STEM OPT QA Automation Engineer Jobs
QA Automation Engineer roles sit squarely within STEM OPT eligibility, drawing on computer science, software engineering, and information systems degrees. Your 24-month STEM OPT extension applies here, giving you up to 36 months total to build U.S. experience, provided your employer is enrolled in E-Verify before your extension begins.
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Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community.
Rakuten is the most rewarding way to shop, giving millions of members Cash Back when they buy from their favorite brands. As a leading shopping platform, Rakuten partners with thousands of top brands across apparel, beauty and wellness, grocery, travel, on-demand services, subscriptions, and dining, helping members save on everyday purchases. Since 1999, Rakuten members have earned more than $4.6 billion in Cash Back, making it the largest Cash Back platform of its kind. Learn more at Rakuten.com.
Job Summary:
We are seeking a proactive Quality Engineer to join our dynamic team in San Mateo. In this role, you will be instrumental in ensuring the quality of our web applications, mobile apps, and backend services. You will move beyond traditional testing to adopt AI-first workflows, translating requirements into actionable test strategies and autonomous automation coverage. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives in fast-evolving environments, excels in containerized infrastructure, and wants to leverage AI Agents to contribute significantly to software excellence.
Key Responsibilities:
- AI-First Quality Ownership: Own end-to-end quality for assigned features by defining test strategy, leveraging AI to generate test coverage, and ensuring continuous validation across the development lifecycle. Partner with cross-functional teams to align on product goals and release readiness.
- Intelligent Risk Detection: Use AI-assisted analysis to evaluate requirements, system behavior, and production signals to identify edge cases, gaps in coverage, missing telemetry, flaky automation, and environment drift early.
- AI-Driven Automation: Build, maintain, and optimize UI, API, and end-to-end automated tests using Python, Java, or JavaScript/TypeScript. Actively leverage AI coding assistants and autonomous test agents to improve efficiency, scalability, and coverage.
- Infrastructure & CI/CD: Deploy and validate services in containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes). Integrate AI-driven testing into CI/CD pipelines to enable continuous, automated quality signals on every change.
- Agent-Based Execution & Validation: Utilize AI agents to execute user flows, perform exploratory testing, and validate UI and system behavior across environments. Apply AI-driven visual validation against Figma designs to ensure design-to-implementation fidelity.
- Backend & Performance Testing: Validate complex backend behavior, including event-driven workflows, message queues, async pipelines, and data integrity. Use AI-assisted techniques to detect anomalies, validate data integrity (SQL), and surface system-level issues.
- Quality Signals, Triage & Advocacy: Leverage AI to triage defects, cluster failures, and identify root causes. Communicate insights clearly to stakeholders and advocate for AI-first quality practices across the SDLC.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Programming & AI-First Automation: Proficiency in Python, Java, or JavaScript/TypeScript, with the ability to use LLMs to generate and maintain test automation. Experience testing OpenAPI/REST APIs (GraphQL a plus) and validating data using SQL.
- AI Proficiency: Proven experience integrating LLMs and AI agents into QA workflows to drive automation and efficiency, including AI-assisted test generation, failure analysis, and defect triage.
- AI-Native Visual & UI Testing: Experience leveraging Figma as a source of truth and applying AI agents (e.g., Claude) with platforms like BrowserStack to automate UI validation. Ability to generate tests from design, perform agent-driven exploratory testing, and use AI for semantic visual validation and intelligent defect triage across devices and browsers.
- Infrastructure Skills: Working knowledge of CI/CD systems (e.g., GitHub Actions) and containerized environments (Docker and Kubernetes), with the ability to troubleshoot common test environment failures.
- Collaboration & Strategy: Ability to develop practical, feature-level test strategies, clearly communicate coverage and risks, and demonstrate an eagerness to adopt emerging AI-driven engineering practices.
Minimum Requirements:
- 3 to 5 years of experience in Quality Assurance.
- 2+ years of experience in Test Automation (Web/Mobile/API).
- 1+ years of experience with Docker/Kubernetes.
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience) Required.
