Senior Software Tester

GBV Ltd; Chester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

GBV Ltd is seeking a Senior Automation Tester to own and evolve the automation strategy in a modern software environment. You will architect and scale a Playwright/TypeScript framework, build robust automated UI/API tests and drive quality from design through deployment.

The role requires hands-on leadership, code reviews and mentoring of other automation engineers. You will collaborate with developers, product teams and QA peers to embed testing best practices and explore AI-enhanced testing

Qualifications

• Significant commercial experience in test automation engineering, operating at a genuinely senior level.
• Strong, hands-on experience with Playwright and TypeScript – core requirement.
• Proven experience designing, building or substantially improving automation frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Own the design, development and ongoing improvement of a scalable Playwright/TypeScript automation framework.
• Build and maintain robust automated UI, API, integration and regression tests.
• Lead automation strategy, mentor engineers and drive shift-left quality across the SDLC.
• Integrate automation into CI/CD pipelines and improve test data management.
• Explore AI-assisted testing approaches and ensure reliable, maintainable tests.

Skills

Playwright

TypeScript

Automation architecture

CI/CD

QA strategy

Tools

Azure DevOps

SQL Server

Mailosaur

JMeter

Job description

Senior Automation Tester / Senior QA Automation Engineer

We're working with an established, technology-led organisation looking to recruit an experienced Senior Automation Tester to take a leading role in the development, ownership and continuous improvement of its automated testing capability.

This is a genuinely senior, hands‑on position requiring someone with strong commercial experience in Playwright and TypeScript, who understands how to architect, build, maintain and scale automation frameworks within a modern software engineering environment.

We're not simply looking for someone who can write and execute automated test scripts.

We need an engineer who can take ownership of an automation strategy, challenge existing approaches, introduce best practices, mentor others and help embed quality throughout the software development lifecycle.

You'll work closely with Software Engineers, Product teams and other QA professionals, helping to drive a shift-left testing culture while exploring how AI can improve automation efficiency, test coverage and overall software quality.

What You'll Be Doing

Playwright & TypeScript Automation

• Taking technical ownership of the design, development and ongoing improvement of a scalable Playwright / TypeScript automation framework.
• Building and maintaining robust automated UI, API, integration and regression tests.
• Applying strong automation architecture principles, including Page Object Models, reusable fixtures, helpers and effective test data management.
• Improving test execution speed, reliability and maintainability through parallel execution, effective isolation and CI/CD integration.
• Identifying and addressing flaky tests, framework limitations and inefficient testing practices.
• Ensuring automated tests provide meaningful coverage and actionable feedback to engineering teams.

Technical Leadership & Quality Engineering

• Acting as a senior technical authority for automation testing, setting standards and championing engineering best practices.
• Helping establish a shift-left approach, ensuring quality, testability and automation are considered from the earliest stages of development.
• Reviewing requirements, identifying risks and ensuring appropriate test coverage.
• Providing technical guidance, conducting code reviews and mentoring less experienced automation engineers and manual testers.
• Challenging existing approaches and introducing improvements that make automation more efficient, reliable and scalable.
• Working collaboratively with developers to improve the overall testability and quality of applications.

API, Database & CI/CD Testing

• Developing automated backend API tests, including validation of responses, business logic, integrations and error handling.
• Using SQL Server queries to validate data integrity and support automated testing.
• Building reliable test data creation, seeding and teardown processes.
• Integrating automation into CI/CD pipelines, ideally using Azure DevOps or similar tooling.
• Improving automated reporting, test visibility and feedback to development teams.
• Supporting test environment management and troubleshooting complex automation failures.
• Exploring and introducing practical applications of AI within automation engineering.
• Evaluating AI-assisted testing tools and agent-based capabilities to improve productivity, coverage and test maintenance.
• Ensuring AI-generated tests and outputs are properly reviewed, validated and maintainable.
• Identifying opportunities to reduce manual effort and accelerate feedback without compromising software quality.
• Helping establish a culture of continuous improvement, knowledge sharing and technical excellence.

What We're Looking For

• Significant commercial experience in test automation engineering, operating at a genuinely senior level.
• Strong, hands‑on experience with Playwright and TypeScript – this is a core requirement.
• Proven experience designing, building or substantially improving automation frameworks, rather than simply maintaining existing test scripts.
• Excellent understanding of automation architecture, including Page Object Models, fixtures, reusable components and test data management.
• Strong experience with automated UI and API testing.
• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines.
• Ability to write and understand SQL queries for database validation.
• Experience diagnosing flaky tests, optimising execution times and improving framework reliability.
• Strong understanding of modern software engineering practices, Agile delivery and shift-left testing.
• Confidence conducting code reviews, challenging technical decisions and mentoring other testers.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work closely with developers, engineering leaders and product stakeholders.
• Azure DevOps pipelines and Test Plans.
• Running large automated regression suites in parallel across multiple agents.
• Automated test data creation, management and cleanup.
• Accessibility testing using axe-playwright or equivalent.
• Experience with API testing tools and services such as Mailosaur.
• Performance testing using JMeter, Artillery or similar.
• Understanding of OWASP Top 10 and application security testing.
• Familiarity with Burp Suite or equivalent security testing tools.
• SQL Server schema migrations and tools such as Grate.
• Practical experience using AI-assisted testing tools or AI agents within automation workflows.

What Does 'Senior' Mean in This Role?

We're looking for someone who can demonstrate genuine ownership and technical leadership.

Ideally, you'll have experience delivering improvements such as:

• Building a Playwright / TypeScript automation framework from the ground up.
• Developing and maintaining hundreds of reliable automated regression tests.
• Reducing execution times through parallelisation and CI/CD optimisation.
• Introducing structured test data management and reusable automation components.
• Improving automation coverage across both frontend and backend services.
• Embedding automation into deployment pipelines with meaningful reporting.
• Mentoring other testers and helping improve the wider team's automation capability.

You don't necessarily need to have delivered every one of these examples, but you should be able to demonstrate comparable senior-level responsibility and technical depth.

This role would suit somebody who enjoys remaining hands‑on technically while having the influence to improve how an entire engineering team approaches quality.

Salary & Working Arrangements

• Location: Remote-first, with office attendance approximately once per month near Chester
• Employment: Permanent
• Environment: Established software engineering team with a strong focus on automation, modern development practices and continuous improvement