About this role.
This is a hands-on Lead Automation Engineer position embedded in a fintech mission team, owning quality strategy for a defined product domain. The role designs and maintains API, UI, and mobile automation while integrating suites into CI/CD pipelines and coordinating security and performance testing. It requires substantial experience in QA automation/SDET work, C# or JavaScript/TypeScript, Playwright or Cypress, Azure, and complex financial systems. The engineer will influence cross-functional quality practices, coach developers and junior QA staff, and use data and AI tools to improve delivery reliability. The role begins fully remote and will transition to a hybrid arrangement in Lisbon.
Role DNA
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Job Complexity
5/5Pace & Pressure
5/5Autonomy Level
5/5Communication Load
5/5Salary analysis
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Core skills
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Sample interview questions
I would first map critical customer journeys, service dependencies, regulatory risks, and historic defects. I would build a layered test strategy emphasizing fast component and API coverage, targeted UI tests, contract testing, and clear CI quality gates, then track outcomes such as defect escapes, execution reliability, and feedback time.
I keep most validation below the UI layer and reserve end-to-end tests for high-value journeys. For UI coverage, I use stable selectors, deterministic test data, explicit synchronization based on application state rather than fixed waits, isolated environments where possible, and root-cause analysis for every recurring failure.
I would run fast unit, component, and API checks on pull requests, publish actionable reports, and fail builds for agreed quality thresholds. Broader regression, performance, security, and end-to-end suites can run at suitable pipeline stages, with parallelization, environment controls, and release gates proportional to the risk of the change.
I would model the transaction lifecycle and validate authorization, capture, reversal, refund, settlement, idempotency, retries, and failure scenarios. I would also test service contracts, ledger and audit outcomes, permissions, data integrity, and integration behavior using controlled simulators or service virtualization for external providers.
I make quality risks visible through evidence, such as escaped defects, incident impact, cycle time, and flaky-test trends, and connect improvements to delivery outcomes. I involve stakeholders early in refinement, propose pragmatic solutions with clear ownership, and coach through pairing and examples so quality practices become part of normal engineering work.
We’re Capital on Tap 👋
💳 Capital on Tap started because small businesses were underserved. Big banks were slow, their products weren’t fit for purpose, and small business owners often couldn’t access what they needed. We set out to fix that.
Today we’re a financial platform – not just a credit card company. We offer a best-in-class business credit card, SME-focused spend management platform, a savings product that hit £1 billion in funds within its first year, and a growing suite of tools and financial products that make running a small business easier.
1,000+ employees, £20bn in annual card spend, 200,000+ customers, 17,000+ Trustpilot reviews averaging 4.7 stars, and we’re profitable. We’ve done a pretty good job so far, but we’re just getting started!
🏡🏢 The role starts out fully remote. Once our Lisbon office is open, it will move to a hybrid set-up of two days a week on site.
Salary: €65,000 – €75,000
Quality Engineering at Capital on Tap 🚀
Quality Engineering is embedded across our mission teams, partnering with Engineering, Product, and UX to champion quality at every stage of the software lifecycle. We build quality in from the start – not bolt it on at the end.
The Lead Automation Engineer is a critical, hands-on role embedded within a Mission team. Reporting functionally to your mission team’s Lead, you will be the quality champion for your specific feature set. You will leverage standardised automation tooling to maximise test coverage, accelerate delivery velocity, and maintain the highest quality standards for our products.
What You’ll Be Doing 🗃️
Mission Team Quality Ownership & Strategy
- Define and own the comprehensive testing strategy for your domain (e.g., payments, banking, onboarding), ensuring end-to-end quality and compliance in partnership with the QA Team Lead.
- Act as the primary contributor for automation; design, develop, and maintain robust automated tests (API, UI, Mobile).
- Champion a “Shift-Left” mindset, working with Product Owners and Developers from the refinement stage to ensure quality is engineered in from the start.
- Directly manage the mission team’s automation targets and use data-driven insights (MTTD/MTTR, defect escape rates) to predict high-risk areas.
Technical Leadership & Tooling Adoption 🧰
- Serve as the mission team’s expert on central automation frameworks, driving consistent adoption of CI/CD processes and quality gates.
- Identify team-specific gaps and collaborate with the central Tooling Team to develop custom helpers or data generators that enhance the core framework.
- Ensure automated test suites are fully integrated into CI/CD pipelines to enable rapid, reliable deployment and a “fail fast” mechanism.
- Coordinate complex technical testing, including microservices, security (OWASP ZAP), and performance testing.
Collaboration, Coaching & AI Innovation 🤖
- Coach and upskill developers and junior QA engineers on automation best practices and test design patterns.
- Champion the use of AI tools (Claude, GitHub Copilot) for complex tasks like architecture exploration, incident investigation, and test generation.
- Leverage component testing, service virtualization, and contract testing to reduce dependencies and enable independent team testing.
- Define test data strategies and environment requirements to support both automated and exploratory testing.
Our Values & Culture 🌞
- Just Pilot: We never settle for “good enough”. We pilot new ideas fast, ask questions to figure it out, and scale quickly.
- Why Not Today? Fast is as slow as we go – speed and simplicity gives us a competitive advantage.
- Be a Buddy: We tap in from day one to help the team, we do the right thing even if it’s hard.
- Owners and Dates: We don’t chase people. If you own a task and agree to a date, the expectation is that it gets done.
- Feedback: We want our employees to flourish, so we regularly provide direct and constructive feedback.
We’re Looking For 🔎
- Experience: 5+ years in QA Automation/SDET roles with proven success leading quality within an Agile team.
- Programming: Strong proficiency in modern languages essential for automation, specifically C# or JavaScript/TypeScript.
- Fintech Expertise: Experience testing complex financial systems (card issuing, transaction processing, or credit risk).
- Automation Mastery: Hands-on experience with tools for UI (Playwright, Cypress) and API (REST Assured, Other API testing frameworks).
- Cloud & CI/CD: Familiarity with Azure, Git, and integrating automated testing into deployment workflows.
- Leadership: Ability to influence without authority, encouraging developers and POs to prioritise automation and quality.
Even if you don’t have all of the necessary skills, we still encourage you to apply.
Interview Process 🤝
- First stage: 30-minute intro, CV review, and values with Talent Partner
- Second stage: 45-minute “Tech Chat” with Team Manager
- Final stage: 60-minute Code Pairing + 30-minute Stakeholder Interview with Engineering & Product
Diversity & Inclusion 🌈
We welcome, consider and encourage applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusivity. Join us in creating a space where authenticity thrives, and everyone can do their best work.
Great Work Deserves Great Perks
Check out our benefits:
🏥 Private Healthcare through AdvanceCare
🎁 Anniversary Rewards (€280, €570, €860, 4-week fully paid sabbatical)
🚘 Paid Car Parking
🏖️ 36 days holiday (inclusive of public holidays with public holidays carried over if they fall on a weekend)
📖 Annual Learning and Wellbeing Budget
💬 6 free therapy sessions per year
🍫 Free drinks and snacks in our offices
Other Info
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📧Email careers@capitalontap.com if you have any questions.
Excited to work here? Apply!
If you’d like to progress your career within our fast growing, profitable fintech then click apply and we will aim to get back to you within 3 working days (during busy periods this could take up to 5 working days.)
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