How to hire a test automation lead

How to hire a test automation lead, step by step

Here's a step-by-step test automation lead hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a test automation lead job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new test automation lead
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a test automation lead job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a test automation lead, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect test automation lead also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents test automation lead salaries for various positions.

   Type of Test Automation Lead	Description	Hourly rate
   Test Automation Lead		$33-55
   Quality Assurance Analyst	Quality Administrators are responsible for managing the quality processes of an organization. Their duties include creating data collection processes, conducting data cleansing, tracks quality milestones, and develop training programs for internal teams... Show more	$27-44
   Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Lead	Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Leads are responsible for managing the designing and operations of hardware or software testing. Their duties include developing testing plans, implement risk mitigation strategies, communicate process improvements to cross-teams such as marketing and engineering, resolve the conflict between teams, and ensures product or software adheres to the organization and industry standards... Show more	$40-68

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Scrum
   • Jira
   • QA
   • Automation Framework
   • API
   • Jenkins
   • Regression
   • UI
   • C #
   • JavaScript
   • Test Data
   • Selenium Web
   • GIT

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Enter the defects into JIRA and manages the resolution and documentation of these defects.
   • Perform inter-departmental audits documenting ISO compliant results with associate corrective action requests in order to achieve company-wide certification.
   • Used JIRA for creating and tracking defects.
   • Establish connection between automation scripts and PostgreSQL / DB2 to validate UI applications.
   • Involve in writing functional test cases in java language for every feature of product.
   • Coordinate communication between QA, development, BA's, UAT, and upper management throughout the entire QA cycle.

   More test automation lead duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your test automation lead job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A test automation lead can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, test automation leads' average salary in alabama is 37% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level test automation leads 40% less than senior-level test automation leads.
   • Certifications. A test automation lead with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a test automation lead's salary.

   Average test automation lead salary

   $89,324yearly

   $42.94 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level test automation lead salary

   $69,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average test automation lead salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$119,791	$58
   2	Washington	$111,718	$54
   3	District of Columbia	$95,662	$46
   4	New Jersey	$95,426	$46
   5	Colorado	$94,355	$45
   6	New York	$92,926	$45
   7	Virginia	$89,334	$43
   8	Texas	$87,923	$42
   9	Massachusetts	$85,882	$41
   10	Georgia	$84,432	$41
   11	Illinois	$83,267	$40
   12	Utah	$82,523	$40
   13	Florida	$82,418	$40
   14	Pennsylvania	$81,646	$39
   15	Missouri	$79,725	$38
   16	Iowa	$79,695	$38
   17	Nebraska	$78,892	$38
   18	Indiana	$77,537	$37
   19	Ohio	$77,440	$37
   20	North Carolina	$76,987	$37

   Average test automation lead salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Citi	$119,301	$57.36	3
   2	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$119,132	$57.27	67
   3	MUFG EMEA	$115,720	$55.63
   4	Proofpoint	$115,715	$55.63	2
   5	Nebraska Furniture Mart	$110,528	$53.14
   6	Bluefly.com	$106,552	$51.23
   7	Amd	$106,010	$50.97	16
   8	Yoh	$105,072	$50.52	1
   9	TEKsystems	$103,929	$49.97	6
   10	Bio-Rad Laboratories	$103,220	$49.63
   11	Randstad North America, Inc.	$103,027	$49.53	7
   12	FIS	$102,353	$49.21	3
   13	Independent Mortgage Corp	$99,658	$47.91
   14	ABBTECH	$97,940	$47.09	1
   15	Vanguard Services	$97,863	$47.05	3
   16	Populus Group	$97,656	$46.95
   17	Pinnacle Technical Resources	$97,413	$46.83	8
   18	Siemens	$96,996	$46.63	18
   19	Tektree Systems	$96,788	$46.53
   20	Robert Half	$96,548	$46.42	16

4. Writing a test automation lead job description

   A test automation lead job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a test automation lead job description:

   Test automation lead job description example

   **PLEASE NOTE** Candidate must possess active TS/SCI w/Full Scope Poly.
   
   **DUTIES** As a successful candidate for the Software Engineer: Test Automation Lead position you will play a critical role in the crafting and refinement of highly visible, collaborative web application tools used in the day-to-day mission by community stakeholders. Your technical support will enable real-time data sharing that will assist in driving better informed and timely decisions by environment leadership.
   
   **SKILLS**
   
   + Desire to stay engaged with current trends, tools, and emerging technologies to make best solution recommendations for customer.
   
   + Function well in a team of diverse experience levels, to include leading small development teams to promote integration of new and existing systems.
   
   + Ability to communicate effectively to collaborate with stakeholders to translate user requirements into software capabilities and test procedures.
   
   + Review and test new software.
   
   + Confident in developing comprehensive system, performance, and design plans.
   
   + Experience with Test Automation tools: Selenium, Pa11y, or Jasmine.
   
   + Write, modify, and execute unit, functional, and end-to-end tests.
   
   + Perform troubleshooting, debugging, and defect correction.
   
   + Create and edit software system documentation.
   
   **QUALIFICATIONS** Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related discipline from an accredited college or university is required, plus seven (7) years of related professional experience. Four (4) years of additional software engineering experience on projects with similar software processes may be substituted for a Bachelor's Degree. Work experience must demonstrate web application and/or front-end language and technologies familiarity.
   
   **CERTIFICATIONS & TECHNICAL PROFICIENCIES** Experience with Jira and/or Confluence. Ability to manage software code using Git & Maven. Experience with CI/CD using GIT. Any expertise in writing Linux-based scripts to facilitate application integration using one or more appropriate server-side languages: Python, Shell, Bash, etc. Ability to set up and maintain MachineShop/C2S. Any experience with Angular 6+, AngularJS, Jquery, BackboneJS/JS frameworks. Agile software development knowledge a plus.
   
   **BENEFITS** The overall wellness of our employees is a top priority. We are proud to offer 100% payment of all qualifying Health premiums, and 50% of Dental and Vision premiums at this time.
   
   **ABBTECH is an EOE/Minorities/Women/Disabled Individuals/Veterans**

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find test automation leads for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any test automation leads they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level test automation leads with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find test automation lead candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit test automation leads, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   If your interviews with test automation lead applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new test automation lead

   Once you have selected a candidate for the test automation lead position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new test automation lead. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a test automation lead?