Senior Automation Tester Job Description

Senior QA Automation Tester is responsible for the quality of the product that uses the software tools needed to create tests. Also, their work is relevant in terms of checking the results of the tests.

In order to select the optimal specialist for this vacancy from all candidates, a clear understanding of the role is required. So, the responsibilities of a senior automation tester are:

1. Development and support of high-quality test automation code.
2. Managing multiple tasks and aligning those tasks with the company's business priorities.
3. Responsibility for meeting the project deadlines. Also taken into account are the interim deadlines that are set for the implementation of specific tasks for the project aimed at achieving the ultimate goal.
4. Refactoring and extending frameworks and a set of automated tests, if necessary.
5. Identifying areas where automation can improve quality.
6. Conducting automation code reviews.
7. Implementation of an object-oriented automation system.
8. Collaboration with other specialists who work in the mentioned direction.
9. Writing unit tests.
10. Implementation of extensive practical experience with test automation tools.
11. Regular work on optimizing code quality and improving reliability indicators in the development process.
12. Ability to create scripts with the relevant tools.

In addition to all of the above, the Senior Automation Tester must interact with their managers. The result depends on how effective this interaction is, especially when it comes to clarifying requirements and technical specifications.

Among the requirements for this specialist are:

1. Experience in REST API testing
2. Understanding of microservice architecture features
3. 2+ years of experience in functional or object-oriented programming
4. 7+ years of experience in testing complex software systems
5. Understanding of and good experience with Selenium
6. Practical knowledge related to such tools as SpecFlow and Cucumber
7. Hands-on experience with various development tools, writing unit tests, and test automation

These are basic general requirements, but they can be supplemented and transformed, taking into account the specifics of the company's work and those current and strategic tasks that will be assigned to a specialist.

The leadership role of the Senior Automation Tester determines that they must not only be a good specialist directly in their field of activity but also be able to manage many work processes. It is not for nothing that they are placed above other, younger specialists in order to coordinate their work in the framework of performing many current tasks and understanding their strategic function to achieve results. In this regard, it is necessary not only to lead and share knowledge but also to be able to:

• Instruct
• Motivate
• Help
• Suggest

We have already talked about the hard skills of a specialist in the list of the competencies and company requirements. It is also worth touching on the issue of soft skills. Among the most relevant soft skills for this position are:

• Communication skills that enable effective interaction with other members of the team
• Time management skills and a clear understanding of the importance of deadlines
• The ability to think strategically and build a workflow in accordance with such a vision

If a specialist has all the listed skills, this greatly increases the likelihood of their successful hiring.