We have an opportunity for a Senior Test Automation Engineer to take technical ownership of test automation and quality within our Data Tribe, working across complex data platforms including ETL pipelines, data ingestions, cloud services and databases.
You will work within a multi‑disciplinary tribe of Software Engineers, Data Engineers, Cloud Engineers and Data Scientists, where you will be the go‑to authority for test automation and quality, helping to shape how quality is embedded across data‑driven systems used by a wide range of internal stakeholders.
About the role
This is a senior, hands‑on role with clear ownership expectations. As well as designing and building automation frameworks, you will be expected to set direction, challenge decisions where quality is at risk, and influence how testing and quality are approached across the team.
We are looking for someone who is confident operating in complex, evolving environments, who can lead quality conversations, not just participate in them.
You will apply shift‑left and test‑first principles, ensuring quality is considered early in design and delivery, and you will take accountability for how testing supports reliable, scalable and secure data platforms.
As we work within a Scaled Agile framework, you will be comfortable working autonomously, while also collaborating closely with engineers, product and stakeholders to deliver high‑quality outcomes at pace.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and define the test automation approach for data‑driven platforms, including ETL, ingestion and cloud‑based services.
- Design, build and maintain robust automation frameworks, ensuring they are scalable, maintainable and aligned to engineering best practice.
- Act as a senior quality authority within the Data Tribe, proactively identifying risks and influencing technical and delivery decisions.
- Challenge requirements, designs and implementation choices where quality, data integrity or non‑functional concerns are identified.
- Lead testing activities across functional and non‑functional areas including performance, security and data integrity.
- Work closely with engineers during backlog refinement and sprint planning to ensure testability and quality are built in from the outset.
- Mentor and coach other engineers, setting clear quality expectations and raising overall testing maturity.
- Take accountability for testing outcomes in complex or ambiguous environments, including live and production‑adjacent systems.
- Contribute to wider quality and automation improvements across the tribe and organisation.
Required Technical Skills & Experience
- 5+ years’ hands‑on experience designing and implementing test automation frameworks using Python, with BDD tools such as Behave or Cucumber.
- Strong Python fundamentals including data structures, file handling, error handling, logging and debugging.
- Experience using Pandas, APIs, databases and data validation techniques.
- 3+ years’ experience testing data ingestion / ETL pipelines, including reconciliation and transformation validation.
- Strong understanding of relational databases (e.g. SQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle) and GCP data services (e.g. BigQuery, Bigtable).
- Experience working with schema‑based ingestions and contract definitions (e.g. Swagger or similar).
- Hands‑on experience with cloud technologies, preferably GCP and/or Azure.
- Experience working with CI/CD pipelines (preferably Azure DevOps) and cloud‑based Git repositories.
- Experience in non‑functional testing (performance, security), using tools such as JMeter, SonarQube, JFrog or similar.
- Experience with API or data mocks/stubs (e.g. Wiremock or similar).
- Strong experience working in Agile delivery environments, actively contributing to ceremonies and backlog refinement.
- Experience using test management tools such as Jira and Zephyr.
- Experience in FinTech environments (Insurance, Finance or similar).
Desirable Skills & Experience
- Infrastructure as Code experience (e.g. Terraform).
- Unit testing experience.
- Automation testing using Selenium and Java.
- Exposure to cloud‑based test environments.
- Relevant test automation or cloud certifications.
Behavioural & Leadership Expectations
This role requires someone who is comfortable operating at senior level, including:
- Technical ownership and accountability.
- Confidence influencing engineers and stakeholders.
- Strategic thinking around quality and risk.
- Mentorship and coaching.
- Proactive problem solving and continuous improvement.
- Strong communication, adaptability and resilience.
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