Test Automation Engineer

• New, hybrid role with room for growth
• Technical leadership role in a team of experts
• Bring your creativity, passion, innovation, and ideas to work on platform and infrastructure work
• Meaningful work contributing to systems used for producing official statistics

About Us | Ko mātou

Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa is the National Statistics Office, leading the way in data and insights. While this is our focus, it’s our people who are central to everything we do. We value diverse perspectives and experiences, recognising that our work is strengthened by the people behind it.  

The data and insights we produce help shape decisions across government, communities, and businesses, and plays an important role in telling the story of Aotearoa New Zealand. Our mahi supports informed decision making at both national and local levels, helping improve outcomes for people, the economy, and the environment.  

We’re proud of the role we play in guiding and strengthening the data system, with a goal of delivering high quality data with equitable access for all.  

What’s in it for you? | Ngā hua ka riro ki a koe

Take a look at our Stats NZ careers site to learn more about our organisational values: He pēwhea ā tātou tikanga mahi | The way we work.  

Starting salary: $90,599- $106,587 + Kiwisaver

Other benefits of joining Stats NZ include:

• Contribute to meaningful work that makes a difference to all people in Aotearoa
• 3 extra annual leave days (taken during Christmas office closure)
• City based offices that cater to a variety of working styles and needs

The role | Te tūnga

This role is fixed term, based in Christchurch till the end of June 2027, and reports to the Unit Manager - Statistical Infrastructure (SI).

Statistical Infrastructure supports enterprise data processing and storage platforms, provides practice leadership for Stats's core languages (SAS, R, Python), and provides Pentaho ETL pipelines to support data ingestion. Your focus is to provide dedicated test expertise across SI's broad remit, and to contribute to the development, coordination, and implementation of our enterprise testing approach with a schedule of upgrades and enhancements.

It is important to note that this is not a Technology Services/I.T role – you will be working on business-driven solutions from within the Insights and Statistics Group.

What you bring | Nōu te rourou  

As a Test Automation Engineer working in our team, you’ll contribute to:

• Creation of end-to-end automation tests;
• Writing and implementing test plans and cases to validate code;
• Leading implementation of the Enterprise Automated Test Framework;
• Introduce monitoring of tests;
• Championing best practise and use of enterprise testing tools and systems across StatsNZ’s statistical landscape e.g Azure DevOps, BDD, Python, GitLab;
• Developing, implementing and supporting continuous improvement of business process models, documentation, testing, deployment and Statistical Software Development Life Cycle procedures.
• We highly value demonstrated competency in mātauranga Māori, tikanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi application in a workplace setting. To support this work, proficiency in te reo Māori, or a strong commitment to developing te reo Māori capability is welcomed. 
• We are seeking candidates with a demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and applying cultural capability in their practice. 

We recognise that valuable skills can come from both paid and unpaid work. You might have gained experience in education, hospitality, technology, public service, the marae, or the arts. You might have experience from community involvement, volunteering, or whānau responsibilities. We welcome and value all forms of transferable skills. Please bring your full unique self to your application.   

For all our roles, we’re looking for people who:  

• Act with integrity, take responsibility, and do what’s right even when it’s hard.  
• Understand the ‘why’ behind their work and focus on delivering real value.  
• Stay curious and open to learning, seeing challenges as chances to grow.  
• Build respectful and inclusive relationships, grounded in care for others.  
• Work collaboratively across boundaries and contribute to collective outcomes.   

We don’t expect you to know everything. What matters is your genuine interest, commitment, and readiness to grow with us. Tell us about yourself in your cover letter, what attracted you to this role, and what you would bring to Stats NZ.  

How to apply | Me pēhea te tuku tono 

If this sounds like you, click on the Apply now button to be redirected to the application page on our careers site. The position description is located on the right-hand side of the page.

We will be screening applications as we receive them to move swiftly to interview. You may be asked to complete a pre-interview screen via phone or video. Please let us know in your application if we need to make any specific accommodations during our process.

Please note: the formal position title for the successful candidate may differ from the advertised title of Test Automation Engineer.

Please reach out to recruitment@stats.govt.nz  if you have any questions.

You must have the right to live and work in Aotearoa New Zealand. Background and various pre-employment checks are part of our recruitment process.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: unsolicited CVs will not be accepted.