QA Automation Engineer Visa Sponsorship Jobs in Illinois

Upgrade helps customers move in the right direction with affordable and responsible financial products. Since 2017, we've helped over 7.5 million customers access over $42 billion in consumer credit. With a relentless focus on improving our customers' financial well-being, we build products that put more money in their pocket and support their journey toward a better financial future. We're backed by some of the most prominent technology investors and were most recently valued at $7.3B.

We're consistently recognized for our collaborative and inclusive culture. Most recently, we were named one of the World's Top Fintech Companies by CNBC, Best Places to Work by Built In, Best Places to Work by the San Francisco Business Times, America's Greatest Workplaces by Newsweek, Best Startup Employer by Forbes, and Healthiest Employers by Phoenix Business Journal.

We're looking for new team members who get excited about designing and delivering new and better products. Come join us and help build a better financial future for millions of people.

About the Role:

Our QA-Core team exists so every engineering team at Upgrade can test their software quickly and trust the result. We are seeking a Senior QA Automation Engineer on the team to architect and build test automation infrastructure, tooling, and agentic solutions to increase engineering productivity. This is not a traditional product QA role - it's a build role. You will work closely with our product teams to understand their automation requirements, design services from scratch, ship them to production clusters and own them.

This is a fully remote position open to candidates who are based in the US.

Our Core Technologies Include:

Java, Python, Kubernetes, Selenium WebDriver, Playwright, TestNG, Maven, Git, Jenkins, ArgoCD, SQL, Grafana, SumoLogic, Docker, Gatling, Claude Code, MCP server

What You'll Do:

• Design and own automation framework for functional and performance testing.
• Build agents to automate existing QA/testing workflows and remove engineering friction.
• Build the applications and services that automation depends on, deploy them, and operate them in production environments.
• Take prototypes all the way. Build demos in a timely manner, gather feedback from the teams who'd use it, and iterate through successive versions until it's hardened, monitored, and running with matured quality.
• Identify gap areas in existing frameworks and tools, and iterate toward solutions that close them.

What We Look For:

• 5-7+ years building production software, with demonstrated depth across test infrastructure, test frameworks, and developer tooling, and working knowledge of platform engineering.
• Proven track record building agentic solutions and test automation frameworks from the ground up — designed, shipped, iterated on, and adopted as part of how other engineers work.
• Fluency with agentic coding tools as part of your daily workflow: ability to orchestrate multiple agents to execute, review agent-generated PRs.
• Hands-on experience with micro-services, Kubernetes and managing deployment lifecycle.
• Ability to take an ambiguous problem statement to a scoped, defensible solution independently.

What We Offer You:

• Competitive salary and stock option plan
• Paid coverage of medical, dental and vision insurance
• Flexible PTO
• Opportunities for professional growth and development
• Paid parental leave
• Health & wellness initiatives

Environmental & Working Conditions

Work is performed indoors in a fast-paced environment that requires the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet established workflows, schedules, and service expectations.

Employees regularly input, retrieve, and exchange information accurately using digital systems and applications to support operational and customer service objectives.

The role requires the ability to receive and exchange information with customers, peers, supervisors, and cross-functional partners through available communication channels, which may include meetings, email, phone, and digital collaboration tools, and may involve real-time, verbal, or in-person exchanges depending on business need.

Job duties may involve managing a high volume of inbound and/or outbound customer interactions and work activities using telecommunications and computer systems. The role requires the ability to read, analyze, and interpret information displayed on computer screens and remain in a working posture for extended periods, consistent with the demands of the position.

Work may be performed in a contact center, office, or remote environment, depending on business needs and the nature of the role. Onsite work environments may include shared workspaces, standard office lighting, and moderate background noise typical of customer service or operational settings.

Employees working remotely are responsible for maintaining a secure and productive workspace with reliable internet connectivity that supports company systems and safeguards the confidentiality of company and customer information.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state and local laws.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Upgrade does not accept unsolicited resumes from staffing agencies, search firms, or any third parties. Any resume submitted to any employee of Upgrade without a prior written agreement in place will be considered the property of Upgrade, and Upgrade will not be obligated to pay any referral or placement fee. Agencies must obtain advance written approval from Upgrade's Talent Acquisition department to submit resumes and only in conjunction with a valid, fully executed agreement. English is required for all positions, as it involves interacting with staff at Upgrade's offices worldwide.