Back to jobs

QA Lead Engineer (AI-First Engineering Organization)

United States or Canada

Finite State partners with product security teams, the guardians of our connected world, to create transparency for their connected devices and supply chains. Our platform handles connected devices and embedded systems across all industries, including those found in enterprises, healthcare, utilities, connected vehicles, manufacturing facilities, critical infrastructure, and government entities. 

We are a fast-growing series-B company with a fully distributed workforce. Led by a team of seasoned experts, we are a mission-driven team passionate about arming our customers with the actionable insights, critical vulnerability data, and remediation guidance necessary to mitigate product risk and protect the connected attack surface. We are committed to a remote first culture.

QA Lead Engineer (AI-First Engineering Organization)

Overview

We are seeking an experienced QA Lead Engineer to drive quality strategy and execution within an AI-first development organization. This is not a traditional QA lead role — we are looking for a hands-on technical leader who can architect and implement an automated, AI-first quality framework that scales with modern software development.

In our environment, AI is a first-class partner in software creation. The QA Lead Engineer will define how quality is engineered into the product using automation, AI agents, and deep collaboration with Product and Engineering.

If you have over a decade of QA automation experience and are excited about redefining what quality means in an AI-native development lifecycle, we want to talk to you.

What You’ll Do

Quality Strategy & Technical Leadership

  • Define and own the end-to-end QA strategy for an AI-first engineering team.
  • Architect scalable, fully automated testing frameworks across backend, frontend, APIs, and AI-powered features.
  • Lead the transition from traditional QA practices to AI-driven quality engineering.
  • Establish quality metrics, SLAs, and measurable standards across the product lifecycle.
  • Serve as the technical authority on testing architecture, tooling, and best practices.

AI-Driven QA & Automation

  • Design and implement AI-agent-driven QA workflows (e.g., autonomous test generation, regression validation, autonomous testing agents).
  • Integrate LLM-based or AI-assisted tooling into CI/CD pipelines.
  • Leverage AI to improve test coverage, defect detection, root cause analysis, and release confidence.
  • Evaluate and introduce emerging AI QA tooling and frameworks.
  • Develop strategies for testing AI-based product features (e.g., model behavior validation, output consistency, guardrail enforcement).

Cross-Functional Quality Ownership

  • Partner closely with Product to define acceptance criteria, quality gates, and risk assessments.
  • Work with Engineering leadership to embed quality earlier in the development lifecycle.
  • Drive a culture where developers co-own quality and automation.
  • Lead post-incident quality reviews and implement systemic improvements.
  • Define and standardize quality processes across squads.

Hands-On Execution

  • Leverage AI to build autonomous QA systems that understand the context of product decisions, and use that context to drive the highest quality
  • Build frameworks and reusable testing infrastructure.
  • Mentor engineers on best practices in automation and AI-driven testing.

What We’re Looking For

Required Experience

  • 10+ years of experience in QA engineering, with deep expertise in automation.
  • Demonstrated thought leadership and hands on implementation experience with creating AI-driven Agentic quality systems.
  • Proven experience designing and implementing automated test frameworks at scale.
  • Strong programming skills (e.g., Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, or similar).
  • Experience with Cloud based CI/CD systems and modern DevOps practices.
  • Demonstrated technical leadership in cross-functional teams.

AI & Modern QA Experience

  • Experience using AI tools and agents in development workflows.
  • Deep experience with AI Agents and LLMs and how to test AI-driven systems.
  • Experience with autonomous test generation or AI-assisted test maintenance is highly desirable.
  • Understanding of challenges specific to testing AI systems (non-determinism, hallucination, evaluation frameworks).

Leadership & Influence

  • Strong communication skills with the ability to influence Product and Engineering leaders.
  • Experience driving process improvements across teams.
  • Ability to operate strategically while remaining hands-on.
  • A mindset focused on systems thinking, scalability, and continuous improvement.

What Success Looks Like

  • QA is largely automated and AI-driven.
  • Quality metrics are visible, measurable, and improving.
  • Developers rely on AI-driven test systems as part of daily workflows.
  • Release confidence is high with reduced regression rates.
  • Quality is embedded into the product lifecycle, not bolted on.

Why This Role Is Unique

You will help define what QA looks like in an AI-first organization. This role goes beyond writing tests — it is about designing a quality system where AI agents collaborate with engineers to proactively identify, prevent, and fix defects.

This is an opportunity to lead the evolution of quality engineering.

Compensation

Our salary ranges are categorized into two tiers based on geographic location:
  • Tier 1 (San Francisco, New York, Seattle): $175,000 - $187,000
  • Tier 2 (All Other Locations): $163,000 - $180,000
The final base salary will be determined by experience, skill set, and specific location. In addition to base pay, this role is eligible for equity and benefits.

 

About Finite State

At Finite State, we're on a mission to secure the connected world. Our platform empowers product security teams to detect vulnerabilities, manage software supply chain risks, and ensure compliance across complex device ecosystems. From IoT to critical infrastructure, we provide unparalleled visibility into firmware and software components, helping organizations protect their products and customers.

We move with urgency and intent — we’re transparent, own outcomes, put customers first, speak up, and learn fast — turning evidence into action. CLARITY is how we move fast without breaking trust.

  • C - Customer first - Learn from customers. Ship with urgency.
  • L - Leverage - Outsource the routine. Own the result.
  • A - Agency - We take responsibility—end to end.
  • R - Results - Ship value. Improve fast.
  • I - Integrity - Speak up. Experiment boldly. Be kind.
  • T - Transparency - Clear context. Faster decisions.
  • Y - "Why" - Our mission—securing the connected products humanity depends on—is the reason Finite State exists. CLARITY is how we make that mission real, every day, at speed

Bold Innovation – We push boundaries, explore new ideas, and take initiative to solve complex problems.

The Finite State platform brings visibility and control to the supply chains that create connected devices and embedded systems—all in a simple to use platform and at the scale manufacturers need to keep device production on time and on budget. After unpacking and analyzing every file, configuration, and setting in a firmware build, the platform generates a complete bill of materials for software components, identifies known and 0-day vulnerabilities, shows a contextual risk score, and provides actionable insights that product teams can use to secure their software

We are proud to be an Equal Employer Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Finite State is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Finite State? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Finite State’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.