Test Architect

About Us: ClearRoute is an engineering consultancy bridging Quality Engineering, Cloud Platforms and Developer Experience. We help enterprises reliably bring high-impact digital products to market faster, cheaper, and safer, working with technology leaders facing complex business challenges. We take as much pride in our people, culture and work-life balance as we do in making better software. We’re not just making better software. We’re making the making of software better. Collaborative, entrepreneurial and dedicated to problem solving, we bring the step change our customer need to sustain innovation. Our values challenge us to do the best we can for ClearRoute, our customers and most importantly our team. This is an opportunity for you to build the organisation from the ground up, use your voice to drive change and help transform organisations and problem domains. Role: We are looking for a highly skilled Test Architect with expertise in test automation framework development. This role requires: We're looking for a Test Architect to own our systems and integration testing strategy across complex, polyglot systems spanning C++, Java and Python. Our test framework itself is written in Python, built on pytest, and we lean heavily on AI-assisted development including Claude to build and extend it. You'll be the technical owner of that framework and the integration testing strategy behind it. This is a hands-on architecture role, not a governance-only position: you'll be writing Python/pytest day-to-day, building and evolving the framework, and working directly alongside engineers, while also acting as a client-facing consultant understanding a stakeholder's technical challenges and driving the quality engineering roadmap that addresses them. Contract testing (e.g. Pact) is a useful tool in the kit, but it's a smaller part of the role than systems and integration testing. Key Responsibilities: • Own the systems and integration testing strategy across polyglot components (C++, Java, Python), architecting suites that validate behaviour across service and process boundaries. • Design, build and maintain the test automation framework in Python/pytest the backbone of how we test using AI-assisted development tools (including Claude) to accelerate framework development and maintenance. • Embed systems and integration tests into CI/CD pipelines, so breaking changes are caught before they reach production. • Apply contract testing (e.g. Pact) selectively where it adds real value, as a complement to not a replacement for — the systems/integration test strategy. • Partner directly with client engineering leaders to diagnose quality gaps, and propose and drive adoption of the tools, frameworks and practices that close them. • Mentor and upskill engineers on Python/pytest test engineering and integration testing best practice, raising the quality bar across the wider team. • Define and evolve the test automation roadmap for the engagement, balancing coverage, speed and maintainability. Required Experience: • Proven experience as a Test Architect, Principal SDET or similar, having designed and led systems/integration testing strategy for complex, distributed, polyglot systems. • Strong, hands-on Python skills with deep pytest expertise this is the language and framework the test suite is built on. • A track record of testing across service and process boundaries in polyglot environments. • Comfortable reading (and ideally writing) C++ and Java, since the systems under test span both alongside Python. • Enthusiasm for using AI coding assistants such as Claude to build and maintain test tooling and frameworks. • Some exposure to contract testing (e.g. Pact) is a nice to have, and not the focus of the role. • Experience embedding automated testing into CI/CD pipelines. • Confidence operating as a client-facing consultant: comfortable influencing senior technical stakeholders and shaping strategy, not just executing against a backlog. • Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate testing strategy into business outcomes for both engineers and clients. Working at ClearRoute We have grown from six founders to 180+ people across five countries in three years, and what sets us apart isn't the pace, it's how we grow. Real flexibility, in practice. We trust you to perform at your best and still have a life outside of work, with genuine hybrid working, a home office budget, an open feedback culture where your voice shapes decisions, and time off when life needs it (birthday included). When ClearRoute wins, you win. We offer profit share so success is shared, meaningful recognition for great work, and benefits that look after you and your family, including private healthcare, competitive salary benchmarking, and a confidential employee assistance program covering counselling, mental health support, and financial wellbeing. A community you'll genuinely want to be part of. Interest based communities like running and book clubs, Women in Tech group, monthly socials, and cross regional events bring people together across the company. An inclusive, collaborative culture where you don't need to conform to succeed, where people support one another and feel comfortable being themselves. Where meaningful work meets real growth. You will tackle complex, real world problems at the forefront of platform engineering, AI, security, and scalable systems. Your growth is supported by learning budgets, Udemy access, a clear career framework, internal mobility, and thought leadership opportunities that take your impact beyond ClearRoute. At ClearRoute, we believe diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes, and inclusion creates the conditions for everyone to thrive. We are proud to have built a family friendly working environment and have many employees who have caring responsibilities alongside work. We welcome applications from people who require flexibility and will be happy to discuss needs on an individual basis. We are committed to fostering a culture where all team members feel respected, supported, and empowered to do their best work. We celebrate individuality and our differences and understand that some differences may mean that you require changes made to the interview process. We are happy to cater to your needs to make the interview accessible, if this is something you require please let us know by emailing us at