Sr QA Automation Engineer

ABOUT APPLY DIGITAL   Apply Digital is a global AI-native transformation partner, client-obsessed and built for a new era of client services. We bring together industry expertise and elite talent to connect strategy, agentic experiences, technology, and data for the world's most ambitious organizations. With the agility to move fast and the experience to deliver with precision, Apply Digital works with clients like Arc'teryx, Lululemon, and Kraft Heinz. For more information, visit applydigital.com   LOCATION: Apply Digital is hybrid/remote-friendly. The preferred candidate should be based in Latin America, preferably working in hours that align to PT (Pacific Timezone) or ET (Eastern Timezone). Candidates located in Santiago, Chile are able to work out of our Santiago office as remote/hybrid employees. Candidates located outside of Santiago, Chile will be fully remote employees.   THE ROLE: LIFE AT APPLY DIGITAL   At Apply Digital, people are at the core of everything we do. We value your time, safety, and health, and strive to build a work community that can help you thrive and grow. Here are a few benefits we offer to support you:   Great projects: Broaden your skills on a range of engaging projects with international brands that have a global impact. An inclusive and safe environment: We’re truly committed to building a culture where you are celebrated and everyone feels welcome and safe. Learning opportunities: We offer generous training budgets, including partner tech certifications, custom learning plans, workshops, mentorship, and peer support. Generous vacation policy: Work-life balance is key to our team’s success, so we offer ample time away from work to promote overall well-being. Customizable benefits: Tailor your extended health and dental plan to your needs, priorities, and preferences. Flexible work arrangements: We work in a variety of ways, from remote, to in-office, to a blend of both.   Apply Digital is committed to building a culture where differences are celebrated and everyone feels welcome. That’s why we value equal opportunity and nurture an inclusive workplace where our individual differences are recognized and valued.   For more information, visit the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) section of our website. If you have accommodation needs at this stage of the recruitment process, please inform us as soon as possible by emailing us at careers@applydigital.com. country: CL all locations: [Santiago Latin America] commitment: Full-Time Permanent department: location: Santiago team: Quality Assurance WHAT YOU’LL DO:: Test Strategy and Leadership: Define and evolve test strategies from the earliest phases of development, ensuring alignment with business goals. Provide guidance on test planning, coverage, and automation strategy to maximize efficiency and quality. Quality Engineering & Automation: Design, build, and maintain automation frameworks (e.g. Cypress, Playwright) that scale across projects. Ensure automation is integrated into CI/CD pipelines, enabling faster, more reliable releases. Shift-Left and Early Collaboration: Collaborate closely with product owners, designers, and developers during early stages to prevent defects, align on requirements, and bring a quality-first mindset into planning and design. Execution and Defect Management: Lead execution of automated and manual testing, oversee defect lifecycle management, and ensure timely resolution of issues while mentoring team members on best practices. API Testing: Perform thorough manual and automated API testing, leveraging frameworks such as Cypress and Playwright, ensuring robustness, reliability, and proper integration across services. Accessibility Testing: Validate compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA standards through both manual and automated methods, ensuring inclusive and accessible digital experiences. Performance and Scalability Testing: Drive performance and load testing initiatives, analyzing results and recommending improvements to ensure systems meet scalability and reliability expectations. CMS and Content Validation: Test digital solutions built on CMS platforms such as Contentful, ContentStack, or similar, validating dynamic content delivery and integration. Design Review and Usability Validation: Collaborate with designers by reviewing and validating deliverables in Figma, ensuring design intent is met and edge cases are considered. Innovation and Continuous Improvement: Actively explore and implement AI-driven testing tools and modern QA practices. Identify opportunities to optimize processes, reduce manual effort, and accelerate delivery. Component-Level Quality: (Nice-to-have) Experience testing or developing UI components using Atomic Design principles and tools like Storybook, ensuring modularity and consistency across projects. Metrics, Reporting, and Risk Management: Provide clear visibility of quality through KPIs and dashboards. Communicate risks, dependencies, and outcomes effectively to stakeholders and leadership. Mentorship and Knowledge Sharing: Coach junior and intermediate QAs, fostering growth and building a strong QA culture across teams. Lead QA ceremonies and advocate for QA practices within Agile processes. Consultative Client Engagement: Act as a quality consultant for clients, aligning QA activities with their long-term business objectives and helping shape digital solutions that scale. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:: Fluent English (written and spoken). Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, IT, or equivalent. 7+ years of QA experience, with at least 3+ years focused on automation at scale. Strong expertise in JavaScript/TypeScript and automation frameworks such as Cypress and Playwright. Proven ability to design, maintain, and scale test automation frameworks and integrate them into CI/CD pipelines. Solid understanding of software QA methodologies, Agile/Scrum principles, and shift-left practices. Hands-on experience in manual and automated API testing with Cypress or Playwright. Knowledge and hands-on validation of accessibility testing aligned with WCAG 2.2 AA standards (manual and automated). Experience in performance and load testing, with the ability to analyze bottlenecks and recommend improvements. Familiarity with CMS platforms such as Contentful, ContentStack, or similar. Ability to review and validate designs in Figma, ensuring alignment between design intent and implementation. (Nice-to-have) Experience with Atomic Design principles and component-driven testing/development in Storybook. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a consultative mindset to align testing with client business objectives. Excellent communication skills, able to act as a bridge across technical and non-technical teams. Proven ability to mentor and guide junior and intermediate QAs, fostering growth and a strong QA culture. Curiosity and initiative to explore and apply AI-driven QA tools to increase efficiency, coverage, and speed. Self-driven, proactive, and able to manage multiple projects with a strong sense of urgency and ownership. Comfortable being a key player in both manual and automation testing, understanding the value and balance of each in delivering high-quality products.