Automation QA Lead
hace 2 días
Manchester
___ is a UK-based SaaS company focused on solving a real communication challenge inside organisations: how to keep employees and customers connected, informed and part of a community. We didn’t start in SaaS - the company originally came from print media. But in 2015–16, we made an early pivot into mobile apps as we recognised how quickly everything was moving to smartphones. In 2017, two new owners with strong SaaS backgrounds led the shift towards a product-led business, and in 2019 we brought in a new Head of Engineering to help shape the modern platform. Fast forward to today: we now work with 60+ customers across sectors like retail, automotive, legal, and professional services, with impressive revenue - all organically grown. We compete with large general-purpose platforms, but win when organisations want something more focused, practical, and supported by people who genuinely understand their needs. We’re at a pivotal stage. The product works, the customer base is growing, and design is the biggest opportunity we have to elevate the entire experience. Why This Role Is So Exciting!! • This isn’t a “maintain what already exists” QA role - you’ll define how quality is built, scaled and embedded across the product., • You’ll report directly to our Head of Engineering and work closely with product and engineering leadership., • You’ll own quality end to end, with real influence over release confidence, automation strategy and engineering best practice., • You’ll balance hands-on automation work with leadership and mentoring, shaping a modern, scalable QA function., • You’ll work in a team that already values automation and quality, with the mandate to evolve and improve how we test across web and mobile., • As the business grows, you’ll have the opportunity to build and lead a larger QA team and set long-term quality standards. If you’re ready for a role with ownership, technical depth and the ability to make a visible impact on product quality, this is a strong fit. Overview of the Role You’ll lead our QA function, reporting into the Head of Engineering and partnering closely with engineering and product teams to ensure quality is embedded throughout our development lifecycle. This is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll own our testing strategy and automation roadmap while remaining actively involved in writing, maintaining and improving automated tests across web and mobile platforms. We already have a solid automation foundation in place and are committed to continuing that investment. You’ll evolve our approach, improve reliability and execution speed, and ensure testing scales as the platform and team grow. As we scale, you’ll line-manage and develop the QA team, building a high-performing quality function. Key Responsibilities Quality Leadership & Strategy • Define and own the overall QA and test automation strategy, • Represent quality in sprint planning, technical discussions and release decisions, • Build a scalable automation roadmap that supports frequent releases, • Improve test coverage, execution speed and confidence in releases, • Line-manage and mentor QA engineers, supporting growth and development Hands-On Automation & Testing • Write, maintain and improve automated tests using Playwright (web) and Appium (mobile), • Improve test stability, reliability and CI/CD integration, • Manage test planning and execution using TestRail, ensuring clear visibility of coverage and results, • Work closely with engineers to embed quality early in the development process, • Support testing across development, sandbox and production environments Collaboration & Process • Partner closely with engineering and product teams day to day, • Support the QA team in managing TestRail and JIRA integration, • Help drive improvements to release processes and test environments, • Champion quality standards and best practice across the organisation What You’ll Work On (First 6–12 Months) • Reduce customer-found defects by strengthening test coverage and earlier detection, • Optimise automated test execution time and CI/CD reliability, • Evolve the automation framework across web and mobile platforms, • Improve visibility of quality metrics and test results, • Introduce a more strategic, long-term vision for QA as the product and team scale What We’re Looking For Essential • Significant commercial experience in Automation QA, • Strong commercial hands-on experience with modern web automation frameworks (Playwright, Cypress, Selenium), • Good commercial experience with mobile automation tools (Appium, Detox or similar), • Proven experience line-managing or mentoring QA engineers, • Experience working in agile / scrum environments, • Familiarity with test management tools such as TestRail, • Strong communication skills and confidence advocating for quality It’d Be Nice If You Have • Experience integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines, • API testing experience (Postman, REST Assured or similar), • Experience testing multi-tenant SaaS products, • Exposure to Laravel, AWS or MySQL environments, • Experience building or scaling QA teams in early-stage or growing companies, • Familiarity with AI-assisted testing tools (e.g. TestMu AI) Our Current Setup (For Context) • Automation: Playwright (web), Appium (mobile), • CI/CD: Azure DevOps pipelines, • Test Management: TestRail, • Backlog: JIRA, • Environments: Development, sandbox and production, • Release Cadence: Smaller frequent releases, with larger quarterly releases What’s on offer: • Genuinely competitive salary package (full details to be disclosed during interviews), • Unlimited annual leave policy, • Flexi-hybrid working (2days in our stunning office, with roof terrace, in central Manchester), • Other perks: Private Healthcare, Pension Scheme, Gym, cycle store and on-site shower facilities, Cycle to work scheme, Death in Service, Quarterly release parties& Fantastic summer and Christmas social events Interview Process / Candidate Experience We keep things simple, respectful of your time, and focused on genuine conversation. • Intro call – informal chat with our Talent team to understand your background and what you’re looking for (30 mins, video call), • Conversation with Head of Engineering – deeper discussion about the role, your experience and expectations (45 - 60 mins, video call), • Final F2F session – meet wider team members, discuss ways of working, values and any final questions (60-75 mins, F2F) We aim to move quickly, provide clear feedback at every stage, and create a process that feels like a two-way evaluation