Technical Lead, QA

Technical Lead, QA Who We Are Spectro Cloud helps platform teams and cloud providers modernize and manage infrastructure for the AI era without adding more tools or operational complexity. With PaletteAI, enterprises, public sector organizations, neoclouds and sovereign clouds can build, govern and operate full-stack environments across VMs, Kubernetes, edge, regulated and air-gapped locations, and AI infrastructure. PaletteAI Launchpads help teams start quickly with urgent outcomes such as VMware migration, token cost control or edge modernization, then scale into enterprise-wide lifecycle management, governance and fleet operations on the same platform. About The Team The Release Engineering QA team at Spectro Cloud owns the release quality of our core platforms. We are the final gate before every GA, patch, and hotfix reaches enterprise customers. We operate at the intersection of modern cloud-native technologies and release engineering discipline. The team designs and maintains automated release pipelines and regression, upgrade, and compatibility test suites across APIs, UIs, and backend services, while pioneering AI-assisted workflows to accelerate test design, execution, and coverage. Given the breadth of our enterprise offerings, we certify complex release matrices across diverse Kubernetes distributions (such as K8s, K3s, and RKE2), operating systems, cloud providers, edge topologies, and air-gapped environments. As release quality advocates, we collaborate closely with Software Engineering, DevOps, and Product teams throughout the release lifecycle. From defining release test strategies in TestRail and establishing automated CI/CD release gates to validating upgrades and verifying bug fixes, our mission is to deliver dependable, enterprise-grade releases to our global customers on a predictable cadence. Minimum Qualifications ● 12+ years of IT experience with a strong track record in software quality engineering and test automation for complex, distributed systems. ● Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. ● Deep, hands-on experience designing and building test automation frameworks from the ground up for both API and UI (must-have). ● Subject-matter expertise in Kubernetes: architecture, operators, CRDs, scheduling, storage, and multi-cluster topologies (must-have). ● Subject-matter expertise in networking: TCP/IP, DNS, load balancing, CNI plugins, service mesh, ingress/egress, and network policies (must-have). ● Hands-on experience testing AI inference workloads: GPU-based serving, model deployment frameworks (e.g., Triton, vLLM, KServe), throughput/latency benchmarking, and inference accuracy validation (must-have). ● Expert-level proficiency in Go, with production-quality code; comfortable reading and contributing to product code, not only test code. ● Extensive hands-on experience with containers and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP, or VMware/bare-metal). ● Strong proficiency in Linux-based operating systems and low-level troubleshooting/debugging (must-have). ● Demonstrated experience leading test architecture and technical direction across multiple teams as a Staff or Principal-level individual contributor. ● Proven ability to influence engineering peers and leadership without direct authority. ● Strong understanding of modern testing methodologies: contract testing, chaos/resilience testing, performance and scale testing, and CI/CD-driven quality gates. Preferred Qualifications ● Deep experience leading development of automation using Go-based test frameworks like Godog at scale. ● Experience testing Kubernetes lifecycle management, cluster APIs (CAPI), or edge/IoT Kubernetes deployments. ● Experience with LLM/GenAI inference stacks, distributed inference, and GPU cluster operations. ● CKA, CKAD, or CKS certification. ● Experience with observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry) applied to test infrastructure. ● Prior contributions to open-source Kubernetes or cloud-native testing projects. ● Track record of setting and delivering on multi-quarter technical strategy for quality/automation organizations. ● Experience partnering with customer-facing teams on escalations and driving preventative quality improvements from field learnings. What We Offer The On-Target Earnings for this role is $280,000-$304,0000 + Equity. Comprehensive Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including 100% employer-paid base-level coverage for employees. Retirement Savings: Access to a company-sponsored retirement savings plan. Time Off: Flexible paid time off (PTO), 12 paid company holidays, and volunteer time off to support the causes you care about. Paid Family Leave: Up to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and 8 weeks of paid paternity leave. Office Perks: Catered lunches on in-office days and a collaborative, team-oriented work environment. This location for this role is based out of San Jose, CA. We are work in a hybrid capacity, with 3 days in office and 2 days remote. Work Authorization/Visa: Applicants are required to be eligible to lawfully work in the U.S. immediately; employer is unable to sponsor applicants for U.S. work authorization for this opportunity now or in the future. Department Engineering Location San Jose Remote status Hybrid San Jose Our Culture Spectro Cloud is a fun, fast-paced place to work where you can make a big impact, every day. We recruit the best from all over the world, and we show up in all our diversity to collaborate and build something we’re all proud of. We’re passionate about innovation and helping our customers, and we’re ambitious about changing the industry. If you’re bored or frustrated by rigid corporate life, this is an opportunity to grow your skills, push boundaries and change the world. About Spectro Cloud Founded in 2019 Co-workers 220+ Applicant tracking system by Teamtailor