Strong Python for test automation: pytest/unittest, fixtures, parametrization, custom framework design (not just script-writing) ; 6+ years
API test automation: REST/gRPC, contract testing, schema validation, tools like requests/httpx, Postman/Newman, or Karate ; 6+ years
Frontend automation: Selenium/Playwright/Cypress — stable locators, page-object patterns, handling async UI state and flaky-test mitigation ; 3+ years
CI/CD integration: wiring suites into Jenkins/GitLab CI, parallelization, reporting, and gating merges on results
Test strategy and design: risk-based test planning, boundary/negative case coverage, traceability back to requirements
Defect lifecycle ownership: root-causing failures (not just reporting "test failed"), writing high-quality bug reports, working failures through to resolution
5G/telecom domain knowledge: core network architecture (5GC — AMF/SMF/UPF/etc.), protocols (HTTP/2-based SBI, PFCP, NAS/NGAP), and how these map to test scenarios (signaling, throughput, session handling)
Working knowledge of network test concepts: traffic generation, DUT-based topologies, KPIs (latency, throughput, call/session success rate)
Performance/load testing tools (JMeter, Locust, k6) for API and network-level throughput testing
Protocol-level packet inspection (Wireshark, tcpdump) for debugging failures at the network layer
Containerized test environments (Docker/Kubernetes) for spinning up DUTs or mock services
Exposure to test infrastructure-as-code and environment provisioning (Terraform/Ansible)
Familiarity with O-RAN/RAN-side concepts if the role touches beyond core network testing
Experience with observability tooling (Grafana/Prometheus, ELK) for correlating test failures with system metrics
