Senior Test Automation Engineer (Contract)

We're looking for a Senior Test Automation Engineer (Contract) to join our team in Belfast, United Kingdom in a hybrid working mode. In this role, you will take ownership of the testing strategy for a complex, containerized microservice architecture. You will enhance existing frameworks, extend automation capabilities across integration, performance and CI/CD, and drive best practices to ensure high-quality delivery.

Responsibilities

• Architect and enhance test frameworks to improve end-to-end testing strategy and integration validation for microservices
• Develop robust integration tests within a containerized environment using Docker and Java containers
• Build and maintain automated test scripts for frontend systems using TypeScript and Playwright
• Develop and maintain backend and API testing solutions for services communicating via mechanisms like SNS queues
• Standardize and extend Python-based tools for exploratory and manual testing support
• Shape performance testing strategy to identify bottlenecks and optimize system responsiveness
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines using GitLab and evaluate trade-offs between main development flow and separate pipelines
• Drive adoption of automation best practices, design patterns and effective test data management strategies across the team

Requirements

• Proven experience designing and building automated test solutions for complex, distributed systems
• Strong proficiency in Java and/or TypeScript for backend and frontend test automation
• Hands-on experience with Playwright for frontend testing
• Experience with containerized test environments using Docker
• Expertise in CI/CD pipeline integration and strategy, preferably with GitLab
• Proficiency with Python for scripting and tooling development
• Deep understanding of testing within a microservice architecture, including integration testing patterns and challenges
• Ability to articulate and defend technical decisions, including test data strategies, test design patterns and CI/CD trade-offs

Nice to have

• Experience testing asynchronous systems and message queues such as AWS SNS/SQS
• Familiarity with performance testing tools and methodologies
• Strong understanding of Agile delivery and DevOps practices