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.