Software Development Engineer in Test (Java)

This is a 12-month renewable contract with one of South Africa's largest banking institutions. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring products are stable, reliable and production-ready by working closely with QA Leads, Developers and Portfolio teams throughout the software development lifecycle. The role requires someone who is equally comfortable with software development and test automation. Key Responsibilities Review and analyse business requirements, user stories and architecture diagrams. Gain product and business understanding and apply it to testing activities to improve coverage and identify defects. Develop and execute comprehensive test plans, test cases and capture supporting test evidence. Perform end-to-end testing across enhancements and impacted systems. Analyse impacted areas and enhance manual and automated regression packs. Prepare and manage test data for both manual and automated testing. Follow established QA processes and best practices. Identify, log and manage defects throughout the defect lifecycle. Develop, maintain and debug automation scripts using existing TestNG-based frameworks. Enhance automation frameworks by creating reusable components and utilities. Conduct peer reviews and self-reviews of deliverables. Produce test status reports in accordance with project milestones. Collaborate effectively with distributed development and QA teams. Mentor fellow Quality Engineers and promote automation best practices. Requirements Essential Requirements Strong Java Software Development Experience (Non-Negotiable) This role requires an engineer who can develop software—not just execute automated tests. Applicants must have: Strong commercial Java development experience 5+ years of experience within this role Excellent understanding of Java programming fundamentals Strong Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) skills Confidence writing Java code from scratch Experience debugging and troubleshooting Java applications Ability to complete live coding assessments Automation Testing Hands-on experience in Software Testing. Strong hands-on experience with Selenium Automation using Core Java. Experience developing automation frameworks using Hybrid, Keyword and TestNG frameworks. Strong knowledge of SDLC, software QA methodologies, tools and processes. Experience with API Testing using SoapUI, Postman or Rest Assured. Database testing experience using SQL. Experience with JMeter performance testing. Experience with Git and/or SVN. Continuous Integration experience would be advantageous. Agile delivery experience. Excellent written and verbal English communication skills. Self-starter with a proactive attitude. Ability to learn new technologies quickly. Strong collaboration skills across cross-functional and remote teams. Interview Process To ensure candidates have the required technical capability, shortlisted applicants will be required to complete: Two live Java coding exercises Practical Selenium automation assessment Technical discussion before client interviews Please only apply if you are confident in your hands-on Java development ability.