Lead QA Automation Engineer

About the role

Establish BigHappy's first test automation practice from the ground up — building a framework-first, AI-augmented testing discipline that embeds quality into the development lifecycle rather than gatekeeping at the end, across our Go/Node.js/React/AWS stack. NOTE:
Candidates must be open to work within USA time zones EST/EDT and PST/PDT hours.

Design and build BigHappy's test automation framework and strategy from scratch — no existing QA tooling, process, or team to inherit; this person influences the foundational architecture decisions.
Automate testing across both layers of our stack: API/backend (Go) and frontend/UI (React, HTML/JS/CSS) — not siloed to one layer.
Integrate automated test suites into AWS CI/CD pipelines, so testing runs continuously, not as a pre-release gate.
Partner with engineers during design and development — not after code is written — to embed testability, push for contract testing where services integrate, and catch issues before they're built rather than after.
Evaluate and adopt AI-leveraged testing tools and techniques: AI-assisted test case generation, self-healing scripts, visual regression, and flaky-test triage — setting a modern baseline rather than replicating legacy manual-first QA.
Perform manual/exploratory testing only where automation isn't yet practical (new feature edge cases, exploratory sessions ahead of automated coverage, usability spot-checks) — treated as a bridge, not the default mode of work.
Define coverage strategy and quality metrics (defect escape rate, automation coverage %, flaky test rate) and report on them to engineering leadership.
Act as the internal voice for quality and testability in engineering discussions — influencing how code gets written, not just how it gets tested.

Must-Have Skills
7+ years in QA/test automation, with demonstrable majority-time-coding (not majority-manual-testing-with-scripting-on-the-side).
Hands-on automation framework experience across both API/backend testing (e.g., Postman/Newman, REST-assured equivalents, or Go-native test tooling) and UI/frontend testing (Playwright, Cypress, or Selenium against React apps).
Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or similar — ideally AWS-native tooling).
Proven ability to build a test automation framework/strategy from zero — not just extend or maintain an existing one.
Working comfort with Go and/or Node.js codebases sufficient to write/debug backend tests and collaborate credibly with engineers on testability.
Track record of working embedded with engineering during dev cycles (design reviews, pairing, early test planning) — not just receiving builds to test.
Nice-to-Have Skills
Hands-on experience with AI-assisted testing tools (test generation, self-healing locators, visual regression via AI, automated flaky-test triage).
Contract testing experience (Pact or similar) for service-to-service integration points.
Prior experience specifically as a "first QA hire" or building a QA function from zero at a similarly-scaled company.
AdTech/MarTech domain familiarity, especially DSP/SSP or DOOH delivery systems, or experience testing creative-delivery/rendering pipelines.
Experience with performance/load testing for high-throughput ad-serving systems.