Software Engineering Test Manager

Reporting to the Engineering Manager - Platforms, the Test Manager will lead, transform, and elevate our software testing function. This is a critical leadership role for an individual who is passionate about quality and possesses a unique blend of deep technical expertise and strategic people leadership. The primary focus of this role are twofold;Transform our capability: redefine our testing strategy, processes, and standards to build a mature, high-functioning, and data-driven QA team.Drive automation: own the roadmap for significantly expanding our test automation coverage across all applications, embedding quality directly into our development lifecycle.We are looking for a hands-on leader who can also mentor a team, define a vision, and execute a plan to make quality a cornerstone of our engineering culture.Key ResponsibilitiesStrategy & VisionDevelop & Execute Testing Strategy: Design and implement a comprehensive roadmap that aligns with business objectives, focusing on process maturity, efficiency, and risk mitigation.Champion Quality: Act as the primary advocate for quality across the organization, embedding "shift-left" principles and a quality-first mindset in engineering, product, and DevOps teams.Define Metrics: Establish and report on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for testing, such as defect density, test coverage, automation ROI, and release confidence.People Leadership & Team BuildingLead & Mentor: Manage, coach, and develop our existing team of test engineers, fostering their technical and professional growth.Build a High-Performing Team: Actively recruit, hire, and onboard top-tier testing talent (both manual and automation) to scale the team's capabilities.Foster Culture: Cultivate a collaborative, innovative, and proactive team culture that values continuous improvement and knowledge sharing.Automation & Technical LeadershipDrive Automation Expansion: Lead the charge to increase automation coverage across our entire application suite (web, API).Framework & Tooling: Evaluate, select, and implement the best automation frameworks, tools, and technologies (e.g., Cypress, Selenium, Postman etc.) for our needs.Hands-On Guidance: Provide technical leadership and, when necessary, hands-on support to the team in designing, building, and maintaining robust, scalable, and maintainable automation scripts.CI/CD Integration: Work closely with DevOps to ensure test automation is seamlessly integrated into our CI/CD pipelines for early and frequent feedback.Process & Capability ImprovementProcess Optimization: Analyze existing testing processes to identify bottlenecks and implement significant improvements (e.g., BDD, TDD, exploratory testing, non-functional testing).Manage All Test Types: Oversee the planning and execution of all testing activities, including functional, integration, regression, performance, and security testing.Test Environments: Collaborate with engineering and DevOps to ensure the availability and stability of test environments and test data.Who We Are Looking ForA degree in computer science, software engineering or a similar field would be advantageousCertifications in test automation frameworks and/or specialised certifications such as Certified Selenium Engineer would be advantageousSkills:Proven leadership and mentoring capabilities with experience managing a technical team.Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to manage and influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.Strong strategic thinking, critical analysis, and problem-solving abilities.A proactive and forward-thinking approach to identifying systemic problems, performance bottlenecks, and areas for improvement.An innovative and collaborative mindset, with a passion for driving continuous improvement through automationExperience:At least 7+ years of experience in a technology role, with a minimum of 3 years in a leadership or management capacity within Software Engineering or Testing.Automation Expertise: Deep, hands-on experience designing, implementing, and maintaining test automation frameworks from scratch.Technical Acumen:Strong proficiency with modern automation tools (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Appium, or similar).Strong proficiency in testing APIs (REST, gRPC) using tools like Postman, Rest-Assured, or equivalent.Strategic & Transformational: Proven ability to assess a testing function's maturity, create a strategic roadmap, and execute it to deliver significant capability improvements.Process Expert: Expertise in Agile/Scrum methodologies and modern QA best practices (CI/CD, BDD, TDD, Shift-Left).