Quality Assurance Test Lead

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced QA Lead to join our Technology team supporting FX and Capital Markets platforms. The successful candidate will lead QA activities across complex front-office and trading systems, driving quality engineering best practices with a strong focus on test automation, team leadership, and stakeholder communication.

While direct FX or Capital Markets experience is desirable, we are primarily looking for candidates with strong Financial Services experience who can operate effectively in fast-paced, high-pressure environments and collaborate confidently with both business and technology stakeholders.

This role is ideal for someone who combines hands-on technical expertise in Java-based automation with the ability to lead and mentor QA engineers, influence delivery standards, and improve overall software quality across the SDLC.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage QA activities across multiple projects and delivery streams within Financial Services technology platforms.
• Define and implement QA strategies, standards, and best practices across manual and automated testing.
• Drive the adoption and continuous improvement of automated testing frameworks using Java-based technologies.
• Lead, mentor, and develop QA engineers, fostering a high-performing and collaborative team culture.
• Work closely with Developers, Business Analysts, Product Owners, DevOps, and business stakeholders to ensure quality is embedded throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Participate in requirements analysis and solution design discussions to identify testability, risk, and quality considerations early.
• Develop and maintain automated regression, integration, and API test suites.
• Ensure appropriate test coverage across functional, integration, regression, and non-functional testing activities.
• Coordinate defect management, root cause analysis, and resolution tracking.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipeline improvements and automation integration within Agile delivery environments.
• Provide regular QA status reporting, metrics, and risk assessments to project and technology leadership.
• Support release planning and production validation activities where required.

Required Skills & Experience

Essential

• Proven experience working within Financial Services environments.
• Strong experience leading QA teams or acting in a senior QA/Test Lead capacity.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities.
• Hands-on experience with test automation using Java.
• Experience building or maintaining automation frameworks (e.g. Selenium, Rest Assured, TestNG, JUnit, Cucumber).
• Experience testing APIs, backend services, and distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of SDLC, STLC, and Agile methodologies.
• Experience working within CI/CD environments and DevOps practices.
• Ability to work effectively in fast-paced, delivery-focused environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Desirable

• Experience within FX, Capital Markets, Trading, or Front Office technology environments.
• Knowledge of electronic trading platforms, market data, or pricing systems.
• Experience with performance or non-functional testing tools.
• Exposure to cloud technologies and containerised environments.
• Familiarity with Kafka, messaging systems, or event-driven architectures.
• Experience with SQL and database validation/testing.