QA Automation Specialist

Ocho People; Belfast City District; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Health cover

Dental cover

Vision cover

Paid time off

Wellbeing support

Hybrid working model

Job summary

Ocho People is seeking a QA Automation Specialist for Exchange & Clearing Systems on a hybrid basis in the UK. You will extend a Java-based automation framework covering the Exchange, Clearing and Instrument Management platforms, testing frontend and backend interfaces including FIX and UI layers.

You will collaborate with Product and Engineering to drive quality, automate tests, and ensure data integrity and performance in a regulated trading environment with discretionary bonus potential.

Qualifications

• 3+ years experience in a QA or software testing role, ideally within financial services.
• Strong proficiency in Java, Python, FIX and SQL.
• Hands-on experience with Cucumber, Playwright and JUnit, plus test reporting and analysis.
• Excellent communication skills, able to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related discipline.
• Right to work in the UK on a permanent, indefinite basis (no visa sponsorship available).

Responsibilities

• Extend and maintain the Java based QA automation framework supporting the exchange, clearing and instrument management platforms.
• Design and execute manual and automated test cases across new products and features.
• Test FIX protocol, proprietary binary message formats and file based interfaces for both internal and external consumption.
• Automate Admin and Customer UI testing using Playwright alongside targeted manual test cases.
• Validate data integrity, security compliance and performance under expected load.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to review, triage and resolve bugs.
• Define and enforce rigorous quality standards across the platform in collaboration with Product and Engineering.
• Monitor test platform performance and reliability to meet the demands of a regulated exchange.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of current testing methodologies and tooling.

Skills

Java

Python

FIX

SQL

Cucumber

Playwright

JUnit

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related discipline

Job description

QA Automation Specialist (Exchange & Clearing Systems) Hybrid role

At a Glance

• Individual contributor QA role at a high-growth prediction markets trading firm
• Core stack: Java, Python, FIX, SQL, Cucumber, Playwright, JUnit
• Salary: £45,000 - £60,000 plus discretionary annual bonus
• 3+ years experience required, financial services testing background preferred
• Central role in quality for a CFTC regulated exchange and clearing platform

About the Company

Our client is a specialist prediction markets trading firm, operating at the frontier of financial markets in partnership with major institutional players. They are building the premier prediction market platform, empowering traders to take positions on real-world events and generating market-driven forecasts for decision makers. The platform sits behind a CFTC regulated exchange and clearing business, and the engineering team is lean, highly skilled, and building infrastructure that operates at genuine exchange scale.

The Role

As QA Automation Specialist you will drive quality across the firm's Exchange, Clearing and Instrument Management systems, working closely with Product and Engineering to extend the Java based QA automation framework and build out comprehensive front-end and back-end test coverage. This is a hands-on, detail-focused role suited to an engineer who takes genuine ownership of quality across a regulated, high-stakes trading platform. You will test everything from FIX protocol and proprietary binary message interfaces through to Admin and Customer facing UIs, ensuring the platform performs reliably under real exchange conditions.

Key Responsibilities

• Extend and maintain the Java based QA automation framework supporting the exchange, clearing and instrument management platforms
• Design and execute manual and automated test cases across new products and features
• Test FIX protocol, proprietary binary message formats and file based interfaces for both internal and external consumption
• Automate Admin and Customer UI testing using Playwright alongside targeted manual test cases
• Validate data integrity, security compliance and performance under expected load
• Partner with Product and Engineering to review, triage and resolve bugs
• Define and enforce rigorous quality standards across the platform in collaboration with Product and Engineering
• Monitor test platform performance and reliability to meet the demands of a regulated exchange
• Maintain up to date knowledge of current testing methodologies and tooling

What You'll Need

Essential:

• 3+ years experience in a QA or software testing role, ideally within financial services
• Strong proficiency in Java, Python, FIX and SQL
• Hands-on experience with Cucumber, Playwright and JUnit, plus test reporting and analysis
• Excellent communication skills, able to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related discipline
• Right to work in the UK on a permanent, indefinite basis (no visa sponsorship available)

Desirable / Nice to Have:

• Experience with derivative contracts (futures, options) and financial markets
• Exposure to testing regulated exchange or clearing infrastructure

Why Apply?

• £45,000 - £60,000 salary plus discretionary annual bonus
• Central role in quality for a CFTC regulated exchange and clearing platform, not a ticket-driven testing role
• Genuine ownership of automation strategy across exchange, clearing and instrument management systems
• Full-time, in-person hybrid working model
• Pension scheme, plus health, dental and vision cover
• Generous paid time off and wellbeing support
• Join a high-growth prediction markets trading firm working alongside major institutional partners
• Inclusive, values-led workplace that invests in career development