Test Automation Engineer

JSM Business Services; Somerset West; Hybrid; ZAR 30,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Test Automation Engineer in Somerset West. This role plays a key part in the development of automated testing frameworks, enhancing software quality through collaboration with diverse teams. The ideal candidate will possess strong technical skills and a dedication to quality assurance in a fast-paced Agile environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years' experience with Robot Framework.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Experience integrating test automation into CI/CD workflows.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop automated tests across UI, API, and database layers.
• Integrate automation with CI/CD pipeline to achieve continuous testing.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams during requirement definition.

Skills

Automated Testing

Quality Assurance

Problem Solving

Communication

Collaboration

Education

Qualification in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related field

Tools

Robot Framework

Jenkins

GitHub

Test Rail

MSSQL

Job description

Job Summary: The Test Automation Engineer at our client plays a critical role in ensuring the reliability, efficiency, and scalability of our software products by building and maintaining robust automated test frameworks. This individual collaborates closely with developers, QA engineers, and product managers to help us deliver high-quality releases quickly and confidently. Through deep integration with our CI/CD processes and a strong understanding of testing principles, this role supports our mission of continuous delivery and a quality-first culture.
Key Objectives and Responsibilities:

• Design and Develop Automated Tests

Objective: Establish a strong automated test foundation that ensures software quality, accelerates feedback, and supports frequent releases with confidence.

• Develop high-coverage, reusable test scripts across UI, API, and database layers to detect defects early and improve product reliability.
• Implement behaviour-driven or data-driven testing patterns to simulate complex user interactions and data flows.
• Continuously evolve the test repository to reflect new features, bug fixes, and refactoring across sprints/releases.

• Minimise reliance on manual testing by shifting more test coverage to automation, improving team efficiency.

• Integrate Automation with CI/CD Pipelines

Objective: Achieve continuous testing by embedding automated checks in the delivery lifecycle for fast, reliable releases.

• Automate the execution of regression, smoke, and sanity test suites as part of CI/CD pipelines to reduce release cycle time.
• Collaborate with DevOps to integrate test status reporting, code coverage, and quality gates in build pipelines.
• Implement test parallelisation, test data management, and environment provisioning to scale automation in multi-release environments.

• Ensure test environments mirror production setups closely, reducing false positives/negatives and deployment risks.

• Maintain and Optimise Test Frameworks

Objective: Build a scalable, maintainable automation infrastructure that adapts to evolving product complexity.

• Modularise framework components (e.g., page objects, API clients, test utilities) for easier onboarding and long-term sustainability.
• Continuously evaluate and integrate emerging testing tools and technologies that enhance coverage, speed, or reporting.
• Optimise test execution speed through intelligent test selection, parallelism, and performance profiling.

• Conduct regular reviews of flaky or brittle tests, addressing root causes and promoting stability and accuracy.

• Collaborate with Cross-functional Teams

Objective: Foster a quality-first mindset across the organisation by embedding testing in all stages of development.

• Engage with product owners and developers during requirement definition to uncover test scenarios early (shift-left testing).
• Work as a quality advocate in Agile ceremonies-contributing to backlog grooming, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.
• Align testing strategy with user stories and use cases to ensure features are verified against actual customer needs.

• Support the QA team with tooling, automation education, and mentoring, helping to uplift overall quality engineering skills.

• Documentation and Reporting

Objective: Improve transparency, traceability, and decision-making through meaningful documentation and quality insights.

• Create thorough documentation for automation architecture, tools used, and test execution guides for the broader team.
• Maintain a test case repository with traceability to requirements and user stories to ensure complete validation coverage. o Develop real-time dashboards and test health indicators to alert teams about regression risks or recurring issues.
• Provide strategic reporting during releases (e.g., defect escape rate, automation ROI, test pass/fail trends) to guide retrospectives and roadmap planning.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Qualification in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field. Proven experience in automated testing within Agile development environments.
• Minimum 3 years' experience with Robot Framework.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Experience with Jenkins, GitHub, and Test Rail.
• Strong understanding of MSSQL.
• Experience integrating test automation into CI/CD workflows.
• Familiarity with version control and test case management best practices.

Personal Attributes:

• Quality-driven mindset with a keen attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proactive, curious, and always looking to improve tools and processes.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills-capable of working with technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Adaptability to work in a dynamic, fast paced, and evolving software environment. Passion for learning and staying up to date with the latest testing trends and tools.

Desired Skills:

• Testing
• Software Testing
• Development

About The Employer:

The Test Automation Engineer at our client plays a critical role in ensuring the reliability, efficiency, and scalability of our software products by building and maintaining robust automated test frameworks. This individual collaborates closely with developers, QA engineers, and product managers to help us deliver high-quality releases quickly and confidently. Through deep integration with our CI/CD processes and a strong understanding of testing principles, this role supports our mission of continuous delivery and a quality-first culture.