At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and implement automated test strategies for web and mobile applications.
- Company: Join a leading digital news platform with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Flexible working hours, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with a focus on continuous learning and improvement.
- Why this job: Be part of a dynamic team delivering high-quality digital products that impact millions.
- Qualifications: Strong programming skills and experience in test automation frameworks.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
Requirements
- Proven experience designing test strategies, not just writing tests (unit, integration, E2E, and trade-offs between them)
- Experience designing and implementing automated guardrails that protect platform quality at scale
- Experience defining and using quality signals to support release decisions (e.g. test results, failure patterns, platform health metrics)
- Experience enabling multiple teams to deliver quality software without central QA dependency
- Experience building and maintaining automated quality gates in CI/CD pipelines (e.g. GitHub Actions, CircleCI)
- Ability to define and improve test coverage, reliability, and signal quality (e.g. reducing flakiness, improving feedback loops)
- Strong programming skills (JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, or Python) with the ability to build maintainable, scalable test and quality tooling
- Hands-on experience testing web and mobile applications (iOS and Android)
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to diagnose issues across code, test, and environment
- Clear communication skills across engineering and non-technical stakeholders
- (Desirable) Experience defining platform-level quality standards, guardrails, and release criteria across multiple teams
- (Desirable) Experience improving or replacing flaky E2E test strategies with more effective approaches
- (Desirable) Knowledge of testing in production practices (feature flags, canary releases, rollback strategies)
- (Desirable) Familiarity with observability and production monitoring (e.g. Splunk, Grafana) and using these as quality signals
- (Desirable) Experience supporting or coaching teams to improve testing practices and confidence
- (Desirable) Experience influencing engineering practices across teams without direct authority
- (Desirable) Experience designing quality dashboards or reporting that provide actionable insights (not just coverage or pass rates)
- (Desirable) Familiarity with cloud-based device farms (e.g. BrowserStack, Sauce Labs, AWS Device Farm)
What the job involves
We’re looking for a Software Engineer in Test Automation who is passionate about engineering scalable quality systems and automated guardrails that ensure confidence in every deployment of FT’s award-winning digital products. You’ll join the Mobile Apps team, a multidisciplinary, cross-functional group focused on delivering an outstanding mobile experience for our world class news. You’ll collaborate closely with engineers, product managers, business analysts and designers and QA Engineers to build scalable automation frameworks, integrate with CI/CD systems, and ensure high confidence in every deployment across our web and mobile platforms.
- Design, develop and maintain robust, reusable, and scalable automated test frameworks using tools like Selenium, Cypress, Appium or Playwright
- Integrate automated tests in CI/CD pipelines to support rapid, reliable delivery
- Optimise test suites for speed, stability, and clarity of failure
- Maintain infrastructure and tooling for distributed and parallel test execution (e.g Sauce Labs, BrowserStack, AWS Device Farm)
- Analyse user stories and system architecture to define effective and proportionate test coverage
- Design and implement functional, regression, smoke, and integration test scenarios
- Collaborate with teams to shift quality left by identifying risks early and integrating testability into software design
- Drive test data strategy and support deterministic, data-driven testing
- Make pragmatic trade-offs between delivery speed, risk, and quality
- Investigate flaky tests, failures, and false positives contributing to root cause analysis and resolution
- Collaborate effectively with teams to improve pipeline stability and feedback loops
- Contribute to the broader test engineering community, sharing learnings and evolving best practices
- Support teams to deliver quality software without reliance on central QA
Software Engineer in Test Automation in London employer: The Financial Times
As a Software Engineer in Test Automation at our company, you will thrive in a dynamic and collaborative environment that prioritises innovation and quality. We offer competitive benefits, a strong focus on employee development, and the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies in a vibrant location. Join us to be part of a team that values your contributions and fosters a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Software Engineer in Test Automation in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at The Financial Times or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to The Financial Times.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like The Financial Times.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like The Financial Times that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Software Engineer in Test Automation in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at The Financial Times.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at The Financial Times and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at The Financial Times
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If The Financial Times uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
