Automation Test Lead - 7116

Automation Test LeadWork setup: We operate in a hybrid work environment, and we encourage applicants who are open to working in the office two days a week to apply.

Work schedule: Monday to Friday, 3PM to 11PM Manila time, overlaps with UK operating hours

Employment type: Permanent

Location: Makati City, Metro Manila

Pay range: Php 104,000 to 142,000

Discover a world of endless possibilities with Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a distinguished global academic publisher and assessment organization proudly affiliated with the prestigious University of Cambridge.

We build software that delivers high-stakes assessments to millions of learners worldwide. Quality isn't a department it's an organisational capability, and this role leads the strategy for building it.

As our Automation Test Lead, you'll drive the test automation vision across multiple delivery teams while directly managing a team of 4-8 test engineers. You'll shape quality practices for a modern technology stack: Quarkus backends, React frontends, and event-driven architecture built on Kafka. Working alongside Tech Leads, Delivery Managers, and Product Owners, you'll have the authority and accountability to help define how we scale quality across the organisation not just within a single squad.

Why Cambridge?

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is a world-renowned not-for-profit academic publisher and assessment organisation, proudly part of the prestigious University of Cambridge. With a legacy rooted in over 800 years of educational excellence, we are dedicated to unlocking the potential of learners and educators across the globe.

Joining Cambridge's second largest global office in the Philippines —operating for over 22 years with 1,300+ colleagues— means becoming a part of an extraordinary institution renowned worldwide. We are recognised as a Great Place to Work® for three consecutive years, reflecting our inclusive culture, strong sense of purpose, and commitment to the professional growth and well-being of our people. At Cambridge, we don't just publish books or deliver tests—we empower progress, inspire curiosity, and champion the pursuit of knowledge.



What can you get from Cambridge?

At Cambridge, you'll become a part of a vibrant and forward-thinking community that transcends tradition, fostering a culture of continuous growth and personal development. Here, we provide the right environment for you to thrive, supporting your professional journey and empowering you to reach your highest potential, that is why our pay philosophy is intricately tied to your skills and competencies, ensuring that your compensation aligns with the unique value you bring to the role you are applying for.

The organization offers a wide range of benefits and opportunities including:

• Regular Employment on Day 1
• HMO Coverage and Life Insurance on Day 1
• Paid Annual Leaves (Vacation, Well-being, Flexible, Holiday, and Volunteering leaves)
• Vesting/Retirement package
• Opportunities for career growth and development
• Access to well-being programs
• Flexible schedule, hybrid work arrangement and work-life balance
• Opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from diverse branches that will expand your horizons and enrich your understanding of different cultures
  
  

What will you do as an Automation Test Lead?

Reporting to the Solution Lead, your accountabilities will include:

Team Leadership & People Development

• Build, mentor, and manage a team of 4-8 test automation engineers across different experience levels
• Drive career development planning, and succession planning for critical quality engineering roles
• Conduct performance reviews, provide technical coaching, and create growth opportunities aligned with business needs
• Foster a culture of quality ownership that extends beyond your direct team into the broader engineering organisation
  
  

Strategic Quality Leadership

• Design and evolve the test automation strategy across multiple delivery teams, balancing standardisation with team autonomy
• Define quality standards, frameworks, and practices that scale from startup velocity to enterprise reliability
• Make release readiness decisions based on risk assessment, coverage analysis, and business impact evaluation
• Partner with Solution Leads and Product Owners to integrate quality considerations into roadmap planning and delivery commitments
  
  

Technical Architecture & Framework Design

• Lead the design and evolution of Playwright + TypeScript frameworks — establishing patterns for page objects, fixture composition, test data management, and cross-team reusability
• Architect comprehensive testing strategies covering UI, API, event-driven, and non-functional testing requirements
• Drive CI/CD integration strategy across teams, optimizing for both feedback speed and coverage depth
• Own the technical approach for testing asynchronous Kafka message flows, distributed systems behaviour, and eventual consistency scenarios
  
  

Stakeholder Communication & Influence

• Communicate quality risks, coverage gaps, and release readiness to senior leadership in business terms
• Collaborate with Solution Leads, Product Owners, and Engineering Managers to balance quality investments with delivery pressure
• Present quality metrics, trend analysis, and improvement roadmaps to executive stakeholders
• Advocate for quality practices and tooling investments across the technology organization
  
  

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Establish quality metrics that matter defect escape rates, automation coverage, test execution efficiency and use them to drive systematic improvement
• Lead incident response for quality-related production issues, conducting root cause analysis and implementing systematic fixes
• Stay current with industry testing practices, evaluate new tools and approaches, and drive adoption of quality innovations
• Act as the organisation's subject matter expert on test automation, distributed systems testing, and quality engineering practices
  
  

Please review the attached job description for further details on the role.

What makes you the ideal candidate for this role?

An ideal candidate has the following qualities:

Essential

• 5+ years of test automation experience with demonstrable expertise in Playwright, TypeScript, and modern testing frameworks including Page Object Model patterns, fixture architecture, and CI/CD integration
• 2+ years of people management experience — hiring, developing, and leading technical teams; experience managing both senior and junior engineers
• Leadership in quality strategy — proven track record of defining and implementing testing approaches across multiple teams or products; experience with organizational change management
• Advanced TypeScript and JavaScript skills — architectural thinking about test code structure, async patterns, type safety, and maintainable automation frameworks
• Distributed systems testing expertise hands-on experience with event-driven architectures, message queues (Kafka/RabbitMQ), API testing, and database validation across complex system boundaries
• Stakeholder communication skills ability to present technical risks to non-technical audiences, influence product and delivery decisions, and build consensus around quality practices
• Strategic decision-making experience managing competing priorities, balancing speed with safety, making release go/no-go decisions based on risk assessment
• Performance and scalability testing experience with load testing, performance optimization, and non-functional testing at scale
• Cloud and DevOps integration familiarity with AWS services, infrastructure as code, and quality tooling in cloud-native environments
  
  

Desirable

• Experience in regulated or high-stakes domains education, finance, healthcare, or other industries where quality failures have significant real-world impact
• Security and accessibility testing OWASP security principles, WCAG accessibility standards, and compliance testing approaches
• Data-driven quality improvement experience with quality metrics, testing ROI analysis, and evidence-based process improvement
• Contract testing and service virtualization experience with Pact, API mocking strategies, and testing in microservices architectures
• Observability and monitoring experience with distributed tracing, APM tools, and production quality monitoring
  
  

This role requires excellent written and verbal communication skills. As part of the selection process, you will complete an English test to assess your ability in the English language, plus a practical task prior to interview which will be sent via email so, check your inbox/spam for this.

Are you driven by desire to be part of a globally renowned institution that celebrates innovation, embraces inclusion, and empowers learners? Then, we invite you to Pursue your Potential with us.

Applications received through the system will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The vacancy may close once sufficient applications are received. Therefore, if you are interested, tailor-fit your CV (advantageous if you submit one with a Cover Letter) and submit as early as possible.

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