Staff QA Engineer

Primer exists to make the world a safer place.  We do this by providing trusted decision-ready AI to the world's most critical organizations.  Our software enables leaders, operators, and analysts to better understand the changing world around us in real time and make informed decisions when the stakes are high.  Primer has offices in San Francisco, Pasadena, CA and Arlington, VA.  For more information, please visit https://primer.ai/

As a Staff QA Engineer at Primer, you will play a critical role in ensuring the quality, reliability, and performance of our AI-powered solutions. You will work closely with our engineering, product, and design teams to develop and execute test plans, automate testing workflows, and improve the overall testing infrastructure. Your contributions will help deliver robust and scalable AI-driven applications that meet the high standards of our customers.

We are looking for an engineer who is passionate about quality, enjoys working with complex systems, and thrives in a fast-paced environment.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and execute comprehensive test plans, test cases, and automated test scripts to ensure software quality and reliability.
• Work closely with software engineers to identify, document, and troubleshoot bugs and performance issues.
• Design and implement automated testing frameworks for functional, regression, and performance testing.
• Collaborate with product managers and designers to define acceptance criteria and ensure test coverage across all features.
• Advocate for best practices in testing, including CI/CD integration, test-driven development (TDD), and behavior-driven development (BDD).
• Conduct exploratory and usability testing to identify edge cases and enhance user experience.
• Monitor and analyze test results, report defects, and work with the engineering team to drive resolutions.
• Familiarity with testing and troubleshooting APIs and experience using PyTest for API testing

Relevant Skills and Experience

• 10+ years of experience in software quality assurance, test automation, or related roles.
• Strong proficiency in automated testing frameworks like Playwright
• Experience with API testing tools like Postman, and REST Assured.
• Hands-on experience with scripting languages such as Python / PyTest, JavaScript / Jest, or Golang.
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools (e.g., GitHub Actions).
• Strong understanding of software testing methodologies, including unit, integration, regression, and performance testing.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

Preferred

• Experience working with AI/ML-driven applications and NLP-based systems.
• Familiarity with security testing and penetration testing best practices.
• Hands-on experience with performance testing tools like JMeter, Locust, or k6.
• Experience in a fast-paced startup or SaaS environment.

The annual cash compensation range for this position is US $175,000 to US $225,000. Final compensation will be determined based on experience and skills and may vary from the range listed above.

Primer works closely with the U.S. defense and intelligence establishment. Any offer of employment is conditioned on an applicant or employee being able to meet any applicable government contract requirements. The company may rescind any offer of employment to an applicant or terminate an employee if the applicant or employee is unable to perform the functions of the position in compliance with applicable government contracts or if an applicant or employee makes a false attestation of compliance.

What We Offer

We are a series D funded company with investors from Addition, USIT, Lux Capital, Amplify Partners, Addition Capital, Bloomberg Beta, and others.  We are intentional around building a diverse and inclusive team of subject matter experts to better advocate for the needs of our users. 

We care a lot about our work and about the well being of our team. We encourage everyone to work at a sustainable pace and have a flexible vacation policy for team members to utilize, Wellness Days and 100% paid leave for parents of growing families.

We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. This includes full medical, dental, and vision coverage, fertility benefits through Carrot, mental health coverage on demand with Headspace Care+, Gympass+ Membership via Wellhub, One Medical Membership, 401(k), remote work stipends, and monthly internet allowance.

Primer is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action 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. Please see the United States Department of Labor's EEO poster and EEO poster supplement for additional information.

If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at info@primer.com.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.