Five Principles for Success
Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.
- Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen
- Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best
- Hypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory
- Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile
- Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team
Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.
As part of our Rakuten interview process, we encourage applicants to use their own words, rather than AI-generated content. Tell us your story in a way that's personal and authentic.
At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below. Individual compensation will vary based on job-related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. The successful applicant for this role will be eligible for discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.
Compensation:
- Salary Range: USD $96,442.50 - $163,680.00 annually
Job Description:
Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community.
Rakuten is the most rewarding way to shop, giving millions of members Cash Back when they buy from their favorite brands. As a leading shopping platform, Rakuten partners with thousands of top brands across apparel, beauty and wellness, grocery, travel, on-demand services, subscriptions, and dining, helping members save on everyday purchases. Since 1999, Rakuten members have earned more than $4.6 billion in Cash Back, making it the largest Cash Back platform of its kind. Learn more at Rakuten.com.
Job Summary:
We are seeking a proactive Quality Engineer to join our dynamic team in San Mateo. In this role, you will be instrumental in ensuring the quality of our web applications, mobile apps, and backend services. You will move beyond traditional testing to adopt AI-first workflows, translating requirements into actionable test strategies and autonomous automation coverage. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives in fast-evolving environments, excels in containerized infrastructure, and wants to leverage AI Agents to contribute significantly to software excellence.
Key Responsibilities:
- AI-First Quality Ownership: Own end-to-end quality for assigned features by defining test strategy, leveraging AI to generate test coverage, and ensuring continuous validation across the development lifecycle. Partner with cross-functional teams to align on product goals and release readiness.
- Intelligent Risk Detection: Use AI-assisted analysis to evaluate requirements, system behavior, and production signals to identify edge cases, gaps in coverage, missing telemetry, flaky automation, and environment drift early.
- AI-Driven Automation: Build, maintain, and optimize UI, API, and end-to-end automated tests using Python, Java, or JavaScript/TypeScript. Actively leverage AI coding assistants and autonomous test agents to improve efficiency, scalability, and coverage.
- Infrastructure & CI/CD: Deploy and validate services in containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes). Integrate AI-driven testing into CI/CD pipelines to enable continuous, automated quality signals on every change.
- Agent-Based Execution & Validation: Utilize AI agents to execute user flows, perform exploratory testing, and validate UI and system behavior across environments. Apply AI-driven visual validation against Figma designs to ensure design-to-implementation fidelity.
- Backend & Performance Testing: Validate complex backend behavior, including event-driven workflows, message queues, async pipelines, and data integrity. Use AI-assisted techniques to detect anomalies, validate data integrity (SQL), and surface system-level issues.
- Quality Signals, Triage & Advocacy: Leverage AI to triage defects, cluster failures, and identify root causes. Communicate insights clearly to stakeholders and advocate for AI-first quality practices across the SDLC.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Programming & AI-First Automation: Proficiency in Python, Java, or JavaScript/TypeScript, with the ability to use LLMs to generate and maintain test automation. Experience testing OpenAPI/REST APIs (GraphQL a plus) and validating data using SQL.
- AI Proficiency: Proven experience integrating LLMs and AI agents into QA workflows to drive automation and efficiency, including AI-assisted test generation, failure analysis, and defect triage.
- AI-Native Visual & UI Testing: Experience leveraging Figma as a source of truth and applying AI agents (e.g., Claude) with platforms like BrowserStack to automate UI validation. Ability to generate tests from design, perform agent-driven exploratory testing, and use AI for semantic visual validation and intelligent defect triage across devices and browsers.
- Infrastructure Skills: Working knowledge of CI/CD systems (e.g., GitHub Actions) and containerized environments (Docker and Kubernetes), with the ability to troubleshoot common test environment failures.
- Collaboration & Strategy: Ability to develop practical, feature-level test strategies, clearly communicate coverage and risks, and demonstrate an eagerness to adopt emerging AI-driven engineering practices.
Minimum Requirements:
- 3 to 5 years of experience in Quality Assurance.
