About the role

Lead Automation Engineer

Why You’ll Like It

• Transform testing practices with an AI pioneer
• Build automation frameworks from scratch—your vision, your implementation
• Join during a rapid growth phase with global expansion opportunities
• Shape the entire QA function as the go-to automation expert

The Opportunity

This is your chance to join a true AI pioneer—an organisation that’s been innovating in artificial intelligence for 15 years, well before it became mainstream. They’re now scaling rapidly with a growing global customer base and need a hands-on automation leader to help transform their testing approach.

You’ll spend around 80% of your time deeply hands-on—designing, coding, and implementing an automation framework from the ground up. The remaining 20% will be spent mentoring and guiding an offshore team of three manual testers, helping uplift capability and embed best practices.

You’ll have the freedom to choose the best tools for the job, set testing standards, and define scalable, future-proof quality processes. This isn’t a management role—it’s for someone who loves building and wants to see their work have a lasting impact.

Company Profile

This innovative technology company is a recognised leader in AI-imaging software, on a mission to make online information safer and more accessible.

Based in Wellington’s southern suburbs, the role offers hybrid flexibility, with a preference for being on-site three days per week. Applicants must hold permanent working rights in New Zealand.


The Role

• Design and implement automation frameworks from scratch, using your choice of tools (e.g. Postman, Playwright, Selenium, Cypress)
• Analyse current testing inefficiencies and lead a full redesign of practices and processes
• Establish CI/CD pipelines and integrate automated testing gates (BitBucket preferred)
• Implement SonarQube for code quality analysis and Snyk (or similar) for vulnerability management
• Mentor and guide an offshore team of 3 manual testers to uplift quality practices
• Introduce shift-left testing strategies and promote unit testing across dev teams
• Incorporate non-functional testing (performance, security, device compatibility)
• Develop testing documentation, standards, and best practices from scratch
• Collaborate with product teams to define test strategies across multiple platforms
• Track and report quality metrics and KPIs to drive continuous improvement

Your Fit

• Strong software development background – you can read, write, and review code confidently
• Proven experience building automation frameworks from scratch
• Ideally, you’ve worked in a SaaS/product environment or small to medium-sized business where autonomy and initiative are key
• Familiar with one or more programming languages such as Python, Rust, C++, or .NET (experience in any is great; eagerness to learn is even better!)
• Experience with modern test automation tools – Postman, Playwright, Selenium, Cypress, etc.
• Familiarity with SonarQube, Snyk, or other code quality/security tools
• Knowledge of CI/CD practices and integration with testing workflows
• Understanding of non-functional testing
• Comfortable mentoring remote teams and driving quality culture
• Passionate about testing innovation and continuous improvement

If you’re an automation wizard who loves building frameworks from scratch, thrives in a hands-on role, and wants the autonomy to shape testing best practices—we’d love to hear from you.

📩 Apply now via “Apply” or send your CV to stella@potentia.co.nz