Company Overview
[$COMPANY_OVERVIEW]
Role Overview
[$COMPANY_NAME] is seeking an experienced Automation Manager to lead cross-functional teams that design, implement, and operate automation solutions spanning test automation, CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). You will own strategy and delivery for automation initiatives that increase release velocity, reduce defect escape rates, and drive measurable cost and time savings. This is a manager-level position combining technical leadership, program delivery, and people management to scale repeatable automation practices across engineering, QA, and platform teams.
Responsibilities
- Define and execute a multi-year automation strategy covering test automation, CI/CD pipeline automation, infrastructure-as-code (IaC), and RPA to meet business KPIs (deployment frequency, lead time for changes, mean time to recovery, defect escape rate).
- Lead a team of automation engineers, SDET/QA engineers, DevOps engineers, and RPA developers; own hiring, performance reviews, mentoring, and career-pathing.
- Architect and validate scalable automation platforms using technologies such as Jenkins/GitLab CI, ArgoCD, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, and cloud services (AWS/GCP/Azure).
- Drive adoption of test automation frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright for UI; JUnit, pytest, TestNG for unit/integration) and service-level integration tests using contract testing and consumer-driven contracts.
- Operationalize end-to-end pipeline observability and resilience: integrate distributed tracing (OpenTelemetry), metrics (Prometheus), and log aggregation (ELK/Datadog/New Relic) into automated workflows.
- Establish governance, coding standards, and ADRs for automation projects; own CI/CD security gates, secrets management, and SAST/DAST tooling integration.
- Manage RPA/RDA programs (e.g., UIPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism), prioritizing automations with highest ROI and ensuring secure, auditable bot operations.
- Collaborate with product, security, and platform teams to align automation work with compliance, performance, and reliability objectives; translate business requirements into measurable automation targets.
- Set and report on quantitative success metrics; present regular program updates to senior leadership and recommend course corrections based on data.
Required and Preferred Qualifications
Required:
- 7+ years of engineering experience with 3+ years managing technical teams delivering automation at scale.
- Proven track record implementing CI/CD and test automation across microservices and monolith architectures.
- Hands-on experience with at least two CI/CD systems (Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI, ArgoCD) and infrastructure automation tools (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation).
- Deep practical knowledge of test automation frameworks: Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, JUnit/TestNG, pytest; experience designing test pyramids and automation strategies.
- Practical experience with RPA platforms (UIPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism) or equivalent workflow automation tooling.
- Strong scripting/programming skills (Python, Java, or TypeScript) and familiarity with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes).
- Experience defining KPIs and using observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, ELK) to measure automation impact.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills; demonstrated ability to influence engineering and product leaders.
Preferred:
- Experience with cloud providers (AWS/GCP/Azure) at production scale and knowledge of secure cloud automation patterns.
- Background in security automation, SRE practices, or regulated industries (finance, healthcare) with compliance automation experience.
- Certifications such as Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, ISTQB Advanced Level, or RPA vendor certifications.
- Prior experience migrating monolithic test suites to microservice-friendly integration and contract testing strategies.
Technical Skills and Relevant Technologies
- CI/CD: Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI, ArgoCD
- Test Automation: Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, JUnit, pytest, TestNG
- Languages & Scripting: Python, Java, TypeScript/JavaScript, Bash
- Infrastructure & Orchestration: Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Docker, Kubernetes
- RPA & Workflow: UIPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, Camunda
- Observability & Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Datadog, OpenTelemetry
- Security & Compliance Tools: SAST/DAST scanners, Secrets Management (Vault), IAM best practices
- Datastores & Messaging: PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka (familiarity beneficial)
Soft Skills and Cultural Fit
- Strategic leader who converts high-level goals into measurable engineering programs and backlog deliverables.
- Track record of leading architecture decision records (ADRs), conducting structured code reviews, and mentoring engineers on automation design.
- Data-driven decision making: comfortable defining metrics, running experiments, and using telemetry to iterate on automation investments.
- Strong collaborator with experience negotiating trade-offs across product, security, and platform teams.
- Change agent mindset: skilled at driving cultural adoption of automation and continuous improvement across distributed teams.
Benefits and Perks
Annual salary range: [$SALARY_RANGE]
Comprehensive benefits package includes:
- Competitive base salary plus performance bonus and equity opportunities
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) retirement plan with company match or local equivalent
- Flexible PTO, parental leave, and paid volunteer days
- Learning & development stipend, conference budget, and certification support
- Home office stipend for hybrid work and wellbeing reimbursements
Equal Opportunity Statement
[$COMPANY_NAME] is an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diversity of background, thought, and experience and are committed to building an inclusive environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage applicants from underrepresented groups to apply.
Location
This role is hybrid: a successful candidate will be expected to work from the office in [$COMPANY_LOCATION] at least 3 days per week to collaborate with engineering, product, and operations teams. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the applicable jurisdiction and able to commute to the office as required.
How to Apply
We encourage applicants who meet some, but not all, of the qualifications to apply. Please submit a resume and a brief cover letter highlighting your most relevant automation programs and measurable outcomes. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.