QA Automation Engineer - Mid/Senior Level

About us

Food waste is a $1 trillion problem – costing the world over 1% of global GDP. We’re dead set on solving the problem and looking for people to help us achieve our mission. We, at Winnow, believe that food is far too valuable to waste, and that technology can transform the way we produce food. Our team is made of people who all share a passion for food and technology.

Winnow was founded in London in 2013 to help the hospitality industry prevent food waste through IoT tools in the kitchen. We have worked with thousands of sites and are operating in over 90 countries around the world, supported by our offices in London, Dubai, Singapore, Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Chicago. We are a scale-up stage company with a strong base of clients who are rolling out our system globally. We have blue-chip customers, including Accor Hotels, IKEA, IHG, Marriott, Compass Group, and many others.

Winnow’s clients, on average, reduce waste by over 50% by value and sustain savings. Winnow works with hotels, universities and schools, staff restaurants, event/hospitality kitchens, buffets, pubs, and high-street restaurants. Where the system is permanently adopted, pre-consumer waste value is reduced by 50% - 70% with no detrimental impact to the perceived quality or value of the offer to their customers. This represents a typical improvement of food cost savings of 3% to 8%, commonly a 40%+ increase in profitability for operations.

As the global leader in addressing food waste, we are committed to continuing to push the envelope on what technology can do to solve this problem. Winnow Vision, our new artificial intelligence-based technology, is trained to automatically track all food waste thrown away. It has won awards at the World Economic Forum and has received tremendous enthusiasm from our clients and the industry. You can read more about it on our website.

Other recent accolades saw Winnow listed in the 2025 Sunday Times Best Places to Work - a recognition based on feedback from our UK team. While this award is based in the UK, it reflects something global: a culture built on purpose, collaboration, and the belief that businesses can - and should - tackle real-world problems while being great places to work. Previous awards saw Winnow in the top 10 of the FoodTech 500 awards - the world's first definitive list of the global entrepreneurial talent at the intersection between food, technology, and sustainability, as well as winning Impact 50's most impactful companies to work for. You can read more about it here.

We are passionate about living our values and placing them at the centre of everything we do. We are excited about like-minded talent who share these values, joining us in our mission:

Equal parts head and heart. We’re both passionate and measured. We carefully balance the need for quick solutions and pragmatism with the ability to step back, take in the bigger picture, and build for the long term.

Bravely honest. With each other, that means we’re a transparent organisation where healthy, respectful debate is encouraged. With our customers, we challenge them if we don’t think they’re achieving their goals, whether they be environmental or financial.

People of action. Done is better than perfect, and we learn by boldly doing, then rapidly improving. We’re breaking new ground, so we know things might go wrong. But we judge ourselves and each other on our reaction and our resilience.

Bound by food. We’re a diverse bunch, but our belief in the value of food is the common thread in everything we do. With each other, we celebrate through our love and respect for food. With our customers, it means we work hard to develop creative tools to make it easy for chefs to value food.

Hungry and humble. Our product is revolutionary, our people are impressive, and we’re hungry for change. But we’re just the catalyst for a bigger movement. We stay humble regardless of our success, and make chefs the heroes in this journey.

People and planet positive. We’re caretakers of the planet, helping to preserve and support it for now and the future. Our work already minimises the impact that the hospitality industry has on the planet, and we’re also committed to actively reducing our own footprint while doing so. We’re leaving the planet and its people better off than we found them.

This is an opportunity to join an exciting organisation and help us propel our growth at what are truly the most exciting and dynamic points in time in our business. You will work alongside a driven team who are motivated by building an exciting business and leaving the world a better place than we found it.

About The Role

We’re looking for a Senior QA Automation Engineer to help us raise the bar on quality across Winnow’s technology ecosystem — spanning hardware devices, mobile apps, and web platforms.

You’ll take ownership of end-to-end automation, integrating test frameworks into CI/CD pipelines, and helping shape the future of our Quality function through AI-powered test automation and intelligent QA practices.

In this role, you will also have the opportunity to evaluate, select, and implement GenAI tooling and processes that enhance test coverage, accelerate validation, and improve overall efficiency.

This is an opportunity to make a tangible impact on a global sustainability mission while working with cutting-edge technologies in an agile, collaborative environment.

What You’ll Do

• Design, develop, and maintain automated test frameworks and scripts (preferably using Selenium or Playwright with Java).
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines for continuous quality assurance.
• Build scalable API, UI, and integration tests across web, mobile, and hardware device ecosystems.
• Collaborate with engineers and product teams to validate end-to-end interactions between hardware, software, and cloud services.
• Define and drive automation strategies, standards, and best practices across teams.
• Use and advance GenAI-assisted testing, from test generation and defect analysis to continuous improvement initiatives.
• Evaluate, select, and implement emerging GenAI tools and automation processes that enhance productivity and quality.
• Continuously monitor and improve test coverage, reliability, and efficiency.

Requirements

Experience & Technical Skills

• 4+ years of hands-on experience in test automation engineering.
• Strong programming skills in Java, with solid OOP fundamentals.
• Proven experience with Selenium, Playwright, or similar frameworks.
• Experience integrating automated tests within CI/CD environments (e.g., GitLab, Jenkins, or GitHub Actions).
• Experience testing and automating hardware–software integrations, mobile (Android), and web applications.
• Proficiency in API testing (Postman, REST-assured) and SQL/database validation.
• Familiarity with test management and issue tracking tools (TestRail, Jira).
• Knowledge of QA methodologies, test strategies, and performance testing.
• Experience or strong interest in AI/GenAI-assisted QA, with a mindset for experimentation and adoption.

Soft Skills & Attributes

• Analytical thinker with strong attention to detail and ownership.
• Proactive and autonomous; comfortable leading automation initiatives end-to-end.
• Excellent communicator, able to collaborate effectively with global teams.
• Curious, innovative, and eager to explore how AI can transform QA.
• Highly organized, reliable, and able to manage multiple priorities.
• Passionate about using technology to drive real-world environmental impact.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary. 
• Meal tickets - 40 RON per working day.
• 2 Wellness hours per month plus a 274 RON gross monthly wellness allowance or the option to swap the wellness allowance for a 7Card subscription. 
• 25 days of paid vacation time in addition to national holidays, plus the option to buy a further 5 days of annual leave. 
• Company part-funded private health insurance and eye care allowance.
• Life insurance (3 times base salary). 
• Company stock options package. 
• Eligible for discretionary annual bonus.
• Employee Assistance Programme - 24/7 helpline for your wellbeing.
• Learning and development allowance of 1,730 RON annually. 
• Hybrid way of working - we’re all in the office on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
• Company provided breakfast & snacks on office days.
• Early Finish Fridays - log off at 3 PM on a Friday if you have completed your tasks by then
• Our own office space with a great working environment 
• You will love what you do – waking up every day, solving one of the biggest social problems of our generation - food waste
• Committed team members with broad experience who share a common passion to build a world-class business.