Automation Tester

Job title: Automation Tester

Department: Software Development

Location: Remote

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Salary: Competitive

We're looking for an Automation Tester to be part of our success story.

Listed in the 2022 Sunday Times 100: Britain's fastest-growing private companies.
Great career development opportunities - grow with us.

About the role

We are seeking a skilled Automation Tester to ensure the quality of our software products through comprehensive automated testing. This role focuses on building and maintaining test automation frameworks using Playwright, working closely with developers to ensure high-quality deliverables. The ideal candidate will have strong testing expertise and experience with modern automation tools.

Key responsibilities

Test Automation (70%)

• Design, develop, and maintain automated test suites using Playwright
• Create end-to-end tests for web applications built with React and .NET
• Implement cross-browser testing strategies (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• Build API test automation for RESTful services
• Develop visual regression tests to catch UI changes
• Maintain and enhance the test automation framework
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps)
• Monitor and report on test execution results
• Debug failing tests and work with developers to resolve issues
• Implement performance testing for critical user journeys

Quality Assurance (20%)

• Participate in requirement reviews to ensure testability
• Create comprehensive test plans and test cases
• Perform exploratory testing on new features
• Validate bug fixes and verify resolved issues
• Ensure test coverage metrics meet team standards
• Review and test database operations and data integrity
• Test message queue implementations (RabbitMQ)

Collaboration & Process (10%)

• Work closely with developers during sprint planning
• Provide early feedback on feature implementations
• Participate in Agile ceremonies and contribute to process improvements
• Document test strategies and maintain testing documentation
• Mentor team members on testing best practices
• Communicate test results and quality metrics to stakeholders

Skills and experience

Note: While proficiency in the Core Technologies listed below is required, we recognize that candidates may not have experience with every technology in the Additional Technical Skills section. We're looking for candidates who have experience with some of these technologies and are eager to learn others.

Core Technologies

• Test Automation: Playwright - 2+ years experience
• Programming: JavaScript/TypeScript/C# for test development
• Web Technologies: Strong understanding of HTML, CSS, and web applications
• API Testing: Experience with REST API testing tools and techniques
• Version Control: Git proficiency

Testing Expertise

• End-to-end testing strategies
• Cross-browser testing
• Mobile responsive testing
• Visual regression testing
• Performance testing basics
  
• Accessibility testing knowledge
• Test data management
  
• Test environment configuration
  

Additional Technical Skills

• CI/CD integration experience, Azure DevOps preferred
  
• Basic understanding of .NET and React applications
• SQL knowledge for database validation
• Container testing with Docker
• Basic Kubernetes knowledge for testing deployed applications
• Observability tools for test monitoring
• Experience with test reporting tools
• AI-powered testing tools experience

Required Soft Skills

• Attention to Detail: Meticulous in finding and documenting issues
• Communication: Clear bug reporting and status communication
• Critical Thinking: Ability to think like a user and identify edge cases
• Collaboration: Works effectively with developers and product owners
• Problem-Solving: Analytical approach to debugging test failures
• Time Management: Balances automation development with testing needs
• Adaptability: Flexible with changing requirements and priorities

Experience & Education

• Experience: 3-5 years in software testing with 2+ years in test automation
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
  
• Certifications: ISTQB or similar testing certifications are a plus

Working Methodology

• Agile/Scrum experience required
  
• Shift-left testing approach
• Continuous testing in CI/CD pipelines
• Risk-based testing strategies
  

Key Deliverables

• Comprehensive Playwright test suite
  
• Automated regression test coverage
• Integration with Azure DevOps pipelines
• Test execution reports and metrics
• Performance test baselines
• Testing documentation and runbooks

Tools & Technologies You'll Work With

• Primary: Playwright, JavaScript/TypeScript, VS Code
• Applications: React frontends, .NET APIs
• Databases: MySQL, MSSQL
  
• Infrastructure: Docker, Kubernetes, Azure
• CI/CD: Azure DevOps
• Messaging: RabbitMQ
• Search: Elasticsearch
• Monitoring: Application Insights, test analytics tools

Benefits

• 33 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• Personal health cash plan - claim back the cost of things like dentist and optical check ups
• Enhanced maternity / paternity / adoption / shared parental pay
• Life assurance: three times basic salary
• Free breakfasts and fruit
• Birthday surprise for everybody!

What you can expect from us

At Activate Group, looking after team members is a major priority. Whether you're at our smart Halifax or Peterborough offices, one of our AAR sites or working from home, we'll make sure you have all the support you need to succeed.

From benefits that put your health and wellbeing first, to impressive rewards for our employee of the month, and little perks like free fruit and cereal, we'll go out of our way to show how much we appreciate you.

A bit about us

Named by the Sunday Times as one of the UK's 100 fastest-growing private companies, we employ more than 700 team members nationwide.

We work with some of the UK's largest fleets and insurance companies, supporting drivers that have been involved in a road incident at our contact centres in Halifax and Peterborough.

We look after every step of the repair process, repairing vehicles at our own Activate Accident Repair body shops, and through a UK-wide network of independent repair partners.

Want to know what it's like to work with us? Take a look at our purpose and values. They define who we are, and how we work with team members, customers and suppliers:

Purpose: Make someone's bad day better

Values:

• Make it happen - Be accountable. Take the initiative, work fast, and do a great job.
• Strive for better - Be bold. Challenge the norm - make small improvements often.
• Win together - Be a team-player. Win together, learn together, respect each other.