Automation Test Engineer with AI at ApplianSys, Remote, £40,000-£55,000 per year

COMPANY BACKGROUND

ApplianSys is a UK-based entrepreneurial company specialising in niche network appliance products, including CACHEbox, DNSbox, and EDUGATEbox. With customers in over 160 countries, we have a 25-year record of delivering excellent products and services globally, with the business generally aiming to be world-class in performance and culture. In 2025-26, our engineering team is looking for a transformational step change with the help of AI in our engineering and our products. It has already made promising progress.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Now we are looking for a Product Tester/QA to work with our team and play a pivotal role in this leap forward in our engineering, focused on our test processes. We are seeking to realise the potential of AI to take test automation to another level. This is a unique opportunity to shape our QA processes and contribute to the continued success of ApplianSys.

This contractor role, spanning 3–12 months (likely 3+3+6), is initially a defined project with targeted milestones and an end point. There is the possibility of ongoing work beyond this, either remaining focused on testing, or expanding scope to share in more of the work of our development team.

For the duration of the contract, you have two core responsibilities. You will be:

• Our primary Product Tester/QA, responsible for conducting full and continuous testing across our product lines. The role requires a blend of technical expertise and a keen eye for detail to ensure our products meet the highest standards of quality and performance. You will work closely with the development team to identify issues, improve functionality, and validate solutions before they are deployed to our global customers.
• Leading the change project to transform our testing capability – improving our quality levels and dramatically decreasing testing time – by upgrading our test processes with the help of AI tools.
• ApplianSys values teamwork, innovation, personal development, and excellence. You will have the opportunity to work on market-leading products, contribute to their evolution, and ensure they continue to exceed customer expectations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead QA Transformation: Deliver a focused, time-bound change project to upgrade our testing capability – applying automation and AI to increase coverage and speed.
• Test Planning & Execution: Design and execute test plans for CACHEbox, DNSbox, and EDUGATEbox – covering both software and hardware components to ensure functionality, reliability, and performance.
• Automation Delivery: Build and roll out test automation frameworks that streamline QA activity and reduce manual effort.
• Clear Communication: Produce concise test reports and actionable feedback to support fast, informed decisions.
• Best Practice Execution: Apply structured QA processes – including version control, issue tracking, and root cause analysis – to support consistent product quality

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Essential:

• Proven track record delivering automation-led QA improvement initiatives
• Strong Python skills, with experience building and maintaining automated test suites.
• Recent (within the last 6–18 months) hands-on use of AI-driven testing techniques, including generative AI for test creation.
• Solid experience with automation frameworks and tools such as Selenium, unittest, pytest, and behave.
• Good understanding of networking protocols (HTTP, DNS, DHCP) and Linux-based systems.
• Familiarity with web technologies including HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
• Effective collaboration with development teams to deliver robust, high-quality outcomes.
• Results-focused mindset with a drive to improve testing efficiency and effectiveness.

Desirable:

• Experience with open-source tools such as Squid, ISC Kea, and nginx.
• Exposure to hardware testing and component-level diagnostics.
• Prior work on QA improvements in caching or DNS-focused environments.

Job Types: Temporary, Fixed term contract, Freelance
Contract length: 3-12 months

Pay: £40,000.00-£55,000.00 per year

Application question(s):

• 1. Have you led or contributed to a project that improved testing processes?
• 2. Have you used AI tools in your testing work within the last 12–18 months?
• 3. How confident are you using Python for writing or maintaining test scripts?
• 4. Which of the following have you used regularly in testing work? (Select all that apply)

☐ Selenium
☐ pytest
☐ behave
☐ unittest

• 5. Have you worked in a Linux-based environment?
• 6. Have you tested both software (apps/websites) and hardware (devices/physical components)?

☐ Yes, both
☐ Only software
☐ Only hardware

• 8. Have you worked with any of the following? (Check all that apply)

☐ Squid
☐ nginx
☐ ISC Kea
☐ DNS or DHCP-related testing
☐ None of the above

Work Location: Remote