Lead Automation Engineer

Job Description

• Work Policy: Fully remote at the start, moving to two days a week on site once the Lisbon office opens
• Job Type: Full Time
• Salary Range: EUR 65,000 – 75,000
• Experience Level: 5+ years in QA automation or SDET roles
• Core Tech Stack: C# or JavaScript/TypeScript, Playwright, Cypress, REST Assured, Azure, Git

About Capital on Tap

Capital on Tap was founded to serve small businesses that larger banks neglected. It now offers a business credit card, a spend management platform for small and medium businesses, a savings product that reached 1 billion pounds in funds within its first year, and a growing set of financial tools. The company reports over 1,000 employees, about 20 billion pounds in annual card spend, more than 200,000 customers, and strong Trustpilot reviews, and says it is profitable.

About the Role

Quality Engineering is embedded in each mission team and works with Engineering, Product, and UX to build quality in from the start. The Lead Automation Engineer is a hands-on role within one mission team, reporting functionally to that team’s Lead. You’ll act as the quality champion for a feature area and use standardized automation tools to widen test coverage, speed up delivery, and keep quality high.

What You’ll Do

Mission Team Quality Ownership and Strategy

• Define and own the testing strategy for the domain (for example, payments, banking, or onboarding), covering end-to-end quality and compliance, in partnership with the QA Team Lead
• Be the main automation contributor, designing, building, and maintaining API, UI, and mobile automated tests
• Promote shift-left practices by working with Product Owners and Developers from the refinement stage
• Manage the team’s automation targets and use metrics such as mean time to detect and repair, and defect escape rates, to predict high-risk areas

Technical Leadership and Tooling

• Be the team’s expert on central automation frameworks and drive consistent CI/CD practices and quality gates
• Work with the central Tooling Team to identify gaps and build custom helpers or data generators
• Integrate automated suites into CI/CD pipelines for fast, reliable deployments and quick failure feedback
• Coordinate complex testing, including microservices, security testing (such as OWASP ZAP), and performance testing

Collaboration, Coaching, and AI

• Coach developers and junior QA engineers on automation practices and test design
• Promote AI tools such as Claude and GitHub Copilot for architecture exploration, incident investigation, and test generation
• Use component testing, service virtualization, and contract testing to reduce dependencies between teams
• Define test data strategies and environment needs for automated and exploratory testing

What You’ll Need

• Five or more years in QA automation or SDET roles, with a record of leading quality in an Agile team
• Strong programming skills in C# or JavaScript/TypeScript
• Experience testing complex financial systems, such as card issuing, transaction processing, or credit risk
• Hands-on experience with UI tools (Playwright, Cypress) and API tools (REST Assured or other API frameworks)
• Familiarity with Azure, Git, and integrating automated tests into deployment workflows
• Ability to influence developers and Product Owners to prioritize automation and quality without formal authority

The company encourages applications even from candidates who do not meet every requirement.

Company Values

• Push for excellence rather than accepting good enough, and pilot ideas quickly
• Prioritize speed and simplicity
• Support teammates and do the right thing even when it is hard
• Follow through on owned tasks and agreed dates
• Give regular, direct, constructive feedback

Interview Process

1. A 30-minute intro with a Talent Partner covering your CV and values
2. A 45-minute Tech Chat with the Team Manager
3. A final stage with a 60-minute code pairing session and a 30-minute stakeholder interview with Engineering and Product

Applicants can expect a response within three working days, or up to five during busy periods.

Benefits

• Private healthcare through AdvanceCare
• Anniversary rewards of EUR 280, EUR 570, and EUR 860, plus a fully paid four-week sabbatical
• Paid car parking
• 36 days of holiday, including public holidays, with public holidays that fall on a weekend carried over
• Annual learning and wellbeing budget
• Six free therapy sessions per year
• Free drinks and snacks in offices

Capital on Tap says it values diversity and inclusion.