Automation Test Engineer

ZL Technologies; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 1,400,000 - 2,200,000; Full time

Job summary

ZL Technologies in Hyderabad is seeking an experienced Automation Test Engineer to drive the quality strategy for the product, lead a blended team of manual and automation testers, and guide automation architecture while reviewing critical test cases.

You will define test approaches, set quality standards, coordinate with development, product, and security teams, and stay hands-on enough to ensure end-to-end release quality, with flexibility to work across USA time zones.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in QA with 4+ years in automation
• Hands-on automation with Selenium (Java/Python)
• Experience leading mixed manual/automation QA teams
• Solid STLC/SDLC, Agile/Scrum, release mgmt understanding
• API testing experience (Postman/REST Assured) and CI/CD integration
• Hands-on with test management and defect tracking tools
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration
• Ability to build and evolve a test automation strategy with ROI considerations
• Proficiency in debugging, log analysis, and SQL queries

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end test strategy and plan for products/releases
• Lead and mentor a blended QA team including sprint planning and performance reviews
• Drive automation framework design, tool selection, and roadmap
• Define and track quality metrics and report status to leadership
• Act as primary QA contact in sprint ceremonies and release decisions
• Review test plans, cases, and automation scripts for quality
• Coordinate with development, product, and performance/security teams
• Champion QA best practices and CI/CD integrations
• Flexible to work across USA time zones
• Manage resourcing, hiring inputs, and capacity planning

Skills

Hands-on test automation

Selenium

Java/Python

Team leadership

SDLC/AGILE

API testing

CI/CD integration

Test management tools

Defect tracking

SQL

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelors in CS/IT

Tools

Postman

REST Assured

Jenkins

Docker/Kubernetes

Job description

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Automation Test Engineer to drive the quality strategy for our product and lead a blended team of manual and automation testers. You will define test approaches, set quality standards, manage day-to-day team execution, and act as the primary quality stakeholder in release planning while staying hands-on enough to guide automation architecture and review critical test cases.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end test strategy and test plan for assigned products/releases, covering functional, regression, integration, and automation coverage.
• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of manual and automation QA engineers including sprint planning, task allocation, and performance reviews.
• Drive automation framework design, tool selection, and coverage roadmap in partnership with automation engineers.
• Define and track quality metrics (defect density, test coverage, automation ROI, escape rate) and report status to engineering leadership.
• Act as the primary QA point of contact in sprint ceremonies, release planning, and go/no-go decisions.
• Review test plans, test cases, and automation scripts authored by the team to ensure quality and consistency.
• Coordinate with development, product and (where applicable) performance/security testing teams to ensure end-to-end release quality.
• Champion QA best practices, process improvements, and tooling upgrades (test management, CI/CD integration, shift-left testing).
• Flexible to work with USA time zone.
• Manage resourcing, hiring inputs, and capacity planning for the QA team.

Must-Have Skills

• 7 years of overall QA experience, including 4+ years in a hands-on test automation role and 3+ years leading/managing manual and automation QA teams.
• Strong hands-on experience with automation frameworks/tools such as Selenium using Java, Python.
• Proven experience managing a team (direct reports or matrixed) spanning both manual and automation testers.
• Solid understanding of the STLC/SDLC, Agile/Scrum practices, and release management processes.
• Experience with API testing (Postman/REST Assured) and CI/CD integration.
• Hands-on experience with test management and defect tracking tools.
• Strong stakeholder management, planning, and communication skills, with the ability to represent QA in cross-functional discussions.
• Demonstrated ability to build and evolve a test automation strategy, including ROI-driven prioritization of automation coverage.
• Strong at Debugging/Troubleshooting/Log Analysis.
• Strong in SQL queries writing and DB concepts.

Good-to-Have Skills

• Exposure to performance testing (JMeter/LoadRunner) or security testing basics.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP) and containerized test environments (Docker/Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with BDD frameworks and shift-left/shift-right testing practices.
• Prior experience in a product-based environment working on Enterprise application.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Demonstrated people-management or mentorship experience, even if informal (e.g., leading a pod or workstream).
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to balance hands-on contribution with team leadership.

TOTAL EXPERIENCE

7+ years overall (4+ years in automation; 3+ years in team management role)

EMPLOYMENT TYPE

Full-time, Permanent

LOCATION

Hyderabad