Senior / Lead QA Automation Engineer AI-First

About this role

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.