QA Automation Engineer

POSITION DETAILS: Position Title: QA Automation Engineer Reports to (POSITION): QA Manager Team: QA Test team Department: Systems Development Grade (If Applicable): PURPOSE OF JOB: Bytes Software Services is seeking an experienced and motivated QA Automation Engineer with a strong foundation in manual testing and a passion for delivering high-quality software through automation. This role is primarily focused on designing, developing, and maintaining automated testing solutions using Playwright with experience of TypeScript or JavaScript or similar modern frameworks such as Cypress, whilst applying good manual testing skills across web applications, APIs, and backend systems where required. Working closely with Developers, Product Owners, Business Analysts, and DevOps teams, you will play a key role in embedding quality throughout the software development lifecycle and supporting continuous delivery practices. We are looking for a well-rounded QA professional with experience across frontend, backend, API, and end-to-end testing, and a proven ability to build and maintain reliable automated test suites. You will contribute to the growth of our automation capability, helping to increase test coverage, improve release confidence, and support the delivery of high-quality software. Working within a collaborative Agile environment, you will help shape testing standards, drive continuous improvement, and promote a quality-first mindset across the team. The role requires a minimum of three days per week onsite to support close collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Design, develop, maintain, and execute automated UI and API tests using Playwright applying Page Object Model (POM) principles, whilst contributing to the continuous improvement of automation frameworks and best practices. Perform exploratory, functional, integration, regression, and end-to-end testing across web applications, APIs, and backend services. Create and maintain test cases, test scenarios, test plans, and test data to support both manual and automated testing activities. Conduct API testing using Postman, Playwright, or similar tools, ensuring functionality, reliability, and data integrity. Integrate and maintain automated tests within CI/CD pipelines, supporting continuous testing and rapid feedback. Use GitHub and source control best practices to manage automation code and contribute to collaborative development workflows. Identify, document, prioritise, and retest defects, working closely with development teams to ensure timely resolution. Actively participate in Agile ceremonies, contributing to sprint planning, refinement, estimation, reviews, and retrospectives. Promote a quality-first mindset and contribute to the continuous improvement of testing processes, tools, and standards. WIDER TEAM NETWORK Internal Development and Business Analysis teams External N/A ESSENTIAL SKILLS & EXPERIANCES Minimum 5 years' commercial software testing experience within Agile delivery environments. Strong hands-on experience developing and maintaining automated tests using Playwright using TypeScript. Experience implementing automation frameworks using Page Object Model (POM) or similar design patterns. Solid manual testing experience across web applications, APIs, backend systems, and end-to-end business processes. Experience testing RESTful APIs using Postman or similar tools. Good working knowledge of SQL for data validation, investigation, and verification. Experience using GitHub or other Git-based version control systems. Experience working with CI/CD pipelines and continuous testing practices. Understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and Software Testing Lifecycle (STLC). ISTQB Foundation Certification or equivalent testing qualification. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills. Strong understanding of test automation principles and modern software testing practices. Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with a methodical approach to defect investigation. Self-motivated and accountable, with the ability to manage priorities and deliver high-quality outcomes. Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Collaborative team player with a proactive approach to continuous improvement and quality assurance. DESRABLE SKILLS & EXPERIANCES Experience with Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or similar CI/CD platforms. Experience testing cloud-hosted applications and services. Exposure to Behavior Driven Development (BDD) tools such as Cucumber. Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or related discipline. Exposure to performance or load testing tools such as JMeter, k6, or similar. Familiarity with cross-browser, cross-device testing. Experience with API automation testing and API mocking/stubbing techniques.