Automation Engineer

Title: Automation Engineer

Location: Hybrid – Manchester/Leeds - 3 days on site per week, 2 days remote

Salary: £40,000-£48,000




Who we are:

interactive investor is an award-winning investment platform that puts its customers in control of their financial future.


We’ve been helping investors for nearly 30 years. We’ve seen market highs and lows and been resilient throughout. We’re now the UK’s number one flat-fee investment platform, with assets under administration approaching £75 billion and over 450,000 customers.


For a simple, flat monthly fee we provide a secure home for your pensions, ISAs and investments. We offer a wide choice of over 20,000 UK and international investment options, including shares, funds, trusts and ETFs.


We also bring impartial, expert content from our award-winning financial journalists, highly engaged community of investors, and daily newsletters and insights.

PURPOSE OF ROLE:

The Automation Engineer will work as part of a dynamic delivery team reporting into the QA Test Team Lead.


In this role, the Automation Engineer will ensure the quality and reliability of our software by planning, executing, and reporting on testing across a range of projects—from small enhancements to multi-million-pound initiatives. Working closely with cross-functional teams, they will play a key role in both manual and automated testing across the full software development lifecycle, including the design, execution, and maintenance of test cases and test scripts.


Manual testing will focus on functional, exploratory, usability, and complex scenarios where human judgment adds value, while automation will be applied to regression, integration, and other repeatable test activities to accelerate delivery, improve coverage, and reduce risk.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Test Planning & Execution:

• Represent QA in Agile and Waterfall delivery models
• Attend Agile Ceremonies, provide input into test estimates, test approaches, and test completion reports
• Create, maintain, and execute both manual and automated test cases aligned to project requirements and user stories
• Conduct risk-based testing in line with the overall test strategy
• Define and input test data into the test environment ensuring accuracy before use
• Participation in Analysis / Design Review / Solution Design meetings to inform test strategies
• Work closely with all areas of the business to complete testing on behalf of internal and external customers
• Support test activities post-implementation and during warranty periods
• Communicate progress to all interested parties within the agreed timescales





Quality Assurance & Governance:

• Ensure functional and non-functional testing meets both business and technical quality standards
• Adhere to test governance and use of approved tools (e.g., BrowserStack for test case management, JIRA for defect tracking)
• Own defect management: logging, tracking, prioritising, and retesting
• Participate in reviews of requirements, design, and analysis documentation, and coding peer reviews
• Ensure all code is performant and adheres to security best practices and control standards.





Tooling & Automation:


• Design, build, and maintain automated test frameworks and scripts using WebdriverIO, Playwright, and Selenium, with JavaScript (Typescript)
• Develop reusable test components, support CI/CD integration (Jenkins, GitHub Actions), and generate automated reports
• Execute automated regression packs as part of continuous testing pipelines
• Maintain subject matter expertise in BrowserStack, Postman, Bruno and other core testing tools, supporting colleagues with system usage
• Conduct performance and load testing and support the testing of other non-functional requirements





Continuous Improvement & Collaboration:

• Identify enhancements to testing processes, tooling, and standards
• Collaborate with internal teams and third parties (e.g., executing brokers, service providers) to ensure quality outcomes
• Contribute to cross-squad or breakaway squad initiatives as required
• Support internal compliance by ensuring adherence to regulatory standards (e.g., FCA)
• Mentor and coach manual testers in automation best practices to grow team capability and promote a culture of continuous learning
• Provide input to solution design, analysis reviews & technical decision making





CAPABILITIES:



Testing Expertise:


• Demonstrable experience of manual testing & software delivery methodologies
• Demonstrable experience of test strategies, planning, scripting, execution, and reporting
• Proven hands-on experience designing, developing, and maintaining automation frameworks with WebdriverIO, Playwright, and Selenium (JavaScript/TypeScript)
• Experience with API testing automation using Postman, Bruno, and REST Assured



Technical Proficiency:


• Proficient using test tools such as JIRA, BrowserStack, Confluence, Postman
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications
• Solid understanding of systems architecture, microservices, and cloud environments (AWS/Azure/GCP)
• Demonstrable experience of the software development lifecycle
• Experience integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines



Collaboration & Communication:


• Confident communicator across technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Team player with the ability to work independently under minimal supervision



Industry Knowledge:


• Understanding of financial products and services, especially investment and execution-only stockbroking
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements (FCA) and operational risk management
• Understand current and emerging IT technologies

Requirements

• Resilient under pressure and ability to manage conflicting demands
• Ability to prioritise effectively and be committed to project implementation
• Ability to set an example of professionalism through personal attitude
• Offering a flexible approach to working
• ISTQB/ISEB certified (Foundation or Advanced level)
• Extensive testing experience in both Agile and Waterfall methodologies
• Background in the Financial Services industry
• Experience of Web and Mobile testing
• Proven experience managing testing across small and large-scale projects
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• Proven Extensive experience in automated testing with WebdriverIO, Playwright, and Selenium, including framework development with JavaScript/TypeScript
• Experience in test data management and mocking services
• CI/CD & DevOps: Familiarity with Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Docker, Kubernetes
• Cloud & Microservices: Understanding of AWS, GCP, Azure, containerised testing

Benefits

• Group Personal Pension Plan – 8% employer contribution and 4% employee contribution
• Life Assurance and Group Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance – Provided by Bupa
• 25 Days Annual Leave, plus bank holidays
• Staff Discounts on our investment products
• Personal & Well-being Fund – Supporting your physical and mental wellness
• Retail Discounts – Savings at a wide range of high street and online retailers
• Voluntary Flexible Benefits – Tailor your benefits to suit your lifestyle

Please Note: We will do our utmost efforts to respond to all applicants. However, due to the high volume of applications we're currently receiving, if you haven't been contacted within 30 days of application, please consider unsuccessful.


interactive investor operates in accordance with the UK Equality Act 2010. We welcome applications from individuals of all ages, disabilities, gender identities, marital status, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We are committed to treating all applicants fairly and making reasonable adjustments where needed to support disabled applicants. We actively prevent all forms of discrimination, harassment, and victimisation—whether direct, indirect, associative, or perceptive.