Quality Assurance Lead - SDET - Java/API Testing

Position Overview

At PNC, our people are our greatest differentiator and competitive advantage in the markets we serve. We are all united in delivering the best experience for our customers. We work together each day to foster an inclusive workplace culture where all of our employees feel respected, valued and have an opportunity to contribute to the company's success. As a QA Lead within PNC's Lending Technology organization, you will be based in Pittsburgh PA, Birmingham AL or Dallas TX.

PNC is an in-office company that fosters a supportive culture where employees can thrive and achieve balance. We encourage candidates to connect with their recruiter and hiring manager to understand workplace expectations and ensure the role aligns with their goals.

PNC will not provide sponsorship for employment visas or participate in STEM OPT for this position.

Job Description

As a QA Lead (SDET), you will play a critical role in delivering high-quality, scalable, and secure applications across enterprise platforms. This role requires a hands-on technical leader with a strong Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) mindset who can design, build, and lead automation frameworks while guiding distributed QA teams.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in automation with leadership experience supporting both onshore and offshore teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead QA strategy, planning, and execution across multiple projects and agile teams

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to onshore and offshore QA teams

• Design, develop, and maintain robust automation frameworks for UI and API testing

• Act as a hands-on contributor in test automation development using Java-based frameworks

• Drive quality engineering practices aligned with SDET principles (shift-left, CI/CD integration, test-driven development)

• Collaborate with development, product, and DevOps teams to ensure high-quality deliverables

• Define and track quality metrics, test coverage, and defect trends

• Support continuous integration pipelines by integrating automated tests into CI/CD workflows

• Ensure test environments, test data management, and execution strategies are optimized

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience as a QA Lead / SDET Lead in enterprise environments

• Experience leading or coordinating work across onshore and offshore teams

• Strong programming experience in Java

• Solid expertise in API testing (RESTful services, tools/frameworks, automation)

• Hands-on automation experience with:

• Selenium with Cucumber or

• Selenium with Karate

• Demonstrated experience building and scaling automation frameworks from scratch

• Deep understanding of SDET practices and quality engineering principles

• Experience with CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, Azure DevOps, or similar)

• Strong knowledge of Agile/Scrum methodologies

Nice-to-have Qualifications

• Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP)

• Experience with performance or security testing tools

• Familiarity with containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Experience in financial services or enterprise banking environments

PNC Employees take pride in our reputation and to continue building upon that we expect our employees to be:

• Customer Focused - Knowledgeable of the values and practices that align customer needs and satisfaction as primary considerations in all business decisions and able to leverage that information in creating customized customer solutions.

• Managing Risk - Assessing and effectively managing all of the risks associated with their business objectives and activities to ensure they adhere to and support PNC's Enterprise Risk Management Framework.

Qualifications

Successful candidates must demonstrate appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities for a role. Listed below are skills, competencies, work experience, education, and required certifications/licensures needed to be successful in this position.

Preferred Skills

Analytical Thinking, API Testing, Controls Testing, Corporate Governance, Java Testing, Quality Assurance (QA), Quality Support, REST API Testing, Selenium, Software Testing, Test Case Development, Usability Testing

Competencies

Accuracy and Attention to Detail, Analytical Thinking, Influencing, Process Management, Products and Services, Software Development Life Cycle, Software Quality Assurance And Testing, Technical Documentation Management

Work Experience

Roles at this level typically require a university / college degree, with 3+ years of relevant / direct industry experience. Certifications are often desired. In lieu of a degree, a comparable combination of education, job specific certification(s), and experience (including military service) may be considered.

Education

Bachelors

Certifications

No Required Certification(s)

Licenses

No Required License(s)

Benefits

PNC offers a comprehensive range of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility, options for full-time employees include: medical/prescription drug coverage (with a Health Savings Account feature), dental and vision options; employee and spouse/child life insurance; short and long-term disability protection; 401(k) with PNC match, pension and stock purchase plans; dependent care reimbursement account; back-up child/elder care; adoption, surrogacy, and doula reimbursement; educational assistance, including select programs fully paid; a robust wellness program with financial incentives.

In addition, PNC generally provides the following paid time off, depending on your eligibility: maternity and/or parental leave; up to 11 paid holidays each year; 9 occasional absence days each year, unless otherwise required by law; between 15 to 25 vacation days each year, depending on career level; and years of service.

To learn more about these and other programs, including benefits for full time and part-time employees, visit pncthrive.com .

Disability Accommodations Statement

If an accommodation is required to participate in the application process, please contact us via email at View email address on click.appcast.io . Please include "accommodation request" in the subject line title and be sure to include your name, the job ID, and your preferred method of contact in the body of the email. Emails not related to accommodation requests will not receive responses. Applicants may also call View phone number on click.appcast.io and say "Workday" for accommodation assistance. All information provided will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

At PNC we foster an inclusive and accessible workplace. We provide reasonable accommodations to employment applicants and qualified individuals with a disability who need an accommodation to perform the essential functions of their positions.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

PNC provides equal employment opportunity to qualified persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or other categories protected by law.

This position is subject to the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) and, for any registered role, the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) and/or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which prohibit the hiring of individuals with certain criminal history.

California Residents

Refer to the California Consumer Privacy Act Privacy Notice ( to gain understanding of how PNC may use or disclose your personal information in our hiring practices.