Getting Started with Test Automation
Your first step into writing code that tests code.
Welcome to the Engine Room
As a Junior Automation Engineer, your job is to translate manual test cases into reliable, repeatable code. You are the builder who ensures that the basic features of the application work every single time a developer makes a change.
The Focus
You aren't architecting massive frameworks yet. Your focus is Scripting. You'll take an existing framework and add new tests to it, ensuring they are stable and easy to read.
The Goal
Short-term: Stop manually repeating the same boring tests. Long-term: Learn the design patterns that make automation scalable (like the Page Object Model).
What You'll Be Doing
- Automating Regression: Taking the "Smoke Test" (the most important 10% of features) and making them run automatically.
- Fixing Flaky Tests: Identifying why a test failed. Was it a real bug? Or did the network just lag?
- Learning Locators: Mastering the art of finding elements on a page using IDs, CSS, and XPath.
- Pair Programming: Working alongside Senior Engineers to see how they structure complex logic.
NZ Market Reality: In New Zealand, most junior automation roles expect a browser tool combined with either JavaScript/TypeScript or Java. In 2026 the modern default is Playwright — it is what new projects reach for first, and what most new job ads now list. Selenium is still everywhere in older, established suites, so you should recognise it — but if you are choosing where to start, start with Playwright. Pick one pairing and get very good at it.
Why Playwright First in 2026
Test automation has a tooling history. Selenium WebDriver was the standard for years and still runs a huge amount of NZ test suites, so it is worth knowing it exists and being able to read it. But for someone starting today, Playwright is the better first tool, and here is why it matters specifically to a junior:
- Auto-waiting: Playwright waits for elements to be ready before it acts. The single biggest source of pain for a new automator — the test that passes one run and fails the next — mostly comes from manual waits and timing. Playwright removes a whole class of that flakiness out of the box.
- The Trace Viewer: when a test fails, Playwright can show you a recorded timeline of exactly what the browser did — screenshots, network calls, the DOM at each step. Instead of guessing why a test went red, you watch it happen. That turns debugging from hours into minutes.
- Less flakiness, less rework: fewer brittle waits and clearer failures mean you spend more time adding value and less time babysitting tests that "randomly" break.
None of this means Selenium is wrong — if you join a team with a large Selenium suite, you will work in Selenium, and the core skills (locators, assertions, the Page Object Model) carry across both tools. The point is simply where to put your first hours: learn the concepts on Playwright, stay aware of Selenium.