Quality Assurance Automation Lead

About Play HQAt Play HQ, we're delivering the digital infrastructure that powers community sport across Australia - from grassroots clubs to national bodies.Over 500,000 people already use our platform every week.
And with four new sports launching and millions of users on the horizon, we're scaling fast.What We're Looking ForWe're looking for a quality engineering leader who's ready to help us deliver seamless, mobile-first experiences to millions of users and solve complex testing, architecture, and scaling challenges along the way, such as real-time data validation across diverse sporting events and evolving large-scale quality assurance systems.The leader we need:Has 6-8 years crafting exceptional quality engineering with 2+ years leading teams Thrives in startup environments where your quality decisions impact real lives immediately Obsesses over mobile-first testing because sport happens on phones, in cars, on sidelines Understands that accessibility testing isn't optional when your users range from 7-year-old players to 70-year-old volunteers Gets energized by performance testing challenges because slow systems mean missed registrations Embraces AI-driven testing innovation while maintaining quality craftsmanshipWhat You'll Do Day-to-DayLead quality engineering that communities depend on: Design and implement scalable test automation frameworks for web, mobile, and API testing that handle registration rushes 50x normal traffic Establish quality metrics and KPIs that provide actionable insights across autonomous agile teams Mentor engineers on automation best practices while architecting solutions for millions of users Lead incident post-mortems for issues affecting real sporting events and drive preventive measures Champion AI-driven testing approaches, experimenting with LLMs for test generation and intelligent automation Coordinate with Product teams to establish shared ownership around quality that protects user experienceBuild systems with confidence and speed: Integrate quality gates into CI/CD pipelines that deploy multiple times daily Contribute to testing culture transformation across engineering teams Participate in release planning and provide technical risk assessment for features affecting thousands of clubs Balance automation ROI with comprehensive coverage across our entire sports platformSolve quality challenges that matter: Performance and load testing for systems processing $675 M+ in payments annually Microservices testing strategies for complex sport workflows across 50+ sporting codes Test data management for fixtures involving 2.2 million participants Mobile testing strategies that work perfectly from training grounds to grand final stadiumsWhat You Need to thrive in this role:6-8 years of experience in quality engineering with 2+ years in leadership roles Deep expertise in designing and implementing scalable test automation frameworks for web, mobile, and API testing Hands-on experience with modern testing tools and can evaluate/recommend new technologies Experience with Type Script/Java Script, Golang, and Graph QL testing strategies Expertise in CI/CD integration, test orchestration, and automated quality gates Experience with performance and load testing tools (k6, Artillery, JMeter)Understanding of microservices testing strategies and service virtualization Experience with monitoring and observability tools (Grafana, Sentry, Data Dog)Ability to establish test data management and environment provisioning strategies Write clean, maintainable test code aligned with engineering best practices Experience with behaviour-driven development (BDD) and shift-left testing practices Embrace AI tools to enhance your productivity and test automation capabilities, staying current with AI-assisted testing practices Excited about AI-driven testing approaches and experimenting with LLMs for test generation, analysis, and intelligent automationIt's great if you have:Experience with sports/events platforms, payments testing, or high-scale consumer applications Working knowledge of cloud-native services (AWS) and containerization (Docker)Experience with mobile testing frameworks and device farms Familiarity with chaos engineering and resilience testing Experience in a sporting organization or sports tech environment What You'll Learn and Grow Into How to scale quality engineering to millions of users without compromising reliability How to establish testing culture in a high-growth sports tech environment How to build AI-driven quality systems across multiple sporting codes How to lead quality engineering teams in a lean, fast-paced startup environment How to create quality impact in a business where your work affects real people every weekend What You'll Get Competitive salary package Annual L&D budget to support your growth and team development Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Paid parental leave Hybrid & flexible work environment (only 1 day per week in-office) Conference attendance and external training opportunities Office perks: snacks, fresh fruit, access to on-site refresh studio, and social activities Leadership development programs and mentoring opportunities You'll Love This Role If You…Want to lead quality engineering on a platform that powers sport at scale - 500 K+ weekly users and growing Are energized by building quality systems that scale to millions of users Want to see your quality improvements protect real communities and make a genuine difference Enjoy navigating technical trade-offs, solving complex problems, and owning quality outcomes Thrive in dynamic environments where priorities can shift quickly based on user feedback Love sport (or want to help make it more accessible and reliable for everyone)Ready to help us unleash the life-changing power of community sport through exceptional quality engineering? Apply now - we'd love to hear from you.

---