Senior Test Engineer: Data Platform Automation & QA

Statistics New Zealand; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 91,000 - 123,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sick leave (15 days)

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Health/vision/hearing benefits

Corporate rates

Study assistance

Social club

Job summary

Statistics New Zealand is seeking a Senior Test Engineer to drive test strategy and execution for major data platform projects. You will plan and perform functional and non-functional testing, write and maintain automated tests, and work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure robust, reliable solutions.

The role requires hands-on testing expertise, strong SQL/Python, and experience with CI/CD and modern data platforms such as Databricks or Snowflake.

Qualifications

• 5+ years' experience in software testing, including Test Automation Engineer or similar role.
• Strong practical knowledge of SQL and Python.
• A solid understanding of testing methodologies, tools and frameworks (Python, Scala, Selenium).
• Hands-on experience building automated testing frameworks using Pytest or similar.
• Experience with CI/CD practices and tools such as Azure DevOps and Git.
• Knowledge of modern cloud-based data platforms (Databricks and/or Snowflake).
• Experience designing, automating, and maintaining integration and regression test suites.
• Knowledge of Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) and creating maintainable Gherkin scenarios.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with stakeholders.
• Strong self-management and teamwork.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development and implementation of test strategies, plans and approaches for successful project delivery.
• Conduct manual and automated testing to ensure solutions meet business requirements and deliver outcomes.
• Collaborate with project teams to promote quality, continuous improvement, and shared accountability.
• Quickly understand Stats NZ, including business processes, surveys, and data domains.
• Identify, track, and manage defects using testing and defect management tools.
• Conduct test reviews to ensure coverage, quality standards, and alignment with best practices.

Skills

Test automation

SQL

Python

Selenium

CI/CD

Git

Databricks

Snowflake

BDD (Gherkin)

Pytest

Tools

Azure DevOps

Python

Scala

Job description

Statistics New Zealand is seeking a Senior Test Engineer to drive test strategy and execution for major data platform projects. You will plan and perform functional and non-functional testing, write and maintain automated tests, and work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure robust, reliable solutions.

The role requires hands-on testing expertise, strong SQL/Python, and experience with CI/CD and modern data platforms such as Databricks or Snowflake.