Senior QA Automation Engineer

Empower Pharmacy

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Empower Pharmacy is a leading healthcare company focused on making quality, affordable medication accessible. As a top-tier compounding pharmacy and outsourcing facility, we are innovating personalized medicine and pharmaceutical manufacturing. We are recognized as one of Houston's fastest-growing companies and ranked on the Inc. 5000 List. Our operations are guided by core values of People, Quality, Service, and Innovation, supported by advanced technology and a commitment to patient care. Joining Empower means being part of a mission-driven organization that transforms healthcare, invests in its people, and encourages growth and innovation. We seek individuals who thrive in a fast-paced, purpose-driven environment where collaboration and ambition lead to impactful work. The Senior QA Automation Engineer is a key technical leader responsible for advancing Empower's enterprise test automation strategy across critical software systems supporting our 503A/503B operations, including manufacturing, order management, and compliance applications. This role will define scalable automation approaches, technical standards, and quality engineering practices to enhance software reliability, release confidence, and operational speed. The position offers advanced technical leadership throughout the automation lifecycle, encompassing architecture, strategy, framework design, CI/CD integration, risk-based testing, defect prevention, and continuous improvement. The Senior QA Automation Engineer will exercise significant independent judgment in identifying systemic quality risks, evaluating technical trade-offs, and proposing solutions that impact multiple applications and cross-functional teams. Operating within a highly regulated environment, this role is a crucial technical partner to Engineering, Product, QA, Validation, and business stakeholders, ensuring automated testing practices are scalable, reliable, traceable, and compliant with computer system validation and data integrity requirements. Additionally, the position will provide technical guidance and mentorship to QA engineers, enhance organizational automation capabilities, and explore emerging technologies and AI opportunities to improve testing effectiveness while maintaining accountable engineering judgment.

Requirements

Advanced expertise designing and evolving scalable test automation frameworks for UI, API, integration, and regression testing using technologies such as Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, or similar platforms.
Advanced proficiency in at least one programming or scripting language used for automation engineering, such as Python, Java, JavaScript, or TypeScript, including the ability to establish reusable automation patterns and engineering standards.
Advanced understanding of API testing, SQL, test data management, service integrations, and complex software architectures.
Strong expertise integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines and software delivery workflows using tools such as Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI, Git, or comparable technologies.
Advanced ability to evaluate technical risk, diagnose complex automation and software failures, identify systemic patterns, and develop sustainable solutions.
Strong understanding of software architecture, SDLC practices, Agile delivery, quality engineering principles, and strategies for improving software testability and defect prevention.
Ability to influence technical decisions and communicate complex quality risks, technical tradeoffs, and recommendations to audiences with varying levels of technical expertise.
Advanced ability to establish and improve automation standards, frameworks, and practices that support multiple applications, teams, or technology environments.
Working knowledge of computer system validation, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity, traceability, and documentation requirements applicable to regulated software environments.
Ability to evaluate and responsibly apply AI-enabled tools to improve test design, automation development, defect analysis, and engineering productivity while maintaining human review and accountable technical judgment.
Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and practical experience required.
6+ years of experience in QA automation, building and maintaining automated test scripts and frameworks in a professional software environment, including demonstrated experience designing automation frameworks, standards, or reusable patterns — not solely writing individual test cases required.
Proven ability to design test strategies, troubleshoot automation failures, document test evidence, and deliver reliable testing outcomes across cross-functional stakeholder groups required.
ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) required.

Nice To Haves

Experience testing within regulated, quality-controlled, or highly documented software environments (e.g., pharma, healthcare, life sciences) where computer system validation (CSV), 21 CFR Part 11, and traceability are important preferred.
Experience with performance or load testing tools (e.g., JMeter, k6) and exposure to cloud platforms (AWS or Azure) preferred.
ISTQB Advanced Level – Test Automation Engineering (CTAL-TAE), or equivalent test automation certification preferred.
A plus: Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals.
A plus: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner or Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900).

Responsibilities

Lead the development and evolution of scalable test automation strategies across multiple applications and technology environments, establishing priorities based on business risk, technical complexity, release frequency, and organizational impact.
Design and evolve reusable automation frameworks, standards, and patterns supporting UI, API, integration, and regression testing needs, evaluating technical trade-offs for maintainability, scalability, reliability, and efficiency.
Define and promote automation engineering standards, coding practices, test design principles, and documentation requirements to improve consistency and quality, reviewing complex automation solutions and providing technical recommendations.
Partner with Engineering and DevOps teams to embed automated testing into CI/CD pipelines and release processes, identifying opportunities to improve test execution speed, environment reliability, test data management, and quality feedback loops.
Lead the assessment of complex system changes to determine appropriate automation and testing strategies based on business criticality, technical risk, regulatory requirements, integration dependencies, and potential impact.
Investigate complex automation failures, systemic defects, production incidents, and recurring quality issues, applying advanced technical analysis to identify root causes and recommend sustainable corrective actions.
Influence a proactive quality engineering approach by identifying quality risks early in the development lifecycle and partnering with technical teams to improve testability, defect prevention, and release readiness.
Lead initiatives to improve automation coverage, test reliability, framework maintainability, and engineering efficiency, identifying systemic opportunities to reduce manual testing and strengthen overall quality maturity.
Serve as a senior technical advisor to Engineering, Product, QA, Validation, and business stakeholders on automation capabilities, testing risks, quality trade-offs, and release readiness.
Lead cross-functional discussions involving complex testing challenges and competing priorities, influencing technical decisions and quality strategies through expertise, data, risk analysis, and practical recommendations.
Provide advanced technical guidance, coaching, and mentorship to QA engineers, analysts, and other technical team members, sharing expertise and establishing reusable practices.
Evaluate emerging testing technologies, AI-enabled capabilities, and automation tools to determine their potential value and appropriate use within Empower's technology environment.
Provide technical leadership for automation practices supporting regulated applications, ensuring testing approaches maintain appropriate traceability, documentation, data integrity, and validation discipline.
Partner with Validation and Quality teams to translate regulatory and computer system validation requirements into practical, scalable automated testing approaches.
Independently identify and escalate significant technical and quality risks that could affect regulated operations, software reliability, business continuity, or compliance.