Test Automation Lead

• Brisbane based candidates only. 50/50 hybrid working environment
• 12 month initial contract, with view to extend.

About Our Client

One of Australia's largest rail-based logistics providers, supporting key industries through nationwide freight operations.

Job Description

Responsibilities / Critical Deliverables

• Define, refine and implement the enterprise automation strategy and operating model. Own principles, guardrails, standards, governance and best practices across BAU, Projects and Vendors, with clear ownership, adoption reviews and alignment to the Aurizon QA Framework.
• Maintain a prioritised implementation and coverage roadmap based on business risk, application criticality and delivery demand. Establish coverage baselines, milestones and measurable targets; manage the backlog and demonstrate progress through completed automation increments.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines with risk appropriate execution triggers, results and evidence. Establish reliable regression release gates, maintain entry and exit criteria, and manage failed runs and exceptions with delivery teams.
• Design, maintain and evolve scalable automation frameworks and reusable assets. Govern tooling, licensing and versions, including the existing Tosca and Playwright estate; review code, monitor framework health and stability, and maintain a prioritised technical debt backlog for sustainable delivery.
• Triage the regression estate into automate, retain manual or retire, and deliver uplift in prioritised waves against defined acceptance criteria. Reduce flaky tests, improve execution time and maintain reliable suites as applications and business processes change.
• Design, build and maintain UI, API, back end, integration and end to end tests across complex enterprise workflows. Cover authentication, authorisation, error handling and business critical scenarios using fit for purpose code based and platform tooling.
• Coordinate environment readiness, test data management and service virtualisation for repeatable automated
  execution. Work with environment owners and cyber security to resolve dependencies and apply appropriate data and access controls. 8. Lead and mentor automation engineers across teams through hands on delivery, code reviews and technical guidance. Embed shift left testing alongside user stories and build shared practices, documentation and reusable assets to reduce single person dependencies.
• Analyse defects, incidents and automated test failures to distinguish product issues from test or environment faults. Close risk based coverage gaps and track corrective actions that improve suite stability and reduce escaped defects.
• Coordinate automation delivery and capacity across BAU, Projects and Vendors. Align priorities and dependencies, provide release gate recommendations supported by test evidence, and elevate unresolved quality risks and coverage gaps.
• Assure the quality and coverage of automation delivered by vendors, system integrators and delivery partners. Review assets, results and traceability against agreed standards and entry/exit criteria; close gaps and confirm maintainability, asset ownership and handover readiness.
• Report coverage, pass rate, execution time, flakiness, defect escape rate and manual effort displaced, with baselines and quality trends. Assess automation maturity, business value and release risk, and supply evidence for business case development and benefits tracking to the QA & Testing Manager and governance forums.

The Successful Applicant Skills & Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years' experience in test automation, including at least 3 years in senior or lead roles.
• Proven experience defining enterprise automation strategy and implementing prioritised roadmaps, operating models, standards and governance through sustained delivery.
• Strong programming and scripting proficiency in relevant language(s), such as JavaScript/TypeScript, C# or Python, with the ability to review code and guide engineers. Proficiency in all listed languages is not required.
• Demonstrated architecture, design and maintenance of scalable automation frameworks, reusable components and maintainable test assets, including management of stability and technical debt.
• Hands on API, integration and end to end automation experience across complex, multi vendor enterprise systems, including authentication, authorisation, error handling and business critical workflows.
• Experience with API automation frameworks such as Postman, REST Assured, Karate, Playwright API or similar. Tool expertise must support sound engineering capabilities; no specific vendor tool is mandatory.
• Strong CI/CD and DevOps experience integrating reliable automated tests, results and release gates into delivery pipelines, supported by effective test data and environment practices.
• Ability to coordinate automation priorities and delivery across BAU, Projects, CI Pods and Vendors, and assure partner quality, coverage and sustainable handover.
• Proven leadership and mentoring of automation engineers across multiple teams, with hands on technical guidance, code reviews and capability uplift.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, communication and influencing skills across business, delivery, architecture and cyber security; ability to explain automation metrics, maturity, business value, quality trends and release risk.

Desirable Skills

• Experience with Playwright, Tricentis Tosca and SAP or other packaged enterprise applications.
• Experience with Azure or other cloud-hosted applications, APIs and microservices, and containerised testing using Docker or Kubernetes.
• Experience applying AI assisted testing with safe human review, and extending automation to performance, accessibility or security testing.
• Experience with offshore and vendor delivery models, and transport, logistics or safety critical operating environments.
• Relevant testing qualifications, such as ISTQB, and Agile qualifications or certification.

What's on Offer

• Competitive daily rate
• Initial 12 month contract with view to extend
• Opportunity to work in the transport and distribution industry.
• Temporary position based in Fortitude Valley.