Test Automation Engineer

LA International; Greater London; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

LA International is seeking a Test Automation Engineer on a 6 month contract with extensions, offering remote work with 1-2 days onsite weekly in Manchester, Newcastle, London, or Leeds. You will design, develop and maintain automated test frameworks for web and API applications using Playwright, Selenium WebDriver, REST Assured, and Java.

You will implement BDD with Cucumber, create end-to-end test suites, and integrate tests into CI/CD pipelines while collaborating with agile teams to enhance

Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience as a Test Automation Engineer / QA Automation Engineer / SDET.
• Hands-on experience with Playwright for modern web application automation.
• Strong experience with Selenium WebDriver.
• Strong programming experience with Java.
• Experience designing and developing maintainable automation frameworks.
• Experience with JUnit and/or TestNG.
• Good understanding of automation design patterns, reusable components, test data management, and framework architecture.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain robust automated test frameworks for web and API applications.
• Develop end-to-end UI automation using Playwright and Selenium WebDriver.
• Create and maintain automated API tests using REST Assured and Java.
• Develop and maintain Java-based automated testing frameworks.
• Implement BDD-based testing using Cucumber, Gherkin, and feature files.
• Create comprehensive functional, regression, integration, smoke, and end-to-end automated test suites.
• Perform performance and load testing using k6, including scripting, execution, analysis, and reporting.
• Identify performance bottlenecks and work with development teams to investigate and resolve performance issues.
• Perform accessibility testing against WCAG standards and help ensure applications are accessible and inclusive.
• Automate accessibility checks and integrate them into appropriate testing pipelines.
• Validate web applications across different browsers, devices, and screen resolutions.
• Design effective test scenarios, test cases, and automation strategies based on business and technical requirements.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines and support continuous testing practices.
• Investigate test failures, identify root causes, and work closely with developers to resolve defects.
• Maintain high-quality, reusable, and scalable automation code.
• Contribute to coding standards, automation best practices, framework improvements, and quality engineering strategy.
• Review requirements and technical designs to identify potential quality risks early in the development lifecycle.
• Produce clear test execution reports and communicate quality risks, defects, and test results to stakeholders.
• Support Agile/Scrum ceremonies and actively contribute to continuous improvement.

Skills

Test Automation

Playwright

Selenium WebDriver

Java

JUnit/TestNG

Automation Frameworks

CI/CD

Gherkin/Cucumber

Performance Testing

Accessibility Testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Tools

Jenkins

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Azure DevOps

Job description

Test Automation Engineer

6 Month contract initially + Extensions

Rate -£250 - £300 p/d via Umbrella

Based: Remote with a max 1-2 days p/w onsite in Manchester, Newcastle, London, Leeds, (Flexible)

We have a great opportunity with a world leading organisation where you will be provided with all of the support and development to succeed. A progressive organisation where you can really make a difference. We have a great opportunity for a Test Automation Engineer on a long term program of work.

Please note this role provides an excellent opportunity to gain active Security Clearance - SC.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain robust automated test frameworks for web and API applications.
• Develop end-to-end UI automation using Playwright and Selenium WebDriver.
• Create and maintain automated API tests using REST Assured and Java.
• Develop and maintain Java-based automated testing frameworks.
• Implement BDD-based testing using Cucumber, Gherkin, and feature files.
• Create comprehensive functional, regression, integration, smoke, and end-to-end automated test suites.
• Perform performance and load testing using k6, including scripting, execution, analysis, and reporting.
• Identify performance bottlenecks and work with development teams to investigate and resolve performance issues.
• Perform accessibility testing against WCAG standards and help ensure applications are accessible and inclusive.
• Automate accessibility checks and integrate them into appropriate testing pipelines.
• Validate web applications across different browsers, devices, and screen resolutions.
• Design effective test scenarios, test cases, and automation strategies based on business and technical requirements.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines and support continuous testing practices.
• Investigate test failures, identify root causes, and work closely with developers to resolve defects.
• Maintain high-quality, reusable, and scalable automation code.
• Contribute to coding standards, automation best practices, framework improvements, and quality engineering strategy.
• Review requirements and technical designs to identify potential quality risks early in the development lifecycle.
• Produce clear test execution reports and communicate quality risks, defects, and test results to stakeholders.
• Support Agile/Scrum ceremonies and actively contribute to continuous improvement.

Key Skills & Experience

Test Automation

• Strong commercial experience as a Test Automation Engineer / QA Automation Engineer / SDET.
• Hands-on experience with Playwright for modern web application automation.
• Strong experience with Selenium WebDriver.
• Strong programming experience with Java.
• Experience designing and developing maintainable automation frameworks.
• Experience with JUnit and/or TestNG.
• Good understanding of automation design patterns, reusable components, test data management, and framework architecture.

API Testing

• Strong experience with REST API testing.
• Hands-on experience with REST Assured.
• Good understanding of HTTP methods, status codes, headers, authentication, JSON/XML, and API validation.
• Experience integrating API automation into CI/CD pipelines.

BDD

• Experience with Cucumber and Gherkin.
• Ability to develop readable and maintainable feature files, scenarios, step definitions, hooks, and reusable test components.
• Understanding of Behaviour-Driven Development and collaboration with business and development teams.

Performance Testing

• Hands-on experience with k6 for performance and load testing.
• Experience creating performance test scripts and scenarios.
• Understanding of load, stress, spike, soak, and endurance testing.
• Ability to analyse performance metrics and identify bottlenecks.
• Experience interpreting response times, throughput, error rates, and other performance indicators.

Accessibility Testing

• Practical experience performing web accessibility testing.
• Strong understanding of WCAG 2.1/2.2 principles and success criteria.
• Knowledge of accessibility concepts including keyboard navigation, focus management, semantic HTML, ARIA, colour contrast, forms, headings, labels, and screen-reader compatibility.
• Experience using accessibility testing tools and/or automated accessibility checks.
• Understanding of the limitations of automated accessibility testing and the importance of manual accessibility validation.

CI/CD & Engineering Practices

• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, or equivalent.
• Strong experience with Git and source-control best practices.
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum or similar software delivery environments.
• Good understanding of DevOps and Continuous Testing principles.

This is an excellent opportunity on a great project of work,

LA International is an award-winning partner of choice for many of the world's most influential companies and government organisations.

Holding Enhanced Government Security Accreditation, we are recognised as the European market leader in the delivery of Security Cleared talent to organisations that demand the very highest levels of security, compliance and assurance.

A multiple award-winning organisation, having secured the prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise: International Trade over consecutive years.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.

We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of background or identity, and we encourage candidates who may not meet every listed requirement to still apply.

If you require any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, please let us know and we will work with you to ensure a fair and accessible experience.