Quality Automation Engineer (Maternity cover)

Yoto; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Life Assurance

Pension

Birthday off

Sabbatical

Job summary

Yoto is building a screen-free audio platform for families, with a mission to deliver reliable experiences across devices. As a Quality Automation Engineer, you will own end-to-end test automation for the Yoto website and services, ensuring high-quality releases.

You will work with the software engineering team in a hybrid London setup, shaping test strategy, embedding quality early in development, and mentoring others to raise our standard of software quality.

Qualifications

• Proven experience designing automated tests with Cypress.
• Strong JavaScript/TypeScript skills.
• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and documentation.
• Self-starter with ownership and proactive testing mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own the design, implementation and maintenance of automated tests for the Yoto platform.
• Define test strategy and coverage end-to-end.
• Collaborate with engineers to embed quality earlier in the development lifecycle.
• Assist mobile developers with manual QA of critical work.
• Identify gaps in test coverage and build automated solutions.
• Mentor teammates and promote quality practices across the team.
• Improve tooling and CI/CD pipelines to support fast releases.

Skills

Cypress

JavaScript

TypeScript

CI/CD

Test automation

Tools

CI/CD tooling

Job description

We're looking for a Quality Automation Engineer to join our team to own end-to-end test automation across Yoto's platform, helping us ship reliable, high-quality experiences to families around the world.

About Yoto

Yoto is a screen-free interactive audio platform for kids. We make carefully connected audio players that kids control, with no microphones, cameras or ads. We have a catalogue of audio that inspires creative play and learning with 1,000+ titles in our card store from top creators, publishers and labels - think Disney, Marvel, Roald Dahl and Universal Music. We also create Yoto Originals like BrainBots.

• Voted the 14th fastest-growing private software technology company in Britain in The Sunday Times 100 Tech 2025; and named the 94th fastest-growing company in Europe in the prestigious FT1000.


• Ranked 9th in Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2024; and featured in the Sifted 100 fastest-growing startups across the UK&I by revenue growth.


• Featured in Bloomberg's 25 UK startups to watch in 2023; and ranked second fastest growing tech company in the UK in the Deloitte Fast50.


• Named one of TIME Magazine's Top 100 Inventions of 2020.


• We're over 200 employees spread across the world.. and growing!

We're on a mission to be the soundtrack of childhood, and help families on their own unique adventures. By creating products that inspire independent play, we help families discover and grow with an inspiring world of audio - and we would like you to help us achieve it!

Yoto's Technology Team

Our Software Engineering team builds and maintains the platform that powers every Yoto experience - from the apps families use daily to the serverless backend that delivers audio content reliably at scale. We work across AWS serverless infrastructure, API Gateway, DynamoDB, OpenSearch, CloudFront, and EventBridge, with a culture that values strong documentation, open ownership, and automated tooling. Quality isn't a gate at the end of our process - it's baked in from the start, and this role sits at the heart of that.

What you'll be doing

• Own the design, implementation and maintenance of automated tests on the Yoto website


• Drive test strategy and coverage decisions end-to-end


• Collaborate closely with software engineers to embed quality practices earlier in the development lifecycle, including code reviews and testability guidance


• Working with mobile developers to help manually QA critical pieces of work, and assisting with crafting requirements


• Identify gaps in test coverage and proactively build solutions that reduce manual effort and increase release confidence


• Champion a culture of quality across the team - sharing knowledge, mentoring colleagues, and advocating for best practices


• Continuously improve tooling, pipelines, and test infrastructure to support a fast-moving engineering team.

What you'll bring

• Proven experience designing and building automated tests using the Cypress testing framework, with strong command of JavaScript/TypeScript


• Experience working closely with engineering, design and product in cross functional teams


• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines and a good grasp of what quality at pace looks like


• Strong communication skills - comfortable working cross-functionally, documenting decisions clearly, and influencing without authority


• A self-starter mindset: you take ownership of problems, drive them to resolution, and don't wait to be told what to test next.

Salary

£60,000 - £70,000 based on experience

How we use AI at Yoto

We think using AI to work smarter is part of the job. At Yoto, we use AI to help us move faster and reduce manual work so we can focus our time on creativity, problem-solving and impact. We don't want to use AI to cut corners - it's about smart usage that makes space for the work that really matters. Our intention is to be thoughtful about how we use AI. We treat its outputs as a starting point, not the final answer, and we take care to use it responsibly - especially given the trust families place in Yoto. We don't expect everyone to be an AI expert, but we do expect people to be curious, to experiment, and to keep improving how they work. If you prefer to do everything manually, you might find our pace and expectations challenging. The magic at Yoto comes from people working here, not their prompts. AI should help us move faster, not change what makes working here great.

What you can expect from Yoto

• Flexibility: Hybrid working - At least 1 day a week on average in our central London office. You are welcome and encouraged to come in more than this. How you meet the minimum expectation is up to you, to ensure you're happy and productive in your role whilst also getting that vital face time with your colleagues. Take advantage of our 'work from anywhere' policy to work from a different location for up to 6 weeks every year. Summer Hours policy to use between the months of June and August.


• Financial: Receive Income Protection, covering long term sickness for up to 2 years and company sick pay that increases with length of service. Life Assurance cover from day one of your service. Workplace Pension offering up to to 3% employer contributions, following probation. Generous employee referral bonus scheme.


• Health & Wellness: Private Medical Insurance via Aviva, or a Wellbeing Allowance to be used for memberships, subscriptions, treatment or therapy. Access to 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) through WeCare and unlimited access to Dental advice and guidance via Toothfairy. Bike to work scheme to promote healthier lifestyles.


• Time Off: 25 days of holiday per year, plus bank holidays. On top of this, you also receive your birthday off, plus 1 extra day of holiday for every year worked after you hit your 2 year anniversary, up to 5 extra days. After 4 years of service, you are also eligible for our sabbatical policy offering up to 3 months' of unpaid sabbatical.


• Helping Families: Variety of family-friendly leave, including enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, fertility, pregnancy loss and carers leave. Unlock savings with our workplace nursery scheme, designed to support parents of preschool-aged children.


• People & Planet: Up to 2 volunteer days a year. A Book Allowance of up to £50 a year to contribute to your professional development.


• Fun Perks: You receive your very own Yoto player and starter pack of cards! Regular company socials and celebrations, including our annual YotoFest!

Equity and Diversity

At Yoto, we love creating a world where childhood is rich with discovery and joy. We're also passionate about building a workplace where everyone can thrive - both professionally and personally. We value flexibility and give our team the freedom to balance life and work in ways that suit them.

We're committed to fostering a safe, diverse, and inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of their background, feel valued and supported. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion group holds bi-monthly forums to elevate diverse voices and perspectives, ensuring everyone at Yoto feels heard, respected, and appreciated.

We don't just embrace differences - we celebrate them. We share audio content from a vibrant and diverse community of creators (check out our DEI selection), and we are building a team that reflects that same diversity. We invite candidates from all walks of life to explore opportunities with us and join a company that champions flexibility, equity, and inclusion. Take a look at our website for more information on our approach to People and Planet.