Automation Team Leader

Description

We are looking for an Experienced QA Automation Team Lead with a strong background in designing, developing, and maintaining scalable test automation infrastructures.

Skilled in Python-based test development, modern automation frameworks, API testing, and Playwright for UI automation. Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives, guide automation strategy, and integrate innovative testing approaches - including leveraging AI models for intelligent validation, test optimization, and automation tooling. Adept at collaborating across engineering, product, and DevOps teams to improve quality, accelerate releases, and ensure robust system reliability.

Major Responsibilities

Automation Architecture & Infrastructure

• Design, develop, and maintain a scalable automation framework using Python, aligned with product architecture and CI/CD pipelines.
• Lead the creation of reusable libraries, tools, and test utilities to improve automation efficiency.
• Evaluate and integrate new technologies, including AI-assisted test generation, model-based testing, and intelligent failure analysis.
• Establish best practices for code structure, version control, and test maintainability.

Test Development & Execution

• Build and maintain automated test suites for UI, API, backend, and integration layers.
• Implement end-to-end UI automation using Playwright, focusing on reliability and parallel execution.
• Develop robust API tests using Python-based tools (e.g., pytest, requests, FastAPI test helpers).
• Ensure broad test coverage across functional, regression, performance, and security areas.

Quality Leadership & Strategy

• Define the overall automation strategy and ensure its alignment with organizational quality goals.
• Lead and mentor QA engineers, providing guidance in Python development, test design, and automation best practices.
• Collaborate with product, development, and DevOps teams to refine acceptance criteria and testing standards.
• Drive shift-left testing practices and promote automation as a core part of the development lifecycle.

CI/CD & DevOps Collaboration

• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc.).
• Work closely with DevOps to enable test environments, containerized executions, and scalable cloud-based test farms.
• Introduce quality gates and automated blockers to reduce defect leakage and speed up delivery.

AI-enhanced Testing & Innovation

• Utilize AI models to enhance test creation, anomaly detection, log analysis, and flakiness reduction.
• Develop internal tools using AI for automated test maintenance and failure triage.
• Experiment with LLM-driven testing strategies (e.g., agentic testing flows, AI-driven mock generation).

Desired Background

• Strong Python experience, including frameworks like pytest, asyncio, and custom test tool development.
• Playwright expertise for stable and efficient browser-based testing.
• API automation using Python libraries, REST/GraphQL tools, and schema-based validation.
• Experience working with AI/ML models, especially in testing or tooling contexts.
• Familiarity with microservices testing, containerization (Docker), and cloud environments.
• Solid understanding of CI/CD principles and tools (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI).

Quality & Leadership Skills

• Proven experience leading automation teams or initiatives.
• Ability to define test strategy, enforce best practices, and drive quality culture.
• Excellent debugging skills, including analysis of logs, metrics, and distributed system behavior.
• Strong communication and cross-team collaboration abilities.

Bonus / Nice-to-Have

• Experience with performance testing frameworks (Locust, k6).
• Knowledge of security testing fundamentals.
• Familiarity with data pipelines, message queues, or event-driven architecture.