Sr Automation Engineer Hybrid multiple locations in Texas

About NationMind LLC: NationMind LLC is a technology consulting firm focused on software development and QA testing services. We help clients build reliable, scalable applications with a strong emphasis on automation, performance, and quality. Our team works across industries, delivering solutions that drive innovation and operational efficiency. We are currently hiring skilled professionals for Sr Automation Engineer to join our growing team.

Sr Automation Engineer

Location

San Antonio, Austin, or Dallas (Texas only)

Hybrid role

No relocation

Work Authorization

US Citizen or Green Card only

Must be eligible for future full-time conversion (no guarantee)

This is a high-visibility, greenfield role building a new integration testing automation practice from scratch.

The engineer will act as:

A hands-on automation builder (not coordinator)

A technical owner of integration test framework

A bridge between multiple enterprise systems (ESB pipeline layer)

This is effectively a solo “founding automation engineer” role initially.

100% automation-focused (no manual testing)

Must build and own backend integration test frameworks

Validate end-to-end system integrations across enterprise services

Act as technical checkpoint for ESB-driven data flows

Work across multiple teams (upstream/downstream systems)

Tech skills

1. Test Automation (Core Requirement)

Karate framework (must-have)

BDD (Behavior Driven Development)

5–6+ years pure automation experience

Strong backend/service/API automation focus

1. Integration & Middleware

MuleSoft (external integrations)

ESB (Enterprise Service Bus systems)

Validation of cross-system workflows (ESB ↔︎ downstream apps)

1. Messaging Systems

IBM MQ (enterprise messaging)

Apache Kafka (event streaming validation)

Key use case:

Validate messages flow correctly across: ESB → MQ → Kafka → downstream systems

1. Programming / Scripting

Java (automation + frameworks)

Python (headless automation, data setup, queue injection)

1. Education

Computer Science degree strongly preferred (especially for conversion to FTE)

Key responsibilities

Build Automation from Scratch

Design and implement a new integration testing framework

Establish standards and automation architecture

End-to-End Integration Validation

Test full enterprise data pipelines:

Digital apps

ESB layer

Mainframe / backend systems

Ensure data correctness across systems

Messaging & Queue Validation

Validate:

ESB message routing

MQ message delivery

Kafka event publishing

Ensure reliability of asynchronous workflows

Cross-Team Technical Coordination (NOT MANAGEMENT)

Work directly with multiple engineering teams

Coordinate integration readiness

Support ESB release validation

Hands-On Engineering Ownership

Must actively write automation code

Must build tools/scripts/frameworks

NOT a QA coordinator or manual tester

Red flags

Manual testers

UI testing focused profiles

QA coordinators or “watchers”

Non-hands-on automation engineers

Weak Fit Signals

Selenium/UI-heavy background only

No backend/API automation experience

No messaging or integration systems exposure

Ideal candidate profile

Strong backend automation engineer

Experience with:

API testing

message queues (Kafka / MQ)

integration pipelines

Comfortable with distributed enterprise systems

Strong Java + Python scripting ability

Experience building frameworks from scratch

Industry

Banking domain experience is NOT required

Technical depth matters more than industry background

Interview

1. Technical Interview

Deep technical screen with senior engineers

Focus on:

automation framework design

integration testing architecture

messaging/queue validation

⏰ Likely scheduled around 4:00 PM CST

1. Final Round

Stakeholder + leadership interview

Focus:

system thinking

ownership

communication across teams

Flexible work from home options available.