Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) Team Lead

_{25th August, 2026}

We're teaming up once again with our long-time friends at Active | Business Fitness, and this time we're looking for a hands-on Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) Lead to help shape the future of quality across their SaaS platform.

This isn't a traditional QA management role.

We're looking for someone who still loves being in the code, building automation frameworks, solving complex testing challenges, and partnering closely with engineers to improve quality from the very beginning of the development lifecycle.

Think 60% hands-on engineering, 40% leadership and coaching.
If you're passionate about automation, advocate for Shift-Left testing, and love helping teams build quality into everything they ship, we'd love to talk.
 
So, what's the Active | Business Fitness story?

Active | Business Fitness helps accounting teams thrive through smarter systems, streamlined workflows, and software that supports real business growth.

Their flagship SaaS platform, Active, powers compliance, CRM, workflows, workpapers, and practice management for thousands of accounting firms across Australia and the UK.

They're proudly Australian-built, fully remote, and investing heavily in the future of their platform. With a strong product roadmap, growing engineering capability, and a culture that values continuous improvement, they're now looking to elevate their testing practice through stronger automation, earlier quality ownership, and modern engineering approaches.
 
The Role

As the SDET Lead, you'll play a critical role in embedding quality throughout the software development lifecycle.

You'll lead a small but growing QA function while remaining deeply involved in designing and building automated testing solutions.

You'll work closely with engineering, product, and design teams to champion Shift-Left testing principles, ensuring quality is considered from planning through to production.

This role is ideal for someone who has successfully transformed testing practices before and can clearly demonstrate how they've improved quality outcomes through earlier testing, stronger automation, and closer collaboration with development teams.

You'll be trusted to influence strategy, improve tooling, mentor others, and still roll up your sleeves when there's meaningful technical work to be done.
 
What you'll be doing

Technical Leadership (60%)

• Design, build, and maintain automated test frameworks and suites.
• Drive the adoption and maturity of Playwright-based automation testing.
• Partner with engineers to improve testability, coverage, and development practices.
• Review requirements and designs early to identify quality risks before development begins.
• Continuously improve regression, integration, end-to-end, and exploratory testing approaches.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines and automation strategies that improve release confidence.
• Analyse defects, trends, flaky tests, and production issues to drive continuous improvement.
• Evaluate and introduce tools, frameworks, and practices that strengthen engineering quality.

Team Leadership (40%)

• Lead, coach, and mentor a growing QA team.
• Establish best practices and quality standards across the organisation.
• Champion a Shift-Left culture where quality becomes a shared responsibility.
• Collaborate with Product, UX, Engineering, and Leadership teams to define test strategies and quality goals.
• Support career development and capability uplift within the QA function.
• Provide clear reporting and visibility around quality metrics, risks, and outcomes.

What we're looking for

You're an engineer first and a leader second.

You understand that modern quality engineering isn't about finding bugs at the end of the process - it's about helping teams build quality into every stage of delivery.

You bring strong technical capability, excellent communication skills, and a track record of successfully driving testing transformation within SaaS environments.

You'll bring:

• 5+ years of experience in software testing, quality engineering, or SDET roles.
• Previous experience leading or mentoring QA professionals.
• Strong programming skills and the ability to contribute hands-on to automation initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining automated test frameworks.
• Practical experience with Playwright and modern test automation tooling.
• Proven experience implementing Shift-Left testing methodologies, with clear examples of outcomes achieved.
• Strong understanding of modern SDLC practices, CI/CD pipelines, and quality engineering principles.
• Experience partnering closely with software engineers to improve testing practices and product quality.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Experience working within SaaS product environments.

Bonus points for:

• TypeScript or JavaScript development experience.
• Exposure to .NET/C# environments.
• SQL and database testing experience.
• Experience with GitHub, Azure DevOps, or similar platforms.
• Cloud experience across AWS and/or Azure.
• Experience scaling automation practices across multiple product teams.

Why Active | Business Fitness?

Because you'll have the opportunity to shape the future of quality engineering across a successful and growing SaaS business.

You'll join a team that genuinely values engineering excellence, continuous improvement, and thoughtful collaboration.

Your ideas won't disappear into a backlog.

You'll have the autonomy to influence tooling, processes, automation strategy, and team capability while remaining close to the technology and challenges that make the work rewarding.

What's on offer?

• Fully remote across Australia
• Full-time permanent position
• Strong focus on engineering excellence and modern quality practices
• Opportunity to build and mature a quality engineering function
• High-impact role with genuine influence across product and engineering
• Supportive, collaborative culture with a strong growth mindset

If you're a hands-on SDET leader who loves automation, believes in Shift-Left quality, and wants to help shape how great software gets built, we'd love to hear from you.

Let's chat.

adam@fyndco.com.au
dan@fyndco.com.au