Contract Test Automation Engineer (QA)

Ocho People; Belfast; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A recruiting firm is seeking a Contract Test Automation Engineer in Belfast, with potential for hybrid work. The successful candidate will be involved in establishing a new test automation function and evolving frameworks. Responsibilities include creating automated UI testing with Playwright, developing API automation, and working with CI/CD processes. Ideal for experienced automation professionals comfortable with TypeScript and AWS. This opportunity promises long-term engagement and a chance to lead automation practices.

Qualifications

• Commercial experience delivering automation using TypeScript and Playwright.
• Strong understanding of automated testing across UI and API layers.
• Experience working in AWS-hosted environments is highly advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of evolving an early-stage automation framework into a production-grade solution.
• Create and maintain automated UI test coverage using Playwright and TypeScript.
• Develop reliable API automation suites to support service-level testing.
• Work closely with developers to embed quality practices across build and release cycles.

Skills

Test Automation

TypeScript

Playwright

API Automation

CI/CD Pipelines

AWS

Job description

Contract Test Automation Engineer (QA)

Day Rate: Up to £400 per day (Inside IR35)

Duration: 12 months

Location: Belfast (Hybrid)

Ocho is partnering with a high-growth engineering team in Belfast to support the build-out of a brand-new test automation function. This is a greenfield engagement where the successful contractor will help establish automation as a core part of the delivery process, rather than inheriting an existing framework.

You will be joining a modern cloud-native platform operating at scale, working alongside experienced engineers to put strong quality practices in place from the ground up. This contract offers genuine long-term stability in the local market and the chance to shape how testing is done across the wider engineering function.

This role would suit an experienced Test Automation contractor who enjoys owning frameworks and tooling, or a strong mid-level automation engineer ready to step into a more influential, end-to-end role.

The Role

• Take ownership of evolving an early-stage automation framework into a production-grade solution.
• Create and maintain automated UI test coverage using Playwright and TypeScript.
• Develop reliable API automation suites to support service-level testing.
• Contribute to performance testing strategy and tooling selection.
• Work closely with developers to embed quality practices across build and release cycles.
• Support continuous improvement of testing processes within CI/CD pipelines.

The Person

• Commercial experience delivering automation using TypeScript and Playwright.
• Strong understanding of automated testing across UI and API layers, including regression strategies.Some exposure to Java is beneficial.
• Experience working in AWS-hosted environments is highly advantageous.
• Background contributing to test framework structure, utilities, or tooling decisions.
• Comfortable working with CI/CD pipelines in cloud platforms.
• Confident engaging with engineers and promoting test automation best practice.

Contract Details

Day Rate: Up to £400 per day

IR35 Status: Inside IR35

Contract Length: 12 months

Location: Belfast, hybrid working

Apply here or reach out to Aaron Somers at Ocho for more information via LinkedIn.