Senior Software Quality Engineer - Automation (Contract)

The Focus Group; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

The Focus Group is seeking an experienced Senior Test Automation Engineer to lead the development of scalable automation frameworks across UI, API, and integration layers. You will drive continuous testing in CI/CD, mentor junior engineers, and collaborate with product owners and architects to ensure high-quality software across enterprise platforms.

Requirements include 6–10+ years in Software Quality Engineering, strong automation experience in Agile environments, and proficiency with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
• 6–10+ years in Software Quality Engineering with automation testing in enterprise environments.
• Strong experience in Agile delivery models.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development and maintenance of scalable automation frameworks for UI, API, and integration layers.
• Drive continuous testing within CI/CD pipelines and support shift-left quality.
• Develop automated tests for REST APIs and microservices; ensure robust data validation and security checks.
• Mentor junior engineers and promote governance and QE standards across squads.
• Produce quality metrics and dashboards to stakeholders and drive test strategy planning.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical thinking

Mentoring

Effective communication

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Information Systems

Tools

Selenium WebDriver

Cypress

Playwright

Postman

RestAssured

Karate

Job description

Job Purpose

To lead and implement advanced test automation strategies that ensure high-quality, scalable, and secure software solutions across enterprise platforms. The role focuses on building robust automation frameworks, integrating continuous testing into CI/CD pipelines, and driving quality engineering practices across squads.

Key Responsibilities

1. Test Automation & Framework Development

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable automation frameworks (UI, API, and integration layers)
• Develop reusable automation assets (test scripts, utilities, and test data frameworks)
• Ensure automation coverage across functional, regression, and non-functional testing
• Drive data-driven, parallel, and cross-platform test execution strategies

2. Continuous Testing & CI/CD Integration

• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines (build, deploy, test cycles)
• Implement automated regression and smoke testing triggered on code commits
• Ensure continuous quality validation across environments (Dev, QA, ETE, Production)
• Provide visibility of test results through dashboards and reporting tools

3. API & Microservices Testing

• Develop automated tests for RESTful APIs and microservices architectures
• Validate:
• Response payload structures (JSON/XML)
• Status codes and error handling
• Authentication and security mechanisms
• Ensure stability of backend integrations and service dependencies

4. Quality Engineering Leadership

• Define and enforce QE standards, practices, and governance across squads
• Collaborate with developers, product owners, and architects to drive quality-first design
• Mentor and guide junior engineers on automation best practices
• Promote shift-left testing and early defect detection

5. Test Strategy & Planning

• Develop and execute comprehensive test strategies covering:
• Functional testing
• Regression testing
• Integration testing
• End-to-End (E2E) testing
• Assess automation feasibility and optimize test coverage
• Ensure traceability between requirements, test cases, and automation scripts

6. Defect Management & Quality Reporting

• Identify, log, track, and manage defects through lifecycle
• Analyse test results and provide actionable insights
• Produce quality metrics and reports for stakeholders:
• Test coverage
• Pass/fail rates
• Defect leakage
• Automation effectiveness

7. Non-Functional & Performance Testing (Support)

• Collaborate on performance, security, and resilience testing
• Contribute to automation of performance test scripts and monitoring
• Support reliability and stability assessments across environments

Minimum Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field

Experience

• 6--10+ years in Software Quality Engineering
• Proven experience in automation testing in enterprise environments
• Strong experience in Agile delivery models

Technical Skills

Automation & Testing Tools

• Selenium WebDriver / Cypress / Playwright
• REST API testing (Postman, RestAssured, Karate)
• Mobile automation

Programming Languages

• Java / C# / Python / JavaScript

Frameworks & Practices

• BDD (Cucumber, SpecFlow)
• TestNG / JUnit
• Data-driven and keyword-driven frameworks

DevOps & CI/CD

• Azure DevOps
• Github
• Integration of automation into pipelines

Other

• SQL / Database testing
• Cloud-native and microservices architecture
• Containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes -- advantageous)

Behavioural Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Attention to detail and quality mindset
• Leadership and mentoring capability
• Effective communication with technical and business stakeholders
• Proactive and outcome-driven

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Automation test coverage (%)
• Test execution success rate
• Defect detection rate (shift-left effectiveness)
• Reduction in regression cycle time
• Stability of automated pipelines

Preferred Experience (Advantageous)

• Banking / Financial Services domain
• API-first or digital platform delivery (e.g., mobile, omni-channel platforms)
• Experience with large-scale transformation programs (e.g., Digi 2.0-type environments)

Value Contribution

This role plays a critical part in:

• Ensuring release readiness and production stability
• Reducing manual testing effort through automation
• Enabling faster and safer deployments
• Strengthening end-to-end system quality and reliability