A QA Engineer at Axos Clearing is a guardian of financial integrity. In this role, you are responsible for ensuring that the complex clearing and custody platforms—which handle millions of dollars in transactions—remain robust, secure, and highly performant. You aren't just checking boxes; you are architecting quality into the software development lifecycle, ensuring that every release meets the stringent requirements of the fintech industry.

At Axos Clearing, the QA function is evolving. You will likely contribute to the AI & Automation Solution Architect initiatives, where the focus moves beyond manual testing into sophisticated automated frameworks and AI-driven quality solutions. This means your work directly impacts the speed of innovation, allowing the company to deploy features faster while maintaining the "zero-failure" standard required for clearing services.

This position is critical because Axos Clearing operates at the intersection of finance and high-scale technology. You will work on products that support broker-dealers and investment advisors, meaning your attention to detail prevents real-world financial discrepancies. It is a role that offers the unique challenge of balancing rapid agile development with the rigorous compliance and stability needs of a major financial institution.

The following questions are representative of what you may encounter at Axos Clearing. They are designed to test both your technical "know-how" and your "know-why."

Technical & Automation

These questions evaluate your coding ability and your understanding of automation principles.

• How do you handle dynamic elements in a web application using Selenium?
• Explain the difference between an Interface and an Abstract Class in the context of building a test framework.

Preparing for an interview at Axos Clearing requires a dual focus on technical precision and domain awareness. You should approach your preparation by viewing quality as a business enabler rather than just a technical gate. The hiring team looks for engineers who understand the "why" behind their testing strategies and can articulate how quality affects the bottom line.

Automation & Technical Proficiency – This is the core of the role. Interviewers evaluate your ability to design, implement, and maintain automation frameworks (likely in Python or Java). You should demonstrate how you use tools like Selenium or Appium to reduce manual overhead and increase test coverage.

Problem-Solving & Logic – Beyond knowing tools, you must show how you decompose complex financial workflows into testable components. Interviewers will present scenarios involving edge cases or system failures and observe how you structure your investigative process to find the root cause.

Domain Knowledge (Fintech) – While not always a strict prerequisite, showing an understanding of clearing, settlement, or general financial transactions is a significant advantage. You should be ready to discuss how you would test for data integrity and security in a regulated environment.

Cultural Alignment & Communication – Axos Clearing values proactive communicators who can bridge the gap between engineering and product teams. You will be evaluated on your ability to explain technical risks to non-technical stakeholders and your willingness to take ownership of the quality roadmap.

The interview process at Axos Clearing is designed to be efficient and transparent, typically consisting of three distinct stages. The company prioritizes a positive candidate experience, often moving quickly from the initial screen to the final decision. You can expect a process that balances high-level behavioral fit with a deep dive into your technical toolkit and architectural thinking.

The journey begins with a screening call to align on your background and the role’s expectations. This is followed by a technical panel where you will interact with peer engineers and leads. The final stage often involves a conversation with leadership, such as a VP or Head of Team, focusing on your long-term fit and strategic contribution to the organization.

The timeline above illustrates the standard progression from the initial HR contact to the final managerial evaluation. You should use this to pace your preparation, focusing heavily on technical fundamentals in the middle stage and shifting toward leadership and decision-making for the final round. Most candidates find the process moves at a steady pace, often concluding within a few weeks.

Automation Architecture & AI Integration

As Axos Clearing pushes toward more sophisticated testing, your ability to build scalable automation is paramount. This area evaluates your experience with the Page Object Model, continuous integration (CI/CD) pipelines, and your vision for integrating AI into the testing lifecycle to predict failures or generate data.

Be ready to go over:

• Framework Design – How to build a framework from scratch that is maintainable and reusable across different modules.
• CI/CD Integration – The role of automation in tools like Jenkins or GitLab CI to ensure quality at every commit.
• AI in QA – How machine learning or AI tools can be leveraged to optimize test suites or identify high-risk code areas.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How would you design a test automation suite for a system that processes real-time financial trades?"
• "Describe a time you transitioned a team from manual testing to a fully automated pipeline."

Functional & Regression Testing

Despite the move toward automation, the core of QA remains your ability to identify what needs to be tested. Interviewers look for a systematic approach to regression testing, ensuring that new features don't break existing clearing and settlement logic.

Be ready to go over:

• Test Planning – Creating comprehensive test plans that cover functional, integration, and end-to-end scenarios.
• Risk-Based Testing – How you prioritize test cases when time is limited, focusing on high-impact financial modules.
• Defect Lifecycle – Your process for documenting, triaging, and verifying bugs in collaboration with developers.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "What is your strategy for testing a complex integration between a clearing platform and a third-party banking API?"
• "How do you ensure data consistency across multiple databases during a high-volume migration?"

Behavioral & Leadership

Axos Clearing values engineers who act as "Quality Advocates." This area focuses on your "soft skills"—how you handle conflict, how you mentor others, and how you navigate the high-pressure environment of a financial firm.

Be ready to go over:

• Stakeholder Management – How you communicate delays or critical bugs to product managers and executives.
• Adaptability – Your experience working in fast-paced environments where requirements may change frequently.
• Leadership & Mentorship – (For senior roles) How you help junior engineers level up their technical skills.

Advanced concepts (less common):

• Performance and Load Testing strategies for high-frequency trading platforms.
• Security testing protocols for sensitive financial data.
• Regulatory compliance (e.g., SEC/FINRA) impact on QA processes.

As a QA Engineer at Axos Clearing, your primary responsibility is the end-to-end ownership of product quality. You will spend a significant portion of your day designing and executing automated test scripts that validate the functionality of clearing and custody systems. This involves not just finding bugs, but preventing them by participating in design reviews and requirement gathering sessions early in the development cycle.

Collaboration is a cornerstone of this role. You will work closely with Software Developers to understand code changes and with Product Managers to define acceptance criteria. You are expected to be a vocal participant in Agile ceremonies, providing "quality-first" perspectives during sprint planning and retrospectives.

Beyond execution, you will drive the modernization of the QA department. This includes identifying opportunities for AI-driven automation, optimizing test execution times, and maintaining the infrastructure required for automated testing. You will also be responsible for generating quality metrics and reports that give leadership visibility into the health of the platform.

A successful candidate for the QA Engineer position at Axos Clearing typically possesses a blend of technical depth and industry-specific awareness. The following requirements are essential for being competitive in the selection process:

• Technical skills – Proficiency in Python, Java, or C# is required for automation. You must have hands-on experience with Selenium WebDriver, Postman (for API testing), and SQL for data verification.
• Experience level – Most successful candidates have 3–5 years of experience in software quality assurance, with a proven track record in automated environments.
• Soft skills – Strong analytical thinking and the ability to articulate complex technical issues clearly. You must be comfortable working in a regulated, high-stakes environment.

Must-have skills:

• Strong experience in API Testing and Backend Validation.
• Proven ability to build and maintain Automation Frameworks.
• Deep understanding of the SDLC and Agile methodologies.

Nice-to-have skills:

• Experience in the Financial Services or Fintech industry.
• Knowledge of Cloud Infrastructure (AWS/Azure) as it relates to testing environments.
• Familiarity with AI and Machine Learning tools for test optimization.