QA Automation Engineer (IJ Platform / JetBrains Runtime)

Are you driven to dig deep into runtime behavior, uncover complex failures, and ensure the foundation underlying millions of developer tools stays rock-solid? Do you understand that reliability at the runtime level directly impacts how developers experience their tools every single day?

We create intelligent software development tools for developers and teams. More than 15 million users, over 300,000 companies, and 88 of the Fortune Global Top 100 rely on our products to solve real, complex problems. Our mission is simple: make development teams more productive and AI adoptable at scale.

JetBrains Runtime (JBR) is our fork of OpenJDK, used to launch all IntelliJ-based IDEs. When runtime issues occur, they affect every developer relying on our products. This role exists to ensure JBR remains stable, performant, and reliable across platforms.

You’ll take ownership of quality across JBR builds, working closely with the engineers building features like Java Chromium Embedded Framework (JCEF) and contributing to OpenJDK projects. You’ll influence how we triage, investigate, and resolve complex JVM issues, directly shaping the stability of the entire IntelliJ ecosystem.

Day to day, you will:

• →Analyze automated test results from regular builds to investigate Java runtime and test failures.
• →Conduct thorough investigations into user-reported issues to ensure accurate triage.
• →Analyze thread dumps and JVM crash logs to pinpoint deadlocks, freezes, and Event Dispatch Thread (EDT) responsiveness issues in the IDE.
• →Communicate with developers to build a deep understanding of runtime architecture and ongoing changes.
• →Collaborate with the support team to reproduce and resolve issues reported in public builds.
• →Take ownership of JetBrains Runtime quality by identifying what needs to be fixed, keeping the tracker organized, and prioritizing quality tasks.

• A focus on quality and deep technical investigation over quick surface fixes.
• Clear communication skills and comfort advocating for your perspective while remaining open to others.
• An ownership mindset, taking responsibility for keeping issues organized and moving forward.
• The curiosity to understand underlying systems and application architecture rather than treating tools as black boxes.

• A solid understanding of Java, AWT, Swing, and Java2D.
• Hands-on experience analyzing thread dumps, JVM crash logs, or memory issues using standard JDK diagnostic tools.
• The ability to read and understand tests using test frameworks like jtreg, JUnit, gtest, or ctest.
• Experience reproducing complex technical issues and working with issue trackers like YouTrack, Jira, or GitHub.
• Familiarity with macOS and Linux environments.

Success in this role means runtime issues are caught early, triaged effectively, and clear context is provided to developers so fixes happen swiftly. You’ll have established a clear view of JBR quality, unblocked internal teams, and improved overall IDE stability for millions of users.