Playwright Consultant Lead (Contractual / Permanent )

Location: Pune, India

Department: Core QA

Experience: 8-10 years

Skills: REST API testing, Playwright Consultant, Java, Cross-browser UI automation

• We are looking for a Playwright Consultant Lead — a senior test-automation leader who will own quality engineering end-to-end for our hospitality platform.
• You will lead test automation initiatives from inception to delivery: defining the strategy, designing the framework, mentoring engineers, and partnering with development, product, and DevOps to embed quality into every release.
• Building a product is a highly collaborative effort. We are looking for a hands-on individual with deep technical credibility, sharp judgment on what to automate, and a strong sense of ownership for outcomes — not just test counts.

• Own the test automation strategy for the platform end-to-end — from test pyramid design, framework architecture, and coverage roadmap to release readiness and quality metrics.
• Architect, build, and continuously evolve Playwright-based automation frameworks in TypeScript/JavaScript and Java for cross-browser end-to-end UI testing of the hospitality web applications.
• Lead API automation efforts across REST and microservices — contract tests, integration suites, data-setup utilities, and resilient negative-path coverage.
• Embed automation into CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) with parallelization, smart test selection, flaky-test quarantine, and clear quality gates.
• Mentor and coach a team of SDETs and QA engineers — pairing on hard problems, running code reviews, defining standards, and growing the bench.
• Partner with engineering leads on shift-left practices: testability requirements in design, unit/integration coverage expectations, observability hooks, and feature-flag-driven rollouts.
• Define and report on quality KPIs — coverage, escape rate, mean time to detect, automation stability — and drive continuous improvement against them.
• Lead test design for complex hospitality workflows: reservations and booking, PMS operations, channel management, revenue and pricing, guest experience, and integrations with payment and third-party systems.
• Drive root-cause analysis on production incidents and translate findings into durable automated coverage and process improvements.
• Stay current with the Playwright ecosystem and the wider QA-engineering landscape (visual testing, component testing, AI-assisted test generation) and pragmatically bring the best ideas in-house.
• Keep the ticketing system (JIRA) up to date with estimations, progress, blockers, and risks; raise issues early with clarity.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years in software quality and test automation, with a strong record of leading automation programs end-to-end.
• Deep, hands-on expertise with Playwright — framework design, parallel execution, fixtures, network mocking, authentication strategies, trace viewer, and cross-browser stability patterns.
• Strong programming skills in both TypeScript/JavaScript and Java; comfortable choosing the right stack for the job and reviewing code in both.
• Proven experience designing API automation suites using tools such as REST Assured, Playwright API testing, Postman/Newman, Karate, or similar.
• Solid grasp of test architecture patterns — page object model, screenplay, factories, data builders, and reusable component libraries — and when to use each.
• Hands-on experience integrating automation into CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) with Docker, parallel execution, and reporting (Allure, ReportPortal, or equivalent).
• Working knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure), containers, and managing test environments and test data at scale.
• Familiarity with version control (Git), Agile practices, and modern engineering hygiene — code reviews, trunk-based development, feature flags.
• Experience mentoring engineers, owning hiring loops, and influencing engineering and product stakeholders.
• Hospitality, travel, or booking-platform experience is a strong plus; exposure to PMS, channel managers, or revenue management is highly valued.
• Sound logical, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills — able to explain trade-offs clearly to engineers, product managers, and senior leadership.