- 2+ years of experience in Test Automation (Web/Mobile/API).
- 1+ years of experience with Docker/Kubernetes.
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience) Required.
Five Principles for Success
Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.
- Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen
- Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best
- Hypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory
- Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile
- Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team
Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.
As part of our Rakuten interview process, we encourage applicants to use their own words, rather than AI-generated content. Tell us your story in a way that's personal and authentic.
At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below. Individual compensation will vary based on job-related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. The successful applicant for this role will be eligible for discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.
Compensation:
- Salary Range: USD $96,442.50 - $163,680.00 annually
See all 150+ STEM OPT QA Automation Engineer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new STEM OPT QA Automation Engineer Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a QA Automation Engineer
Confirm your CIP code before applying
Your STEM OPT extension depends on your degree's Classification of Instructional Programs code mapping to an approved STEM field. Computer science, software engineering, and information systems degrees all qualify, but check with your DSO before targeting QA Automation roles.
Verify E-Verify enrollment before accepting offers
An employer must be actively enrolled in E-Verify before your STEM OPT extension can be authorized. Search the E-Verify employer database by company name to confirm enrollment status before you sign anything or let your initial OPT expire.
Target companies with structured QA teams
Employers with dedicated QA Automation teams are far more likely to have the infrastructure to complete the I-983 training plan, which requires documented learning objectives tied to your STEM degree. Startups without QA leads often can't fulfill this requirement properly.
Use Migrate Mate to filter E-Verify employers
Search QA Automation Engineer roles on Migrate Mate to surface employers already filtered for E-Verify enrollment and STEM OPT compatibility, so you're not manually cross-referencing every company before applying.
Negotiate I-983 training plan details before your start date
Your I-983 must include specific performance evaluation criteria and a direct connection between your job duties and your STEM degree. Get written confirmation from your hiring manager or HR team that they'll complete this before you submit your STEM OPT extension application.
File your STEM OPT extension at least 90 days early
USCIS allows you to file your I-765 extension up to 90 days before your initial OPT expires. Filing early protects your cap-gap authorization if your application is still pending when your EAD runs out, keeping you legally authorized to continue working.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a QA Automation Engineer role qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Yes, QA Automation Engineering falls under STEM OPT-eligible occupations when your degree is in a qualifying field such as computer science, software engineering, information systems, or a related discipline. Your DSO confirms eligibility based on your degree's CIP code, not the job title alone. The O*NET classification for this role supports STEM designation under the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List.
What does the I-983 training plan require for a QA Automation Engineer?
Your I-983 must document a formal training plan that connects your QA Automation duties directly to your STEM degree. It should include specific learning objectives, supervision details, and a salary that meets DOL standards. Your employer completes the plan with you, and it must be submitted to your DSO before USCIS approves your extension. Employers without a dedicated engineering or QA management structure often struggle to fulfill this requirement.
Does my employer need to be enrolled in E-Verify for my STEM OPT extension?
Yes, E-Verify enrollment is mandatory for your employer before your STEM OPT extension can be authorized. This applies even if the company already employed you during your initial OPT period without E-Verify. You can confirm enrollment by searching the E-Verify employer search tool by company name. If your employer isn't enrolled, your DSO cannot recommend the extension and USCIS will not approve it.
What happens to my work authorization if my STEM OPT extension is still pending when my EAD expires?
If you file your STEM OPT extension on time, before your current EAD expires, you receive an automatic 180-day cap-gap authorization that lets you continue working while USCIS processes your application. This protection only applies if you filed within the 90-day filing window. You can browse QA Automation Engineer roles at employers already set up for STEM OPT on Migrate Mate while you wait for your new EAD.
Are there specific STEM degree fields that qualify for QA Automation Engineer STEM OPT roles?
Computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, information systems, and electrical engineering are the most commonly approved degree fields for QA Automation Engineer STEM OPT extensions. Degrees in mathematics or statistics may also qualify depending on your DSO's assessment and the specific CIP code assigned to your program. Degrees in business, communications, or non-technical fields do not qualify, even if you held a QA Automation title during school.