conversational AI platform that delivers voice and chat experiences. The ideal candidate will own and evolve test automation frameworks, helping ensure quality, reliability, and scalability across the platform.

About the Role

This is not a traditional QA role. As an engineering-focused SDET, you will partner closely with software developers to build automated testing solutions, define testing strategies, and validate platform capabilities across APIs, backend systems, user interfaces, and AI-enabled features. You will contribute directly to sprint deliverables while helping drive engineering excellence and platform reliability.

Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future

In this role, you will:

Understand how all elements of the system software ecosystem work together and develop QA approaches and tools that fit the overall strategy

Collaborate with Product, Architecture, and Engineering teams to define test strategy, coverage goals, and acceptance criteria

Develop test strategies and create appropriate test harnesses for Conversational AI systems across Voice and Chat channels

Identify testing gaps and recommend solutions

Design, build, and maintain reusable test harnesses and frameworks that eliminate decision paralysis for engineers

Provide clear patterns for: test framework selection, test data setup, and test implementation

Create comprehensive examples and documentation so developers can write tests without reinventing solutions

Provide test infrastructure to enable engineering teams to test and own quality of the services

Support testing across Java/Node.js backends, APIs, and Conversational AI platforms

Develop specialized test strategies for conversational AI workflows and agent interactions

Build test harnesses for API-level, backend service, and end-to-end scenarios

Validate complex multi-turn conversations, intent recognition, and orchestration logic

Develop and automate Voice and Chat test plans

Be a stakeholder of the release to ensure defects are fixed per SLA and end customer experience is protected and improved

Monitor and report on test execution and quality metrics

Validate that platform changes maintain or improve customer experience

Educate and train engineers on test harnesses, frameworks, and best practices

Mentor team members on test-driven development and automation patterns

Make testing accessible—remove friction from the testing process

When harness work is complete, contribute to automated test implementation and general development items

Pair with developers on complex testing scenarios

Help close any testing gaps across the team

Work Model

At Cognizant, we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible, and we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is an onsite position requiring 5 days a week in a client or Cognizant office in in Hartford CT or Wellesley MA.

Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future

What you need to have to be considered

5+ years total software engineering experience with 3+ years focused on test automation/SDET work

A deep understanding of automation testing and ability to lead engineers in writing automation scripts/programs that aid automated testing

Strong proficiency in at least one backend language: **Java, Node.js with object-oriented design experience

API testing expertise: REST, request/response validation, mocking, contract testing.

Test framework experience: JUnit, Jest, or equivalent; experience building custom frameworks a plus

Tools and Test Platforms - SOAPUI, Postman, Bruno, Playwright, Selenium, Cucumber, Hammer and Cyara.

Voice and Chat test automation expertise and familiarity with test methodologies for conversational systems.

CI/CD pipeline knowledge: GitHub Actions, comfortable with automation in pipelines

Test data management: Experience designing and maintaining test data strategies

Full-stack testing: Comfortable testing across APIs, backends, and frontend layers

Strong communication: Ability to document patterns, mentor others, and articulate testing strategy

Familiarity with software technologies, methodologies, and applied software engineering practices such as Object-Oriented Design (OOD) and cloud software development

Experience with testing LLM/AI responses, using such approaches as LLM-as-a-judge, etc

Preferred Qualifications

Deep hands-on technical expertise in automation, developing test frameworks, tools, and APIs

Experience with conversational AI platforms

Experience with contract testing or API mocking tools

Knowledge of performance/load testing frameworks

Understanding or experience testing AI agents

Additional Information

We welcome applicants who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Even if you don’t meet every listed requirement, we encourage you to apply. Consider your transferable experience and unique skills that may bring fresh perspective to the role.

Salary and Other Compensation :

Applications will be accepted until August 23 rd , 2026.

The annual salary for this position is between $54,000 - $104,500 depending on the experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program and stock awards, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits : Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.