Principal Test Automation Engineer

The Principal Test Automation Engineer plays a critical role in shaping and advancing IDBS's test automation strategy across our engineering organisation. Operating at a cross-team level, this role provides technical leadership in automated testing, quality engineering practices, and tooling, helping ensure our platforms remain robust, scalable, and fit for purpose as our products and customer demands continue to evolve. The role combines hands-on expertise with strategic influence, supporting teams to build quality in from the outset rather than relying on downstream testing.

What we'll get you doing:

• Defining and evolving the test automation strategy across IDBS products, ensuring consistency, scalability, and alignment with engineering best practices.
• Designing, building, and maintaining robust automated test frameworks across multiple layers (e.g. API, integration, end-to-end), supporting both cloud-native and regulated environments.
• Acting as a technical authority for test automation, guiding teams on tooling choices, test design, and quality engineering approaches.
• Partnering closely with QAs, software engineers, SRE, and product teams to embed quality early in the development lifecycle and improve overall delivery confidence.
• Mentoring and coaching engineers on test automation and quality practices, raising capability and consistency across teams.

Here is what success in this role looks like:

• Automated testing is embedded as a core part of how teams design and deliver software, rather than treated as an afterthought.
• Test automation frameworks are reliable, consistent, maintainable, and well-adopted across teams, supporting faster and safer releases.
• Engineering teams demonstrate increased confidence in changes through improved test coverage and earlier detection of defects, reducing production issues and rework.
• Results are transparent, highly visible, immediately available and acted on, and an integral part of the automated release process.
• The wider engineering community views test automation and quality engineering as shared ownership, influenced positively by your leadership.

Do you have experience in SaaS?, * Experience working in SaaS or cloud-native environments, ideally within complex or regulated domains.

• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines and how automated testing integrates into modern delivery workflows.
• A background in influencing standards and practices across multiple teams without direct line management responsibility.

Are you ready to accelerate your potential and make a real difference within life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology? At IDBS, one of Danaher's 15+ operating companies, our work saves lives-and we're all united by a shared commitment to innovate for tangible impact. You'll thrive in a culture of belonging where you and your unique viewpoint matter. And by harnessing Danaher's system of continuous improvement, you help turn ideas into impact - innovating at the speed of life. At IDBS, we are at the cutting edge of providing innovative software solutions and services that empower scientists and researchers to accelerate their discoveries by helping them design, execute and orchestrate processes, manage, contextualize and structure their data and gain valuable insights throughout the drug lifecycle, from R&D through manufacturing. We work with 80% of the top 20 global BioPharma companies*. Our customers engage in groundbreaking work, from pioneering biological research to developing new therapies and medicines. Join us at IDBS to continuously grow and make a real impact, working alongside passionate colleagues who care deeply about our mission and each other. * Source: Exploring the top 20 biopharma companies Q1 2024 market cap growths | TechTarget Learn about the Danaher Business System which makes everything possible., Join our winning team today. Together, we'll accelerate the real-life impact of tomorrow's science and technology. We partner with customers across the globe to help them solve their most complex challenges, architecting solutions that bring the power of science to life.