Company Overview
At IMS, we're transforming the way the world drives. As a leading provider of connected car and telematics solutions, we deliver cutting-edge services and analytics to insurers, governments, and enterprises worldwide.

Our cloud-based DriveSync platform is at the heart of what we doan industry-recognized solution that empowers smarter decision-making and better driving outcomes. From enhancing road safety to enabling intelligent mobility strategies, our technology is designed to make driving safer and smarter for everyonefrom global insurers to local governments and everyday drivers.

Join us as we continue to shape the future of mobility.

Description

The Principal Software Development Engineer in Test (Principal SDET) is a senior technical leader responsible for driving the vision, strategy, and execution of quality engineering across IMSs product portfolio. This role focuses on building scalable, maintainable, and robust test architectures while setting standards for automation, performance, and continuous testing across teams.
Working cross-functionally with engineering, DevOps, product, and QA teams, the Principal SDET ensures quality is deeply embedded in all aspects of software delivery. This role balances strategic planning with technical execution and mentoring, guiding the company toward a culture of engineering excellence.

In this role, you will be responsible for:

Test Architecture and Strategy

• Define and evolve the long-term strategy for test automation across all platforms: web, API, mobile, and embedded systems.
• Leadselection, design, and implementation of test tools, automation platforms, and architecture decisions.
  
• Drive testability into system architecture in partnership with engineering leadership.
• Establish quality engineering best practices and frameworks that scale across multiple development teams.
  

Collaboration and Leadership

• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to Senior SDETs, QA engineers, and developers.
  
• Influence roadmap decisions with a focus on quality, test coverage, and risk mitigation.
  
• Collaborate with product management, security, and DevOps to align test strategies with business goals.
• Act as a key quality advocate in engineering leadership forums and strategic planning discussions.
  

Performance, Load, and Security Testing

• Champion proactive performance and load testing at scale.
  
• Analyze system bottlenecks and work with developers to resolve high-impact performance issues.
  
• Guide teams in incorporating security testing (e.g., SAST, DAST, fuzz testing) into CI/CD workflows.
  

CI/CD & Tooling

• Architect robust CI/CD pipelines with embedded automated quality gates.
  
• Lead cross-team efforts to build reusable testing services, test data management tools, and infrastructure automation.
  
• Improve efficiency of build/test/deploy cycles and reduce flaky test execution.
  

DMetrics, Reporting and Risk Management

• Define meaningful quality metrics (test coverage, defect escape rate, MTTR, etc.) across products.
  
• Drive root cause analysis for critical production issues and guide long-term quality improvements.
  
• Track and communicate quality KPIs to engineering and product leadership.

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• 8+ years of experience in test automation and software quality roles, including experience in a senior or principal-level engineering position.
  
• Proven leadership in building and scaling test frameworks for large, complex systems.
• Deep expertise in modern programming languages (e.g., Python, Kotlin, JavaScript, Java).
  
• Extensive experience with automation frameworks such as Cypress, Selenium, Appium, Espresso, or Playwright.
  
• Strong knowledge of mobile testing (iOS and Android), backend systems, and API contracts.
  
• Experience architecting and maintaining CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or similar.
  
• Familiarity with observability tools, test result dashboards, and incident response workflows.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience with Pact, Karate, or other contract testing tools.
• Cloud-native development experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes).- Certifications in test automation, cloud architecture, or Agile quality practices.
  
• Familiarity with telematics, mobility, SaaS, or insurance technology domains.
• Background in security testing and secure software development practices (OWASP, SAST/DAST).
  

Why should you join us?

• Brand new collaborative, open-concept office for those days when you want to work collaboratively in person! Were located in the Waterloo tech hub: the David Johnson Research + Technology Park
• Flexible remote working options
• Opportunity to work within a global team
• Were an innovative technology leader with plans for growth in the global telematics industry. These are some exciting times!
• Company-paid group health (and dental) benefits program, with no waiting period - they start from day one!
• RRSP matching program

• Flexible holiday policy to really make the most of your time and wellbeing
  
• 'Work From Anywhere' Policy - work almost anywhere in the world for 30 days per year!
• Paid volunteering days
• Employee Assistance Program and an enhanced maternity/paternity package
• Kudos Hub - a peer-to-peer recognition system, where you can recognize others using points. These points can be collected and redeemed against a huge catalog of rewards!
  

At IMS, we believe innovation thrives through diversity of thought, background, and experience. Research shows that women and individuals from historically underrepresented groups often hesitate to apply unless they meet every single qualification. If youre passionate about what were building and feel you could make a meaningful contributioneven if you dont check every boxwe strongly encourage you to apply. You might be exactly who were looking for. Even if you do not meet all of the above criteria, please consider applying! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with our HR team, [email protected].
IMS is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.