Lead Software Quality Assurance Engineer

1. PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Senior QA Engineer / Automation Lead is the technical backbone of the QA team. This role designs, builds, and maintains the test automation frameworks that enable continuous quality validation across Mercola's web (React/TypeScript), mobile (React Native), and API (NestJS/Python) products. The individual writes automation code daily, integrates tests into CI/CD pipelines, mentors QA engineers on automation skills, and drives the team toward the >70% automation coverage target. This is a hands-on technical role with leadership responsibilities — not a management position.

2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

2.1 Test Automation Framework Development

• Design and build the test automation framework for web UI testing using Playwright or Selenium WebDriver.
• Develop API test automation suites using Postman/Newman and custom scripts for REST and GraphQL endpoints.
• Build mobile test automation using Appium (iOS + Android) and/or Detox for React Native applications.
• Implement Page Object Model (POM) or similar design patterns for maintainable, scalable test code.
• Write automation scripts in TypeScript/JavaScript (preferred) or Python to align with the development stack.
• Maintain test data management strategies – fixtures, factories, database seeding for reliable test execution.

2.2 CI/CD Integration & Performance Testing

• Integrate automated test suites into GitHub Actions and AWS CodePipeline for continuous testing.
• Configure test stages in CI/CD: smoke tests on every PR, regression on staging, full suite before production.
• Implement parallel test execution to minimize pipeline duration.
• Design and execute performance tests using k6 or Artillery – API load testing, stress testing, soak testing.
• Run Lighthouse CI for frontend performance benchmarking in automated pipelines.
• Monitor test stability – identify and fix flaky tests, maintain >95% test pass rate reliability.

2.3 Technical Leadership & Mentorship

• Mentor QA Engineers on automation best practices, framework usage, and scripting skills.
• Conduct code reviews for all test automation PRs.
• Lead weekly automation knowledge-sharing sessions with the QA team.
• Collaborate with developers (India team) to improve application testability – test IDs, API contracts, mock services.
• Evaluate and recommend new testing tools and technologies.

2.4 Test Execution & Reporting

• Execute complex test scenarios that require deep technical understanding of the full stack.
• Investigate production issues – correlate with test gaps, write regression tests to prevent recurrence.
• Generate automated test reports and dashboards in ADO for visibility across all teams.
• Participate in bug triage – validate severity, reproduce issues, provide technical root cause input.

3. REQUIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• 4–6 years of QA experience with at least 2–3 years focused on test automation.
• Playwright or Selenium expertise – designed and maintained UI automation frameworks in production.
• API test automation – Postman/Newman collections, custom API test scripts, contract testing.
• TypeScript/JavaScript proficiency – writes automation code in the same language as the development team.
• Mobile test automation – Appium or Detox experience for iOS and Android testing.
• CI/CD integration – configured automated test stages in GitHub Actions or similar pipelines.
• Performance testing – k6, Artillery, or JMeter for API load and stress testing.
• Application stack understanding – can read React, NestJS, and Python code to design better tests.
• ADO experience – test plans, test suites, work items, PR integration.
• Mentorship ability – can teach automation skills to junior and mid-level QA engineers.
• Good English communication – clear documentation, bug reports, and cross-team collaboration.

4. NICE TO HAVE

• Experience with visual regression testing (Percy, Chromatic, BackstopJS).
• Knowledge of contract testing (Pact) for microservices.
• Security testing fundamentals (OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite basics).
• Experience with Docker-based test environments and test containers.
• ISTQB certification.