Qualifications

• Proven experience in a technical QA Automation or Backend Engineering role within a shift-left environment.
• Deep understanding of RESTful architectures, JSON Schema validation, or GraphQL types at the contract level.
• Proficiency in Golang or another object-oriented programming language with the ability to quickly learn Go.
• Experience testing asynchronous and event-driven architectures such as Kafka or SQS, with knowledge of data consistency and resilience patterns.
• Strong experience working within Agile/Scrum methodologies, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, and retrospectives.
• Expertise in using AI tooling for code and test generation, with the ability to critique, debug, and refine AI-produced code.
• Hands-on experience testing complex APIs, cloud-hosted environments (preferably AWS), and building automated tests within CI/CD pipelines.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with a team-first mindset.
• Knowledge of containerization and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes (desired).
• Experience with load testing tools like k6 and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation) (desired).

Responsibilities

• Lead architectural design reviews in collaboration with developers and product managers, focusing on embedding Testability by Design principles.
• Develop and oversee strategies for Contract Driven Testing, enabling independent service evolution without dependency breakage.
• Promote and enforce Schema-First development practices, utilizing OpenAPI/Swagger specifications as authoritative sources and automating their validation.
• Design and implement a multi-layered automation strategy emphasizing API and service-level testing, complemented by targeted end-to-end validation using tools like Playwright and TypeScript.
• Partner with development teams to mature Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) practices within Agile workflows.
• Integrate automated regression suites and quality gates into CI/CD pipelines to facilitate continuous testing and feedback.
• Own load and performance testing strategies, ensuring backend resilience under high traffic scenarios and supporting other teams such as Web and Mobile.
• Collaborate with SRE/DevOps teams to incorporate observability—logging, tracing, metrics—using tools like OpenTelemetry or Datadog into the quality assurance process.
• Leverage AI-assisted coding tools for accelerating boilerplate code and test generation, while maintaining ownership of architecture, logic, and code quality.
• Formalize QA practices and mentor engineers across the organization on modern, automation-first testing methodologies.

Benefits

• 28 days of annual leave plus bank holidays and two volunteer days.
• Access to internal training programs through Bauer Academy for continuous professional development.
• Enhanced maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental leave policies.
• Flexible working arrangements to support work-life balance.
• Inclusive and diverse work environment committed to equal opportunities.
• Opportunities for career growth and involvement in innovative projects.
• Supportive remote-first culture with occasional in-person collaboration (approximately eight times per year) in Manchester or London offices.

Equal Opportunity

Bauer Media Group is an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of religion, gender, ethnicity, disability, or long-term health conditions. We are dedicated to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible and equitable. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please contact us. We believe that diverse teams foster innovation and excellence, and we encourage everyone to apply.