Manager Application Engineering QA

We need a hands-on QA Tech Lead to own the testing strategy for a major financial services client in the UK. You will hold the line on quality for a large Appian team to deliver flawless applications. This isn't a hands-off management gig. You will dictate the strategy, write the automation - build test automation frameworks from scratch, wire them into CI/CD pipelines, and guide the team to get it done. 

• →Define and enforce the end-to-end QA strategy, testing methodologies, and strict quality gates across the accounts  

• →Design, build, and maintain scalable automated test frameworks from scratch, primarily utilising Selenium Cucumber, Postman, and core scripting languages (Java/Python/JavaScript) for extensive UI, API, and performance testing.  

• →Act as the strategic Quality Lead for the Appian development ecosystem, guiding the team in specialized workflows like the Appian Test Framework, SAIL interface testing, and process model validation.  

• →Lead the testing lifecycle, driving both manual QA and automation efforts through smart resource allocation, task prioritization, and technical mentoring.  

• →Oversee comprehensive test planning (manual functional, integration, UAT, and regression), track critical QA metrics, and lead root-cause analysis for production issues to drive continuous improvement. 

• →Embed Continuous Testing and seamlessly integrate automated test suites (smoke, regression, performance) into CI/CD pipelines, establishing continuous testing to optimize deployment workflows. 

• 7+ years in Quality Engineering with significant experience as a QA Lead/Tech Lead managing and mentoring teams 

• Deep technical expertise in building test automation frameworks from scratch using Java, Python, or JavaScript, alongside tools like Selenium or Postman. 

• Strong practical experience integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines and establishing quality gates within environments like GitHub Actions or Jenkins. 

• Exceptional communication skills with the authority and confidence to interface directly with UK-based enterprise architects, product owners, and business stakeholders. 

• Practical experience testing Appian applications. You know your way around the Appian Test Framework and SAIL interfaces.  

• Experience in the UK financial sector or financial sector in general. Knowing their strict compliance, risk, and security rules gives you a major edge.  

• Hands-on experience with API automation (like Postman) or performance testing (like JMeter) to completely round out the testing suite.