Senior Test Automation Engineer

Read this section first. We're direct about what you're walking into.

This isn't a greenfield project with a blank canvas. You're joining a production system with 160 models, 231 controllers, 502 business logic interactions, and 907 existing test files. Test coverage exists but has critical gaps, particularly in integration testing (10% coverage on core business logic) and zero E2E automation.

If you want to build test frameworks from scratch, define automation strategy, and have real impact on product quality, this is the role. If you want to inherit a mature test infrastructure and just write scripts, this isn't it.

The Role

Build and own the test automation infrastructure for a Rails API backend and React admin frontend. Establish testing practices that catch bugs before production, not after.

You'll be the first dedicated test automation hire. You'll define the frameworks, patterns, and CI/CD integration. The Backend Team Lead provides architectural guidance; you execute and own quality.

• Location: Navi Mumbai (Hybrid Option Avaialable)
• Reports to: Backend Team Lead
• Team: Engineering

What You'll Own

API Test Automation

Build comprehensive API test coverage across five API surfaces:

Dashboard API (admin operations)

Mobile API (consumer-facing)

Valet API (valet staff operations)

Kiosk API (device operations)

AI/ML API (machine learning integrations)

Automate authentication flows, RBAC permission testing, and data validation. Create contract tests to protect API versioning.

Test Framework Development

Design and build test frameworks that the team actually uses:

API testing framework (RSpec + HTTP client or standalone framework)

E2E testing with Playwright for admin UI critical flows

Test data factories and fixtures that don't slow down the suite

Parallel execution to keep CI under 12 minutes

CI/CD Quality Gates

Make tests meaningful by enforcing them:

Tests run on every PR and block merge on failure

Security scans (Brakeman, bundle-audit) cannot be skipped

Coverage thresholds enforced — PRs that reduce coverage are flagged

Flaky test detection and quarantine

Security Test Coverage

Given recent security findings, build regression coverage for:

SQL injection prevention (parameterized queries)

Authorization bypass attempts (RBAC edge cases)

Input validation across all API endpoints

Authentication edge cases (token expiry, session handling)

Coverage Improvement

Current state: 10% coverage on 502 business logic interactions. Your job:

Establish baseline coverage metrics

Prioritize critical paths (payments, permits, citations)

Build coverage incrementally with every sprint

Target: 80%+ on critical paths within 6 months

Performance Testing

Once coverage is solid:

Load testing for API endpoints

Identify bottlenecks before they hit production

Establish performance baselines and regression detection

Must-Have Experience

5+ years in test automation, with at least 2 years focused on API testing

Strong programming skills — you'll write code daily, debug failures, and build frameworks. Ruby preferred; Python or JavaScript acceptable if you can ramp on Ruby quickly.

API testing expertise

REST API testing at scale (100+ endpoints)

Authentication/authorization testing

Contract testing concepts

Performance testing basics

Framework building experience

Built test frameworks from scratch, not just used existing ones

Designed test architecture for maintainability

Made decisions about test patterns, data management, parallelization

CI/CD integration

Integrated tests into GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or similar

Configured quality gates that block deployments

Dealt with flaky tests and test infrastructure at scale

E2E testing

Playwright, Cypress, or Selenium experience

Page Object Model or similar patterns

Handling async operations, waits, and flakiness

Nice to Have

Ruby/Rails testing experience (RSpec, FactoryBot)

Security testing background (OWASP, penetration testing concepts)

Mobile API testing experience

Performance testing tools (k6, Locust, JMeter)

Experience in fintech, payments, or compliance-heavy domains

What We Offer

• Impact: You're the first dedicated test automation hire. You define the standards.
• Ownership: You own quality infrastructure end-to-end, not just execute someone else's plan.
• Growth: Path to QA Lead or Engineering Manager as the team grows.

Technical depth: Complex domain (parking management, payments, permits) with real scale.

• Compensation: Competitive for senior automation roles in Mumbai. We pay for expertise.

This Role is NOT for You If

You only want to write test scripts, not build frameworks

You need detailed test cases handed to you

You've never worked on a codebase with technical debt

You think "automation" means recording clicks in a tool

You can't read and understand application code

You avoid debugging failures in CI pipelines

You expect a mature test infrastructure to already exist

Important

AI-generated responses (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) are easy to spot and will be immediately rejected. We're looking for your thinking, your experience, your voice ,not a language model's generic best practices.

Everything you write will be discussed in depth during interviews. If you can't defend it, don't write it.