QA Automation (Java/Fix Protocol)

Ocho People Ltd.; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Health insurance

Paid time off

Job summary

Ocho People Ltd. seeks a Backend QA Automation Engineer (Java) in Belfast to own backend quality across Exchange, Clearing and Instrument Management systems.

You will extend the Java-based automation framework, implement tests for FIX protocol and UI layers with Playwright, and work with Product and Engineering to ensure performance and security in a high-stakes financial environment. This full-time, in-person hybrid role offers a generous base salary and an annual discretionary bonus;

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS, software engineering or related.
• 3+ years in QA or software testing, preferably in financial services.
• Hands-on Java experience essential.
• Experience with Spring and Cucumber for backend testing.
• Strong SQL and FIX protocol knowledge.
• Experience with Playwright and JUnit.

Responsibilities

• Extend and maintain Java-based QA automation framework for high performance exchange and instrument management.
• Develop and execute manual and automated test cases for new products and features.
• Review and resolve bugs with Product and Engineering.
• Maintain proficiency in current testing methodologies.
• Test internal and external interfaces including FIX protocol and file formats.
• Test Admin and Customer UIs with Playwright alongside manual tests.
• Verify data integrity, security compliance and performance under load.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to enforce quality standards.
• Monitor test platform performance and data security for a regulated exchange.

Skills

Java

Spring

Cucumber

SQL

FIX protocol

Playwright

JUnit

Test automation

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related discipline

Tools

Playwright

JUnit

FIX protocol tooling

Job description

Backend QA Automation Engineer (Java), FIX protocol- Exchange, Clearing & Instrument Management- Belfast

At a Glance

• 3+ years' QA/test automation experience, ideally within financial services, ideally with current, hands-on Java
• Core stack: Java, Spring, Cucumber, SQL, FIX, with Playwright and JUnit for UI and unit-level automation
• Full-time, in-person hybrid role, hiring in either the US or the UK for the same position
• Generous base salary plus a discretionary annual incentive bonus
• Join a regulated exchange and clearing platform backed by significant investment and major financial and trading partners

About the Company

Our client is building a premier prediction market platform. By empowering traders to take positions on the events that shape our world, the platform harnesses the scale and power of financial markets to produce timely, unique and effective information discovery for leaders and decision makers. The business operates at the frontier, generating market-driven forecasts that turn intuition into insight.

The Role

This is the backend-focused QA Automation Engineer role, distinct from a separate front-end testing position, so it's worth being clear up front: this role is built around current, hands-on Java, not JavaScript, alongside Spring and Cucumber for backend and BDD-style testing. Playwright is used here for testing Admin and Customer user interfaces, but it sits alongside the core Java/Spring/Cucumber stack rather than replacing it. You'll drive quality across the company's Exchange, Clearing and Instrument Management systems, extending the QA automation framework and implementing comprehensive front-end and back-end automated testing. You'll work closely with Product and Engineering to enforce rigorous quality standards on a platform that underpins a regulated exchange and clearing business, where reliability and performance are non-negotiable.

Key Responsibilities

• Extend and maintain the Java based QA automation framework to support new test cases across a high performance, low latency exchange, clearing platform and instrument management system
• Develop and execute manual and automated test cases to ensure new products and features meet requirements
• Review and resolve bugs in close collaboration with Product and Engineering
• Maintain proficiency in current testing methodologies
• Rigorously test all interfaces, both internal and external facing, including FIX protocol, proprietary binary message formats, and incoming/outgoing file formats
• Test Admin and Customer user interfaces using Playwright alongside manual test cases
• Verify functionality, data integrity, security compliance and performance under expected load
• Partner with Product and Engineering to define and enforce rigorous quality standards
• Monitor test platform performance, data integrity and security compliance to meet the demands of a high-stakes regulated exchange

What You'll Need

Essential:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related discipline
• 3+ years' experience in a quality assurance or software testing role, preferably within financial services
• Current, hands-on Java experience, this is core to the role and not interchangeable with JavaScript
• Experience with Spring and Cucumber for backend and BDD-style testing
• Strong proficiency in SQL and FIX
• Experience with Playwright and JUnit, and familiarity with test reporting and analysis
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex data concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple priorities at once
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail

Desirable / Nice to Have:

• Experience with derivative contracts (futures, options) and financial markets
• Working knowledge of Python

Why Apply?

• Generous base salary, plus participation in a discretionary annual incentive bonus programme
• Health, vision and dental insurance for employees and eligible dependants
• Paid time off, and a genuine focus on employee wellbeing
• A critical, high-visibility role within a path-breaking company operating at the frontier of financial markets

Additional Information

This is a full-time, in-person hybrid position. The business is not able to offer visa sponsorship now or in the future; applicants must be authorised to work on a permanent, indefinite basis in the country they are applying to.