Principal QA Engineer - AI & Cloud Services @ Aveva

Reports To: R&D Senior Manager - AI Core Services Development

We are looking for detail-oriented and forward-thinking Test Engineer to ensure the quality, performance, and security of our Core AI Services within AVEVA Connect. You will help validate distributed, cloud-native services and public APIs that form the foundation for enterprise AI capabilities. This role demands deep technical skill and a passion for delivering robust, secure, and ethical AI services at scale.

Youll be a part of a Scrum team and work closely with developers and architects to design effective validation strategies, automated testing frameworks, and AI-specific evaluation tools - with a builder mindset - rapid prototyping and continuous improvement with agility of a start-up.

Key Responsibilities:

• Perform functional, performance, and security testing on cloud-native services deployed on Microsoft Azure.
• Design and implement automated test suites for APIs, service components, and AI pipelines.
• Automate the evaluation of AI system outputs to ensure accuracy, consistency, and safety of responses.
• Collaborate with developers and data scientists to establish service-level quality metrics and observability hooks.
• Validate services against AI regulatory frameworks and ensure traceability, fairness, and robustness in outcomes.
• Participate in threat modelling and security validation of exposed APIs and AI services.
• Provide feedback early in the lifecycle to reduce defects and improve design.
• Mentor junior testers, encourage continuous learning, and contribute to a culture of innovation.

AI & Cloud Expertise

• Familiarity with LLM evaluation techniques, output scoring, and validation frameworks.
• Understanding of key concepts such as prompt engineering, RAG, model orchestration, and hallucination detection.
• Experience in testing for accuracy, relevance, and consistency of AI model predictions/generations
• Defining Performance Metrics for AI services and testing for the same
• Awareness of AI safety, bias detection, and explainability techniques.
• Experience ensuring compliance with AI regulations and standards (e.g., NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act).
• Strong belief in ethical AI practices, transparency, and end-user trust.

Core Skills and Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in software testing or QA for cloud-native applications, including 2+ years working on AI/ML systems or services.
• Proficient in designing automated testing frameworks
• Hands-on experience with Azure DevOps, CI/CD pipelines, and containerized test environments.
• Strong understanding of API testing, performance profiling, and security testing (including OWASP top 10).
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse complex technical challenges and propose scalable solutions.
• Experience working in Agile teams and collaborating across global R&D locations
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior team members fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation.