Job Description
Senior Test Automation Engineer
* Location: Wellington (Somerset) Hybrid, 1 day a week in-office
* Job Type: Full-time
* Salary: Up to £57,000
Join our client as a Senior Test Automation Engineer and take a pivotal role in providing technical leadership in the design, development, and evolution of scalable, maintainable, and secure test automation frameworks. Collaborate with the Testing Manager to shape the technical direction of our testing strategy, mentor team members, and drive high-quality software delivery aligned with business goals.
Day-to-day of the role:
* Framework Development and Tooling
o Lead the design, development, and maintenance of scalable and secure test automation frameworks using Playwright with TypeScript.
o Drive enhancements and refactors to ensure long-term maintainability and performance.
o Contribute to internal tooling and libraries to extend test capabilities.
* Testing Strategy and Planning
o Collaborate with the Testing Manager to define and evolve test strategies aligned with delivery milestones and business priorities.
o Ensure technically sound and feasible test coverage through cross-functional collaboration.
o Mentor team members on reusable test design patterns and strategic approaches.
* Automation Strategy and Technical Direction
o Set strategic guidelines for automation versus manual testing.
o Co-author the automation roadmap and align test architecture with product goals.
o Evaluate and pilot emerging tools and technologies to drive innovation.
* CI/CD Integration & Test Reporting
o Engineer and maintain CI/CD pipelines with optimised test stages and quality gates.
o Define and track key quality metrics and share insights.
* Mentoring and Coaching
o Mentor team members in technical excellence, communication, and career development.
o Deliver structured training and foster a culture of continuous learning.
o Leverage escalations as opportunities to coach team members, promote ownership, and drive process improvements.
Required Skills & Qualifications:
* Demonstrated expertise in Playwright with TypeScript, ideally gained through working on complex automation projects in a senior or lead capacity.
* Proven experience designing and building scalable test automation frameworks covering frontend, backend, and API layers.
* Deep understanding of CI/CD pipelines and test integration.
* Experience with secure coding and testing practices.
* ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL).
* Strong experience with agile methodologies, preferably Scrum, and cross-functional collaboration.
* Excellent leadership, mentoring, and coaching skills.
* Proven ability to work independently and communicate progress effectively.
* Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, and a clear and confident communication style.
Desirable Experience:
* Understanding of a range of test automation frameworks, such as Cypress, Selenium, or equivalent tools.
* Integrating test automation results with test management and reporting tools such as TestRail.
* A higher level ISTQB certification (e.g., Advanced Test Automation Engineer).