Lead Automation Test Engineer

We are looking for a Lead Test Automation Engineer to join our team of dedicated automation testers working on a wide variety of agile projects across Health, Retail and Finance sectors.

If you want to champion better testing, whether through new tools, new technologies or better ways of working, we’d love to hear from you.

What you’ll do

• Lead testing on client engagements, designing, owning and delivering the test strategy

• Deliver testing to complement solutions built on modern cloud technologies (AWS, Azure)

• Be involved from day one, championing shift-left testing to build quality in at every stage

• Use AI-assisted development tools such as Claude Code, Codex and GitHub Copilot to accelerate automation and explore new approaches to quality engineering.

• Provide technical leadership and direction across teams, helping shape how we adopt emerging technologies including AI to improve the effectiveness of our testing

• Build and evolve frontend and API automation frameworks using modern tools

• Embed automated quality checks into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps)

• Report test progress clearly and accurately, and manage and triage defects

• Support the development of our wider Test Capability through knowledge sharing, technical communities and continuous improvement.

What you’ll bring

• Experience leading testing on agile projects and defining the QA strategy.

• Strong hands-on experience building UI automation frameworks with tools such as Playwright or Cypress

• Experience building API automation in one or more of C#, Java, TypeScript/JavaScript or Python

• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines

• Confidence working with clients and stakeholders, from presenting a strategy to challenging a requirement

• Experience using coding-focused LLMs to build and maintain tests.

• Non-functional testing experience: performance (k6, Locust, JMeter), accessibility (WCAG 2.2) or security (OWASP Top 10, Snyk, Grype)

Nice to have

• AI systems, Mobile or Data/ETL testing experience

• Experience in the Health sector, ideally on NHS projects

• Hands on use of coding-focused AI tools such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot or Codex to accelerate test development

The perks of being @ Answer

We’re an Employee-Owned Company. After 12 months – through the Employee Ownership Trust you will be part of the ownership of Answer; a major factor in driving engagement, retention and growth for our people

• Competitive salary

• Flexible annual leave (buy/sell and carry forward)

• Twice a year income-tax free bonus based on company performance - it’s a reward for being a part of our EOT journey

• Continuous training and development - if you want to learn, we’ll provide the support you need

• Flexible Pension - we match your own contributions up to 5%

• A flexible Healthcare cash plan so you can fund the care you value most

• A packed social calendar including; end of year party (partners invited) and Summer away days, monthly and quarterly company team socials.

• Parking at Head Offices in central Leeds, plus Cycle2Work & Green Car Lease schemes to help get you here

• The chance to give back – get involved nationally and regionally with partnerships to get people from different backgrounds into tech, as well as lots of charity and community events

Diversity and Inclusion

At Answer we proudly embrace diversity and inclusion - we want to create a safe environment for everyone to bring their true selves to work.

We will do everything we can to support your application. If you require any adjustments to be made to your application (whether that’s support with our interview questions, adjusting how we interview, or financial support with our hiring process) then please speak to Jonny Hiles, TA Lead (jonny.hiles@answerdigital.com)

A bit more about us.

Answer Digital is a highly successful digital transformation consultancy headquartered in Leeds. We’re a company on a fast growth trajectory with a reputation of delivering large-scale, operational critical solutions.

People are at the heart of everything we do - so much so we’re owned by our people. It sets us apart from most digital businesses you’ll meet and defines our culture and values. Our people are invested in everything we do, because we are invested in them.

Don't believe us? Well check out our glassdoor and here what our people have to say

Our Interview Process

We pride ourselves on having a fair but flexible recruitment process, we want to create a platform where you can show us your best. For us, keeping it simple means you can focus on understanding if our people, values and the work we do are right for you. Our typical process can be broken down into 3 stages;

• Recruiter call: This normally lasts 15-30 minutes. We will talk to you about Answer Digital, the type of work we do, and an overview of the role. We’ll ask you some questions about your current situation and why you’re interested in working here. Here, we’d advise asking any “people” questions, anything about our culture, career progression or approach to flexible working.

• Skills based interview: This interview will be with 2 people, normally from the team you’re applying to work with. We can do this stage remote or in person, whichever you’d prefer. This interview will involve questions around your experience, the skills you’ve gained and the work you’ve done. We’ll also ask questions about the role and challenges you might face and how you’d face them. Here, we’d recommend asking questions about the role, the day to day responsibilities and what life in the team is like.

• Cultural/Value interview: This interview will be with 2 of our Leadership team, either our Directors or Capability Leads. It will focus on our culture and values, talking about our values and what they mean to us as well as understanding what values are important to you and how you like to work. This interview is about making sure Answer is right for you, as much as the other way around. Here, we advise you to ask as many questions around our business model, our ambitious growth plans and anything to do with Answer as a business.