Mobile QA Automation Lead (Remote, Full-Time) EU [AS226] in Bulgaria, Emilia-Romagna at Smart Working Solutions

About Smart Working
At Smart Working, we believe your job should not only look right on paper but also feel right every day. This isn't just another remote opportunity - it's about finding where you truly belong, no matter where you are. From day one, you're welcomed into a genuine community that values your growth and well-being.

Our mission is simple: to break down geographic barriers and connect skilled professionals with outstanding global teams and products for full-time, long-term roles. We help you discover meaningful work with teams that invest in your success, where you're empowered to grow personally and professionally.

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About the Role
We're looking for a QA Automation Lead to evolve our client's QA function from a heavily manual model toward a scalable, risk-based automation approach - while maintaining oversight of existing manual processes.

This is a hands-on role (approximately 60% hands-on), leading a team of 4 QA engineers. The current stack uses TypeScript, WebdriverIO, and Appium, but automation maturity is still early, and the team relies significantly on manual testing today.

The primary product is a mobile banking app, so the role is heavily mobile-focused (iOS/Android), with an emphasis on end-to-end user journey testing and strong judgment around building an effective testing pyramid across mobile, UI, API, and manual layers.

• Define and drive the QA automation strategy, improving framework quality, test coverage, and overall automation maturity
• Lead, mentor, and support a team of QA engineers, providing both technical guidance and hands-on contribution
• Design, build, and maintain scalable UI and end-to-end automation frameworks in TypeScript using WebdriverIO and Playwright
• Own and evolve mobile automation across iOS and Android using Appium and BrowserStack
• Apply a risk-based testing approach to make informed decisions on test prioritisation, coverage trade-offs, and release confidence
• Shape a balanced testing pyramid across mobile, UI, API/service-level, and manual testing layers
• Improve and optimise automated test execution within CI/CD pipelines
• Manage bug tracking, triage, and failure analysis, providing clear reporting on quality metrics and risks
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and platform teams to improve testability and embed QA best practices
• Support longer-term expansion into non-functional testing areas such as performance, load, and security

• 6+ years of experience in QA / Test Automation in production environments
• Proven experience leading or mentoring QA engineers and owning automation direction
• Strong ability to define and evolve automation strategy, not just implement individual tests
• Solid manual QA fundamentals, including exploratory and regression testing
• Hands-on experience building or improving UI and end-to-end automation frameworks using tools such as WebdriverIO, Playwright, Cypress, or Selenium
• Experience with mobile testing and automation on iOS and/or Android in business-critical environments
• Strong understanding of risk-based testing and test pyramid principles
• Experience with API and service-level testing
• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines
• Comfortable with defect management, failure analysis, and QA reporting
• Proficiency in TypeScript or JavaScript-based automation (TypeScript preferred); Python, Java, or Kotlin also welcome
• Strong collaboration skills across engineering, product, and platform teams

• Experience with Appium, BrowserStack, XCUITest, or Espresso
• Experience testing React Native applications
• Exposure to performance, load, or non-functional testing
• Experience in fintech, banking, or similarly regulated environments
• Familiarity with security-focused testing practices
• Broader backend or service-level testing experience beyond UI automation