Senior / Lead QA Automation Engineer AI-First

Senior / Lead QA Automation Engineer (AI-First)

Company: Hyper-Growth Technology Services Vendor
Location: Kuala Lumpur (Hybrid 50%)
Experience: 5 to 8 Years
Core Stack: Playwright, Appium, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor AI, Testim, Postman

A True 50/50 Hybrid Role
- This is not a pure scripting job, the transition to full automation is ongoing
- Many engineering squads still rely heavily on manual testing.
- Candidates must be comfortable architecting AI-first systems and also be ready to switch to manual and UI testing as needed, especially during workload spikes or tight client deadlines.

The Opportunity
- Join a fast-scaling tech vendor that has grown from 0 to 50+ people in just 2 years.
- Work on deploying features rapidly for high-traffic platforms.
- Be part of an AI-first, shift-left quality culture.
- Utilize generative AI models, self-healing automation, and pipeline integration.

About You
- Experience in a mid-sized software house, tech agency, or vendor environment.
- Comfortable with shifting client requirements.
- Tech Core: Expertise in Playwright and Appium.
- AI Early Adopter: Regularly use tools like Claude Code, Cursor AI, or Codex to accelerate script writing and run rapid proof-of-concepts.
- Hands-on Leader: Lead by example by building prototypes, proving their effectiveness, and unblocking the team.
- Adaptable Thinker: Seek quick wins and design basic templates that manual testers can easily adopt.

Core Responsibilities
- Architect and build scalable automation frameworks using Playwright and Appium.
- Support squads by building reusable code libraries for up to 30+ manual testers.
- Drive AI testing by running live proof-of-concepts with AI assistants to convert manual workflows into automated layers.
- Switch on demand to manual functional and mobile UI testing when client releases require it.
- Track success by implementing data-driven metrics to monitor cycle times, package stability, and tool adoption.
- Consult directly with developers, product managers, and external clients to align on quality goals.

This Job is NOT Right for You If...
- You refuse to do manual testing, UI, or regression testing
- You want to manage a team (this is a IC role)
- You are a code purist not interested in low-code or AI platforms (such as Testim)
- You come from a large enterprise, bank, big MNC background and prefer highly documented release cycles.
- You get frustrated by constant change, as clients often push fast deadlines and may interrupt long-term automation plans.
- You require perfect requirements, as the role involves dealing with changing mock-ups.