The Quality Assurance Engineer (QA Engineer) is responsible for ensuring the quality, reliability, and performance of GDT’s auction platform and associated services. This role exists to ensure that our systems not only meet the highest standards of excellence but also provide a seamless and trustworthy experience for our customers.
The role is critical in maintaining compliance with industry regulations, proactively identifying areas for improvement, and ensuring that all enhancements are implemented effectively to sustain platform stability and user satisfaction.
The right person will bring deep hands-on experience in test automation and in functional and non-functional testing, a sharp eye for risk on high-transaction platforms, and the collaborative approach needed to act as a quality advocate across GDT’s engineering teams.

Responsibilities

Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in web-based software quality assurance covering all aspects of functional and non-functional testing, with a strong understanding of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and QA methodologies

• Minimum 5 years’ hands-on test automation experience using modern tools such as Playwright, including building and maintaining automated test suites integrated with CI/CD pipelines to maximise coverage and stability across releases

• Strong experience conducting functional and non-functional testing, including API, E2E, performance, load, stress, and security testing; able to use tools such as JMeter for performance testing and to apply security best practice during testing

• Knowledge of cloud environments such as AWS and Azure and experience running automated tests within them, with an understanding of how cloud infrastructure affects testing strategy

• Proficiency with bug tracking tools such as Jira for logging, triaging, and managing issues, and experience prioritising issues by severity and impact on the product

• Experience mentoring junior engineers, contributing to a positive and collaborative team environment, and leading QA efforts on medium to large-scale projects

• At least 2 years’ experience working in Agile teams (Scrum or Kanban), including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and iterative development cycles

• Demonstrated QA experience on high-transaction digital platforms where precision, compliance, and data integrity are essential to operational standards and regulatory requirements

• (preferred) Master’s degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related discipline

• (preferred) Experience integrating QA processes into DevOps pipelines using tools such as Jenkins or GitHub Actions, and supporting continuous testing in continuous deployment environments

• (preferred) Familiarity with security testing tools and practices such as OWASP ZAP or Burp Suite; experience integrating security checks into the automation process is a plus

• (preferred) Experience in a small to medium-sized business where software plays a central role in the product or service offering

• (preferred) Prior experience in the dairy, agriculture, or global trading platforms industry

• (preferred) Experience working in a global or multicultural environment with diverse teams

Personal Attributes

• Broad, practical command of QA practice, including test automation and functional and non-functional testing, with the ability to design tests that are scalable, maintainable, and give comprehensive coverage

• Analytical, able to examine complex systems, identify potential weaknesses, and proactively develop testing strategies

• A proven problem-solver who can quickly assess and resolve complex technical challenges in high-pressure environments

• An excellent communicator, able to explain testing processes and results clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences

• A strong leader and team player who mentors junior engineers, fosters collaboration across teams, and leads initiatives to successful outcomes

• Meticulous attention to detail in identifying issues, inconsistencies, and risk, and in executing test cases and reviewing results

• Highly adaptable to changing priorities, technologies, and environments, and quick to embrace new tools and methodologies

• Highly organised with strong time management, balancing multiple priorities and delivering high-quality work under tight deadlines

Success Indicators

• A clear, agreed test strategy is in place and kept current, covering functional, regression, performance, and security testing for new and existing features

• Automated test coverage grows across API and E2E layers and runs reliably within the CI/CD pipeline, steadily reducing manual testing effort

• Defects are caught before production, with few escaped defects or quality-related incidents reaching live auctions

• Go/no-go decisions are supported by timely, well-evidenced quality assessments, and releases move to production with minimal disruption

• Live auctions run smoothly, with issues identified and resolved quickly in close partnership with Trading Operations

• Performance and load testing surfaces bottlenecks early, and recommended improvements contribute to platform scalability and responsiveness

• Security vulnerabilities are identified early in the development cycle and resolved in order of priority

• Junior QA engineers grow in capability, and QA processes, documentation, and the knowledge base are continually improved

Requirements

The QA Engineer is accountable for overseeing the quality assurance and support activities that are vital to maintaining the stability, security, and overall reliability of GDT’s systems. All accountabilities are executed in alignment with GDT’s technical strategy and GDT’s commitment to operating as an independent, neutral, and transparent price discovery platform.

• Test Planning & Strategy: Define, implement, and manage comprehensive testing strategies for new and existing features, covering functional, regression, performance, and security testing. Work closely with other engineers, product managers, and stakeholders to ensure strategies are agreed, planned, and collaboratively executed, and regularly review and update them to adapt to changing project needs and ensure all critical areas are covered.

• Test Plan Design & Execution: Create comprehensive test plans that set out test strategies, objectives, scope, and resources. Coordinate their execution with other engineers and teams to validate software quality, confirm that all requirements are met, and identify areas for improvement.

• Test Automation: Design, develop, and maintain the automated test framework and scripts using modern test automation tools such as Playwright. Ensure automation efforts align with business objectives, minimising manual testing effort and enhancing platform stability.

• Functional Testing: Perform functional testing to validate that software features operate as expected. Develop, implement, and maintain test plans and test cases for API and end-to-end (E2E) testing, ensuring seamless functionality, data integrity, and adherence to business workflows across integrated systems. Collaborate with product owners and developers so that test coverage meets functional requirements and provides reliable feedback.

• Non-Functional Testing: Conduct non-functional testing, including performance and load testing, to assess the scalability, reliability, and responsiveness of the platform. Work closely with the engineering team to identify bottlenecks and recommend improvements.

• Security in Testing: Integrate security testing into QA processes so that vulnerabilities are identified and mitigated early in the development cycle, and collaborate with the engineering team to prioritise and resolve security issues.

• Issue Triage: Identify, categorise, and prioritise issues to ensure efficient resolution. Work closely with developers and stakeholders to determine the impact of issues and facilitate their timely resolution.

• Live Auction Support: Participate in live auction events as required, ensuring that all functionality is operational and addressing issues in real time. Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to troubleshoot and resolve problems quickly, ensuring smooth auctions.

• Release Management & Deployment: Assist in release planning and provide a quality assessment to support go/no-go decisions. Ensure smooth transitions from testing to production with minimal downtime or disruption, and validate that deployed features perform as expected in live environments.

• Quality Advocacy & Continuous Improvement: Act as a quality advocate within cross-functional teams, promoting best practice in software development and testing. Review and refine QA processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness, proactively suggest and implement improvements with a focus on automation, security, and efficiency, and stay up to date with emerging technology trends and advances in QA practice.

• Mentoring & Knowledge Sharing: Provide guidance, mentoring, and support to junior QA engineers, promoting knowledge sharing and professional growth. Conduct code and test case reviews to maintain quality standards, and help create documentation, knowledge base articles, and training materials for internal and external stakeholders.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Keep the CTO informed of key issues in the quality domain and share insights on emerging industry trends, best practices, and innovative solutions. Work with the Head of Engineering to ensure testing aligns with technical strategy and quality standards; with Product Managers to ensure testing meets user stories and business needs; with Software Engineers to troubleshoot bugs and performance issues; with fellow QA Engineers on coverage, knowledge sharing, and automation goals; and with DevOps Engineers to integrate test automation within the CI/CD pipeline. Provide real-time support to the Trading Operations team on performance and uptime of critical trading platforms, and coordinate with third-party vendors on hardware, software, or external service issues affecting internal systems or customer products.