About the company

At Ocean, we’re on a mission to become the UK’s leading credit platform for people not served by the mainstream, helping them improve their financial wellbeing over their lifetime. This has been our mission for over 30 years, and it’s still the thing that drives us to do better and more for our customers.

We do this by helping our customers make informed decisions and access personal finance products.

If our mission sounds interesting, please keep reading!

About the job

As a Lead QA , you will spearhead our quality assurance efforts, combining managerial responsibilities with active involvement in automation testing using Playwright. This role entails leadership, mentorship, and technical proficiency, where you'll guide and support your team while actively contributing to our testing strategies and execution.

What you’ll be doing for us

Managerial Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership to the QA team, ensuring alignment with company objectives.
• Mentor and coach QA colleagues, fostering their growth and development.
• Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to drive quality initiatives and project deliveries.
• Establish and refine QA processes, standards, and best practices to optimize efficiency.

Hands-On Testing and Planning:

• Lead the design, development, and execution of automated tests using Playwright.
• Analyze test results and prioritize issues for resolution in partnership with stakeholders.
• Contribute to test planning activities, including strategy and test case creation.
• Implement ongoing monitoring solutions using services such as Datadog, Checkly (Playwright Monitoring), SEQ Logs to track application performance and system metrics.
• Troubleshoot complex issues and provide technical guidance and support to the team.

Qualifications:

• Proven experience (2+ years) in a QA leadership role, with a strong focus on both managerial and hands-on testing responsibilities.
• Extensive experience in automation testing using Playwright.js or similar tools/frameworks.
• Solid understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and agile methodologies.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with keen attention to detail.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple priorities effectively.

Beneficial Experience:

• Datadog: Experience with monitoring and analytics platforms like Datadog.
• Azure DevOps: Proficiency in using Azure DevOps as a ticketing system.

What we’ll do for you

• Pay you competitively and review your salary every year
• Welcome you into our awesome team (dare we say the best? We do, yes!)
• Bring the kind of vibe where we want you to share your ideas, even if it’s not “your area”
• Provide you with all the kit you need to do an amazing job
• Help you plan for life after work with our pension scheme
• Take care of your health with eye test vouchers, Ocean Health Plan and our employee assistance programme
• Plant a tree with our partner Just One Tree when you start and for every year you are with us
• Give you 25 days holiday (to start with), as well as local public holidays and a day off on your birthday
• Support you with training, mentoring and anything else you need to further your development and hit your career goals
• Invite you to regular online and in-person team socials, as well as the occasional team retreat somewhere exotic
• Help you help others with optional “community” days for volunteering