Test Automation Engineering Manager

Job Description

Role Description: We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Test Automation Engineering Manager to lead our automation team. The ideal candidate will have expertise in data automation, especially with Databricks and AWS, and be skilled in search-related programs, Data catalog , and UI validation. you will play a pivotal role in shaping the quality and reliability of complex, search-driven applications that handle large-scale data ingestion and real-time querying. This is a highly hands-on leadership role , ideal for someone who enjoys diving deep into technical challenges while also mentoring and guiding QA strategies at scale. You will be responsible for defining and executing end-to-end test strategies from backend content crawling, document indexing, API interaction, to UI presentation and search experience . You'll work closely with cross-functional teams including backend engineers, frontend developers, data engineers, DevOps, and product owners , ensuring that all components of the systemfrom data ingestion (via Java-based crawlers and S3 document pipelines) to frontend search display (built on React and GraphQL )function seamlessly and perform reliably under real-world loads. In this role, you are expected to be a quality champion , not just ensuring functional correctness but also owning performance, usability, and scalability aspects of search testing. Youll be at the intersection of search technology , cloud platforms , and UI/UX , driving excellence through hands-on implementation and strategic leadership. Roles & Responsibilities: Hands-On Testing & Automation Design, implement, and maintain comprehensive test strategies across UI, backend, and data layers of search-driven platforms. Perform hands-on testing of React-based UIs integrated with GraphQL APIs, ensuring a seamless and accurate search experience for end-users. Develop and maintain automated test suites using tools like Cypress, Playwright, or Selenium, integrated into CI/CD pipelines. Create robust GraphQL API test scenarios to validate search results, metadata mapping, and performance under various data loads. Search Engine & Data Flow Testing Validate integration of custom search engines (e.g., GCP Search Engine) with frontend interfaces. Test and ensure end-to-end search result accuracyfrom Java-based web crawlers, S3 document ingestion, through to frontend UI. Verify the ingestion, parsing, indexing, and retrieval accuracy of documents stored in Amazon S3, including testing of content structure, metadata extraction, and search visibility. Collaborate with developers to test the effectiveness and coverage of Java crawlers, including content freshness, crawl depth, and data completeness. T echnical Leadership, Strategy & Team Collaboration Define and drive the overall QA and testing strategy for UI and search-related components with a focus on scalability, reliability, and performance. Contribute to system architecture and design discussions , bringing a strong quality and testability lens early into the development lifecycle. Lead test automation initiatives , introducing best practices and frameworks that align with modern DevOps and CI/CD environments. Mentor and guide QA engineers , fostering a collaborative, growth-oriented culture focused on continuous learning and technical excellence. Collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, developers, and DevOps to align quality efforts with business goals and release timelines. Conduct code reviews, test plan reviews, and pair-testing sessions to ensure team-level consistency and high-quality standards. Monitoring, Metrics & Continuous Improvement Define and track key quality metrics such as search accuracy, indexing delays, UI responsiveness, and test coverage. Drive continuous improvement initiatives in testing practices, tools, and frameworks. Participate in production validations, incident reviews, and apply learnings to build more resilient systems. Quality Monitoring & Continuous Improvement Define and track key quality metrics such as search accuracy, UI responsiveness, indexing delays, and automation coverage to ensure high product quality. Drive continuous improvement initiatives by identifying process gaps, enhancing test tools, and evolving testing strategies based on production feedback. Ensure robust release readiness by conducting risk assessments, regression testing, and cross-functional validation across the release cycle. Collaborate with DevOps to maintain reliable CI/CD pipelines that support automated testing, fast feedback, and post-release monitoring. Good-to-Have Skills: Familiarity with distributed systems, databases, and large-scale system architectures. Experienced with software engineering best-practices, including but not limited to version control (Git, Subversion, etc.), CI/CD (Jenkins, Maven etc.), automated unit testing, and Dev Ops knowledge of search-related programming and algorithms. Experience working with agile Testing methodologies such as Scaled Agile. Must-Have Skills: 1014 years of QA experience with a strong focus on frontend, backend, and data-centric application testing. Hands-on experience with UI testing of modern frontend applications built in React.js. Strong knowledge of GraphQL APIs including schema validation, query testing, and performance benchmarking. Proven experience testing custom search engine implementations, preferably on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or similar. Deep understanding of document ingestion pipelines and metadata validation using Amazon S3 or other object stores. Familiarity with Java-based web crawlers (e.g., Apache Nutch or in-house frameworks) testing content coverage, freshness, and crawl performance. Proficiency in test automation tools such as Cypress, Playwright, or Selenium including scripting and CI/CD integration. Experience with CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI for integrating test automation into release pipelines. Strong skills in debugging, log analysis, and issue triaging across distributed systems. Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate cross-functionally and lead QA efforts within agile teams. Education and Professional Certifications Bachelors degree in computer science and engineering preferred, other Engineering field is considered; Masters degree and 6+ years experience Soft Skills: Excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills. Strong verbal and written communication skills Ability to work effectively with global, virtual teams High degree of initiative and self-motivation. Ability to manage multiple priorities successfully. Team-oriented, with a focus on achieving team goals