Senior Engineering Manager - Test Function

Ovii's Interpretation of the Role

The Senior Engineering Manager leads Kong’s global Quality Engineering organization, shaping AI‑driven testing strategies for its API, AI, and mesh runtimes. This high‑visibility role combines distributed team leadership, test‑automation architecture, and AI/LLM integration to elevate quality across low‑latency data planes.

Role Snapshot

• Lead global SDET organization
• Architect AI‑driven testing strategy
• Own quality strategy for runtime platforms
• Modernize CI/CD automation frameworks
• Drive shift‑left quality and governance

Must-Have Requirements

• Distributed SDET team leadership
• AI/LLM testing integration
• Automation for C/Lua/Rust data planes
• CI/CD pipeline automation (GitHub Actions, Docker, Kubernetes)
• Quality engineering metrics definition
• software engineering
• SDET automation
• engineering management

Nice-to-Have Signals

• High‑performance networking data plane testing
• Performance and chaos engineering
• Open‑source testing framework contributions
• Vendor partnership management
• high‑performance networking testing
• performance testing
• chaos engineering
• open‑source contributions

Work Setup

• Location: Milan, Italy
• Work mode: HYBRID
• Remote scope: UNSPECIFIED
• Employment type: Full-Time

Not Specified in JD

• Visa sponsorship
• Salary range
• Remote eligibility
• Education requirement
• Certifications
• Relocation
• Notice period
• Travel
• Security clearance
• Coding test
• Portfolio
• GitHub
• Writing sample
• Cover letter

What You'll Likely Work On

• Lead, mentor, and grow a geographically distributed SDET team across multiple continents
• Define and execute a roadmap that embeds LLMs and autonomous agents into the testing lifecycle
• Design testing approaches for low‑latency, high‑throughput C/Lua/Rust data planes
• Oversee the evolution of end‑to‑end, performance, regression, and chaos‑testing automation within modern CI/CD pipelines
• Partner with engineering and product to embed testability standards early in design (shift‑left quality)
• Establish and monitor enterprise‑grade QE health indicators such as CI reliability, coverage, defect density, and release stability
• Manage follow‑the‑sun operational cadence and vendor partnerships across time zones

Good Fit If You Have

• Experience testing high‑performance networking data planes or API gateways
• Background in performance testing, chaos engineering, or load testing SaaS platforms
• Active contributions to open‑source quality or AI testing tooling