Johannesburg: Test Team Lead

Overseeing end-to-end testing strategies, driving test automation initiatives, and mentoring the QA team. Ensure quality standards across all aspects of the SDLC—from planning to delivery. Work closely with development, DevOps, and business teams to align QA efforts with overall project goals. Key Responsibilities Define and own the overall automation testing strategy, ensuring alignment with project and product goals Identify areas suitable for automation, perform ROI analysis, and prioritize test cases for automation. Design, implement, and maintain robust and scalable automation frameworks (such as Hybrid, BDD, POMbased) suitable for both UI and API layers using Selenium (Java, TestNG), Playwright(Java Script). Lead the creation of comprehensive automation test plans that outline objectives, tools, timelines, scope, and risk mitigation strategies aligned with business goals. Designing, developing, and maintaining scalable and reusable automation frameworks. Reviewing test scripts, execution results, and ensuring adherence to best practices and standards. Collaborating with cross-functional teams to understand requirements and translate them into test cases. Providing technical mentorship to QA engineers and guiding them in automation and testing best practices. Monitoring test coverage and quality metrics and reporting them to stakeholders. Driving continuous improvement in testing processes and tools. Participating in sprint planning, grooming, and retrospectives as part of agile teams. Required Qualifications Computer science university degree or equivalent ISTQB Certification – an advantage Primary Skills (relevant or in a similar role) Strong leadership and communication skills to lead QA teams, resolve conflicts, and manage stakeholders Good understanding of STLC, agile methodologies (Scrum/Kanban), and DevOps practices. Excellent technical and analytical skills, with ability to self-learn new technologies. Hands-on experience with Selenium using the TestNG framework for web applications Or Playwright with Javascript. Created the Selenium TestNG or Playwright framework from scratch. 10 years of experience in software testing with at least 2-4 years in a lead role. Experience in testing RESTful APIs and backend services using PostMan & SOAP tool. Experience working with Git-based version control systems (Azure DevOps, Jira with Zephyr, GitHub, Confluence). 2 years in short-term insurance projects Understanding in performance testing tools like K6, JMeter or Gatling. Experience in generating reports using tools like Allure or Extent Reports. Hands-on knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and integration tools like GitLab CI, Azure DevOps or Jenkins. Secondary Skills Proficient in JavaScript/TypeScript; experience in Python is an added advantage. Expertise in frameworks such as Data Driven, Hybrid and TestNG. Familiarity with Docker/Kubernetes environments. Understanding of security testing practices and tools like OWASP ZAP. Knowledge basic formula of excel to create reports. Exposure to mobile testing frameworks such as Appium. Experience with cross-browser and cross-device testing on platforms like Browser Stack or Sauce Labs.