Automation Test Engineer

Automation Test Engine 💰 £450/day (Inside IR35) 📍 London/Manchester/Bristol/Leeds (2 days pw onsite) 📅 1 year Contract Our client is looking for an experienced Automation Test Engineer to join an engineering team within a major financial services environment. This is a hands-on automation testing role requiring strong expertise in Selenium, Cypress or Playwright, alongside API test automation using REST Assured or equivalent tools. You will be responsible for developing automated test scripts, building reusable test automation frameworks, executing tests and ensuring the quality of newly developed software components. Experience with AI testing, particularly AI Agents and AI-driven applications, would be highly desirable. Key Responsibilities Design and implement comprehensive test strategies, test plans and automation approaches.Develop and maintain automated test scripts using Selenium, Cypress and/or Playwright.Build and enhance reusable test automation frameworks.Develop automated API testing using REST Assured or equivalent frameworks.Perform API validation and functional testing using Postman or Bruno.Execute automated functional, regression and integration tests.Identify, investigate and track defects, working closely with developers to resolve issues.Manage test cases, execution evidence, requirements traceability and defects using Jira and Xray.Maintain test documentation and technical knowledge in Confluence.Produce clear test reports highlighting defects, risks, quality metrics and testing outcomes.Participate in Agile ceremonies, daily stand-ups and engineering discussions.Contribute to continuous improvement of test automation practices and software quality.Essential Skills 6+ years' experience in Software Testing / Quality Engineering.Strong hands-on Test Automation experience.Experience with Selenium, Cypress and/or Playwright.Strong API Test Automation experience using REST Assured or equivalent.Experience with Postman and/or Bruno for API testing.Proven experience designing and developing reusable automation testing frameworks.Experience developing test strategies, test plans and automated test scripts.Strong understanding of functional, regression and integration testing.Experience with defect identification, investigation and resolution.Experience working within Agile software engineering teams.Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.Desirable Skills AI Testing / AI Application Testing.Experience testing AI Agents / Agentic AI systems.Experience validating LLM-powered or Generative AI applications.AI-driven test automation experience.Jira, Xray and Confluence.Test automation framework architecture.CI/CD pipeline integration for automated testing.Strong technical leadership and mentoring skills.Banking / Financial Services experience. Please apply with your CV and we'll be in touch. Thank you!