Internship – Quality Assurance Automation Engineer (Year-Round)

About the Role:
The Business Process team is part of Baird’s Operations Department (“Ops”), which is the best kept secret in the financial services industry and plays a critical role to the success and growth of the firm. The Business Process team helps identify opportunities for improvement and drives efficiencies to solve problems.
Quality Assurance drives quality and process improvement through testing, automation, troubleshooting, tracking, change management and continuously improving process quality. The Quality Assurance Automation Engineer intern will gain hands-on experience working with QA Automation Analysts and Business Process Engineers through meaningful, production-relevant projects in an agile environment. We look for highly motivated individuals who are curious, analytical and interested in understanding how people, processes and technology work together to create business value.
This is a hybrid internship, working four days per week in our downtown Milwaukee, WI office and one day remote. The intern must be able to work full time during the summer, 37.5-40 hours per week, and work part time during the school semesters, 15-20 hours per week. We are seeking a local student who can start in June 2027.
The Impact You’ll Make:
Build automated regression coverage for selected workflows while supporting manual testing for active releases
Assist with developing and maintaining automated end-to-end tests using Playwright with TypeScript within the QA automation framework
Convert requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria into clear test scenarios and reusable automated test scripts
Create or enhance reusable page objects, workflow components, test-data utilities and validation functions for processes
Validate request initiation, business-rule evaluation, task routing, approvals or rejections, completion status and results
Document defects with reproducible steps and supporting evidence, retest corrections and communicate results to the team
Contribute to test documentation, regression coverage, coding standards and team quality metrics
Analyze automated test results, investigate failures and improve test reliability and maintainability
Participate in requirement reviews, backlog refinement, sprint planning, demonstrations, defect triage, release testing and retrospectives
Gain exposure to quality engineering practices such as risk-based testing, regression strategy, test-data management, defect lifecycle management and CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous delivery) execution
Observe how the team partners with Private Wealth Management, Operations, Information Technology and subject-matter experts to design, build, test and support automated business processes
Learn how financial services workflows move from a client or branch request through validation, review, approval, processing and completion
Meet with associates across QA, engineering, business analysis, product ownership and operational teams to understand career paths and how technology supports Private Wealth Management associates and clients
What You’ll Bring to Baird:
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, management information systems, information technology, business analytics, data science, finance with a technology concentration or related degree
Anticipated graduation date of May 2028 or later
Completed coursework or project experience in one or more of the following: software development, information systems or process analysis
Foundational programming experience, preferably with TypeScript or JavaScript. Experience with another object-oriented language is also a plus
Interest in learning Playwright, browser automation, test design, reusable code, debugging and source control
Ability to perform detailed manual testing in addition to automation development
Proven analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyze requirements and translate them into positive, negative, boundary and end-to-end test scenarios
Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to connect clearly and professionally with clients and associates and communicate technical information to both technical and non-technical personnel
Organizational excellence, with the capacity to manage multiple priorities, demonstrate strong attention to detail and ensure high-quality and on-time delivery
High level of motivation, proactivity and strategic thinking, with a strong commitment to learning and contributing effectively
Exposure to Git, Azure DevOps, CI/CD, SQL, APIs (application interface programs), agile delivery, financial services or workflow/process automation platforms is preferred
About Our Intern Program:
Jumpstart your career with Baird’s high-impact summer intern program! You’ll gain real-world experience, connect with inspiring leaders and grow through hands-on projects, mentorship and dynamic events. From our Intern Welcome and Baird Gives Back Day to firmwide networking and professional development, you’ll be part of a vibrant, collaborative culture that values your voice and fuels your future.
Baird is not currently hiring individuals for this position who now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status.
Baird is committed to diversity and provides employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, national origin, age, disability, military service, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other status protected by law.