Jobs · Full-time

Sr. SDET at Tala - Remote Fintech Role Mexico — Columbus

LocationColumbus
CompanyTala
Sourcejobicy
Posted2026-09-03 13:54:26

Traveler-Friendly Insight

Remote-First with Global Hubs — Tala explicitly operates on a remote-first model with office hubs across five countries (US, Mexico, Kenya, Philippines, India). This means the Sr. SDET role is genuinely location-flexible, not just remote-tolerant. Digital nomads with established work visas or residency in any of these hub countries are well-positioned.

Timezone Considerations: The job posting does not specify required hours or a fixed timezone. However, cross-functional collaboration with global teams spanning Africa, LATAM, and Asia suggests overlap windows will be needed. Nomads in UTC-6 to UTC+5:30 are best suited for synchronous meetings without unsociable hours.

  • Mexico City (UTC-6): A top nomad hub with coworking spaces from ~$150/month. On a senior engineer salary, cost of living is very comfortable. Mexico's Temporary Resident Visa or the "No-Objection" digital nomad pathway suit long stays.
  • Nairobi (UTC+3): Growing tech scene, affordable living, and Kenya offers a Digital Nomad Visa. Strong overlap with both Asian and European teams.
  • Manila (UTC+8): Very low cost of living; Philippines launched a digital nomad visa program. Excellent overlap with Asian collaborators.

Travel-Relevant Perks: No explicit coworking allowance or equipment stipend is mentioned. Given no salary data is available, budget planning for nomadic living should factor in self-funded tools and workspace costs. The async-friendly nature of SDET work (test automation runs independently) makes this role well-suited to flexible schedules.

About Tala

Tala is AI-native credit infrastructure for the global majority, combining proprietary risk intelligence with an expanding network of capital and distribution partners to power credit access at scale. Backed by more than $500 million in funding, Tala has distributed more than $7 billion in capital to more than 13 million customers across Africa, Latin America, and Asia—building one of the most robust datasets on thin-file borrowers anywhere in the world. Our mission is simple yet bold: to unleash the economic power of the global majority. We are looking for daring, data-driven leaders passionate about building the trust and credit infrastructure for the global majority.

Our pioneering work and proven impact have earned us consistent recognition, including being named to:

  • CNBC's Disruptor 50 for five years.
  • CNBC's World's Top Fintech Companies for two consecutive years.
  • Forbes' Fintech 50 list for nine consecutive years.

Visionary investors, persuaded by the economic power of the global majority, have committed half a billion dollars in equity and debt to Tala's success.

Given the global nature of our team, we operate on a remote-first approach with office hubs in Santa Monica, CA (HQ); Nairobi, Kenya; Mexico City, Mexico; Manila, the Philippines; and Bangalore, India.

Most Talazens join us because they connect with our mission. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Tala, we'd love to hear from you!

The Role

We are looking for a Software Development Engineer in Test (Sr. SDET) who is passionate about using cutting-edge test automation tools and technologies to create robust test frameworks and test suites in order to speed up the product delivery process without compromising quality and performance. This hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves role will ensure quality control across Tala's backend services and mobile applications in multiple markets.

What You'll Do

  • Design, develop, and maintain scalable test automation frameworks and suites to expand coverage across microservices and integrate them into CI/CD, regression, and release processes.
  • Partner with engineering, product, and SDE/QA teams to support releases, identify quality risks, and communicate issues in a timely manner.
  • Build tools and test solutions to validate integrations with third-party services such as payment providers, vendors, communication platforms (SMS/Email), analytics systems, and other external dependencies.
  • Integrate automated test execution into the software development lifecycle to enable continuous quality validation.
  • Collaborate with Engineering Managers, Squad Leads, Product Managers, and other stakeholders to define quality strategies and rollout plans.
  • Work closely with cross-functional teams (Product, Data, Credit, Risk, and Business Development) to identify opportunities for automation and improve overall product quality.
  • Maintain, review, and continuously improve existing test frameworks, tooling, and quality engineering processes.
  • Leverage AI-powered tools and agents to improve test design, automation development, debugging, root-cause analysis, and engineering productivity.

What You'll Need

  • Minimum 7+ years of experience in building test tools and frameworks using Groovy/Kotlin/Java/Scala, Jenkins or similar CI/CD tools, Linux/Mac OSX for either backend or frontend services.
  • Experience with BDD testing paradigm and one of the Behavior Driven Testing frameworks such as Spock, JBehave, or Cucumber.
  • Knowledge in microservices and automation.
  • Experience working in an Agile development process (Scrum/Kanban).
  • Experience with one or more version control systems such as GitHub or GitLab.
  • Experience with REST APIs, contract testing, and service integration testing is preferred.
  • Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Gemini, Claude) to improve test automation development, test design, debugging, and productivity.

Additional Information

Our vision is to build a new financial ecosystem where everyone can participate on equal footing and access the tools they need to be financially healthy. We strongly believe that inclusion fosters innovation and we're proud to have a diverse global team that represents a multitude of backgrounds, cultures, and experience. We hire talented people regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this Sr. SDET role fully remote or office-based?
Tala operates on a remote-first model with optional office hubs in Santa Monica, Mexico City, Nairobi, Manila, and Bangalore. The role does not appear to require in-office presence.
What programming languages are required for this SDET position?
The role requires 7+ years of experience building test frameworks using Groovy, Kotlin, Java, or Scala, along with CI/CD tools like Jenkins and experience on Linux or Mac OSX.
Does Tala specify a salary range for this position?
No salary range is listed in the job posting. Candidates are encouraged to discuss compensation expectations directly with Tala's recruiting team during the interview process.
What markets does this SDET role cover?
The role ensures quality control across Tala's backend services and mobile applications in multiple markets spanning Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Is experience with AI development tools required for this role?
Yes, the role specifically calls for experience with AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Gemini, or Claude to improve test automation, debugging, and productivity.
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