Senior QA Engineer

Senior QA Engineer | Sainsbury's Tech Joining our team at Sainsbury's means being a part of an exceptionally dynamic and multi-faceted organisation that serves millions of customers daily. With the UK's largest loyalty scheme and cutting-edge digital platforms, we handle an astonishing 1.2 billion transactions each year, offering a vast and intricate dataset that few can match. Accelerating retail media capabilities is a top priority for the Nectar and Media Agency business unit, with a focus on building a market-leading offering both onsite and offsite. This includes scaling agency partnerships and digitising in-store media through digital screens. Initiatives like Sainsbury’s Insights Platform (SIP) are unlocking new revenue streams by providing suppliers with valuable operational data and actionable insights, positioning Media Agency at the forefront of retail media and data innovation. Join us and be part of a team that encourages innovation, values your expertise, and prioritises work-life balance while delivering exceptional results. We use a variety of tech here and you need to be willing to pick up new tools and techniques. We’d also like you to be yourself — analytical, curious and unafraid to challenge the status quo. You’ll be a role model for best practices, championing a customer centric mindset and a passion for finding creative ways to solve problems, mentoring fellow engineers as a progressive member of the engineering community. More about the role Top Responsibilities: Quality Ownership Beyond Squad Level Drive accountability for quality across multiple teams, ensuring standards are upheld and outcomes align with business priorities. Own the Quality Gate Act as the decision-maker for release readiness (go/no-go), balancing risk and business impact. Set Standards and Best Practices Define and maintain testing standards, automation strategies, and quality benchmarks for the squad and wider teams. Influence and Leadership Lead practices like 3-Amigos, refinement sessions, and quality-focused ceremonies. Push back constructively when needed to protect quality. Operate Across Teams Collaborate beyond the squad to align quality goals with product, engineering, and business stakeholders. Strategic Guidance Over Day-to-Day Execution Provide direction and mentorship to QA engineers, focusing on guidance and influence rather than granular operational tasks. Continuous Improvement Champion process optimisation, automation adoption, and innovation to improve efficiency and quality. Defect Management and Risk Analysis Ensure robust defect classification, prioritisation, and root cause analysis to prevent leakage and improve user experience. Communication and Reporting Deliver clear, actionable insights on quality status, risks, and readiness to stakeholders. Leadership Within the Squad Balance hands-on involvement with strategic oversight, ensuring the squad meets quality objectives while contributing to cross-team initiatives. More about you You are a technical leader and influencer, passionate about quality and collaboration. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, balancing strategic impact with practical squad-level engagement. Essential skills: Proven experience leading QA teams and mentoring junior engineers. Strong knowledge of test strategy, planning, and execution across functional, regression, integration, and performance testing. Expertise in automation frameworks and scripting (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright or similar). Solid understanding of software design, architecture, and best engineering practices. Experience with CI/CD pipelines, cloud platforms, and infrastructure as code. Ability to analyse and classify defects, manage defect leakage, and drive root cause analysis. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Strong collaboration skills, working effectively with cross-functional teams. Commitment to continuous improvement, process optimisation, and adoption of new tools and practices. High level of accountability, ownership, and a customer-centric mindset. Desirable skills: Experience with Jira & Confluence for ticket/documentation support. Good practical knowledge of frontend and backend tech stacks. Experience of mentoring more junior QA / test engineer colleagues