Senior Test Automation Engineer – CREST Settlement Systems

Senior Test Automation Engineer - CREST Settlement Systems Location: Hybrid (8 days onsite per month) Contract: 12 Months Engagement: Inside IR35 Industry: Financial Services / Capital Markets About the Role We are seeking an experienced Senior Test Automation Engineer with strong experience across CREST settlement systems, test automation, and financial markets to join a leading financial services organisation. Working within Agile delivery teams, you will play a key role in defining the overall testing strategy, designing and executing automated and manual test cases, and ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality software across business-critical settlement platforms. This is an excellent opportunity to work on complex post-trade and securities settlement systems while collaborating with highly skilled engineering teams in a modern Agile environment. Key Responsibilities Develop and own Test Strategies and recommend the most effective testing approach. Present testing strategies and approaches to technical and business stakeholders. Review functional and technical specifications to produce comprehensive test scenarios and test cases. Execute both manual and automated testing across multiple applications. Perform peer reviews of test artefacts to ensure quality standards are maintained. Manage defects throughout the testing lifecycle, including investigation, analysis and defect triage. Work collaboratively across multiple Agile squads and distributed teams. Provide regular progress updates and manage stakeholder expectations throughout delivery. Ensure high-quality testing deliverables are produced in line with agreed standards. Contribute to sprint planning, stand-ups, retrospectives and other Agile ceremonies. Support continuous improvement of testing practices and automation capabilities. Essential Skills & Experience Extensive experience as a Senior Test Automation Engineer, Quality Engineer, or Senior QA Engineer. Proven experience working within Agile software delivery environments. Strong Financial Services or Capital Markets background. Experience creating and delivering comprehensive Test Strategies and Test Plans. Excellent SQL skills. Strong automation experience using: Selenium Java UFT Experience using: Azure DevOps ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) Experience with: CREST settlement systems CREST proprietary messaging SWIFT messaging ISO15022 / ISO20022 messaging Windows UNIX Excellent defect management and root cause analysis experience. Strong stakeholder management and communication skills. ISTQB or ISEB Foundation Certification. Desirable Skills Playwright BDD / TDD Kafka OpenShift CI/CD pipelines Jenkins API Testing Post-trade settlement platforms Securities processing Clearing and Custody systems *Rates depend on experience and client requirements