Senior Automation QA

*** Hybrid : 3 days in the Cork office, 2 days remote***

We are looking for a Senior Automation QA to join our client, a fast‑growing provider of Risk & Balance Sheet Management solutions for financial institutions.

This is a Senior hands‑on QA role focused on driving and improving product quality across multiple projects. You will work closely with the Test Lead and engineering teams to shape test strategy and lead the design, development, and maintenance of automated test suites, with a strong emphasis on Python and Playwright.

You will also play a key role in adopting AI‑assisted engineering tools, using Claude Code and Cursor in your day‑to‑day work, while mentoring and upskilling the wider QA team on automation.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with the Test Team Lead to define and evolve the test strategy for new and existing systems
• Lead implementation of test practices for prioritised systems, aligned with client's standards and modern automation best practice
• Design, build, and maintain robust automated test suites using Python and Playwright
• Design and maintain BDD-style coverage using Behave (Gherkin) where appropriate
• Use Claude Code and Cursor as primary development tools for test authoring, refactoring, debugging, and triage
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps, enabling fast and reliable feedback
• Execute and maintain test scripts across the full product lifecycle, optimising for stability and performance
• Triage failing tests, eliminate flakiness, and drive root-cause analysis with engineering teams
• Log defects and manage them through the remediation lifecycle
• Participate in project planning and proactively identify opportunities to expand automation coverage
• Continuously improve automation frameworks, tooling, and QA practices
• Upskill and mentor other QA team members through coaching, pairing, knowledge sharing, and code reviews
• Champion adoption of modern, AI‑assisted QA workflows

Competencies

• Quality Focus: Strong attention to detail; consistently raises quality standards
• Technical Leadership: Acts as a technical role model within QA; proactively adopts emerging AI‑assisted tools
• Initiative: Takes ownership of complex problems and drives improvements independently
• Innovation: Brings original thinking and proposes meaningful improvements to processes and tooling
• Teamwork & Mentorship: Collaborates across QA, engineering, and product, supports team growth
• Communication: Communicates clearly with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, including written test strategies and reports

Education & ExperienceEssential

• Degree in Computing or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years’ software testing experience with a strong automation focus
• Proven end‑to‑end ownership of test automation frameworks
• Strong hands‑on expertise in Python
• Strong hands‑on experience with Playwright
• Day‑to‑day practical use of Claude Code
• CI/CD pipeline integration experience
• Clear and detailed test plan and test case writing
• Experience working in Agile development environments

Desirable

• Behave (Python BDD) and Gherkin scenarios
• Banking, financial services, or regulated software domain experience
• API testing (REST, JSON Schema, contract testing)
• Azure DevOps (pipelines, test plans, work items)
• .NET / C# application testing
• Snowflake (SQL, data validation, data‑driven testing)
• Linear for issue tracking and engineering workflows
• Defining or evolving an automation strategy from scratch

If this role suits your experience and ambitions, we encourage you to apply.