Automation Tester Interview Questions UK: 8 Real Questions and What Interviewers Want

Most Automation Tester interviews in the UK follow a pattern, and knowing it beats guessing. Below are eight questions from our bank of 16, each with a note on what the interviewer is really after.

Eight Automation Tester interview questions, and what the interviewer is thinking

1. Which automation tools and frameworks have you used, and how would you design a framework from scratch?

Why they ask: This is the most common opener, testing practical tooling and design skills.

2. What is the Page Object Model, and what are its advantages and limitations?

Why they ask: A classic question checking design pattern knowledge in UI automation.

3. How do you handle flaky tests, and how do you decide whether a failure is a product bug or a test problem?

Why they ask: Flakiness is the biggest practical problem in automation.

4. How do you decide what to automate and what to leave as manual testing?

Why they ask: They want to see you can prioritise for return on investment.

5. How do you integrate automated tests into a CI/CD pipeline?

Why they ask: Pipeline integration is a core expectation of modern automation testers.

6. Your regression suite takes four hours and developers have stopped waiting for results. How would you improve it?

Why they ask: They test practical problem solving on a common real-world issue.

7. Tell me about a time you built or significantly improved an automation suite. What was the result?

Why they ask: They want evidence of delivery and measurable outcomes.

8. What does a typical day as an automation tester involve?

Why they ask: They want a realistic picture of how you work.

A sample answer to question 1

Which automation tools and frameworks have you used, and how would you design a framework from scratch?

I have built suites with Selenium WebDriver in Java and, more recently, Playwright with TypeScript, plus REST Assured and Postman for API testing and Cypress for front-end component checks. Starting from scratch, I would choose the tool based on the stack and team skills, then structure the framework in layers: a test layer holding readable scenarios, a page object or screenplay layer abstracting UI interactions, a utilities layer for data, waits and reporting, and configuration for environments. I would use a runner such as TestNG, JUnit or Playwright Test, add BDD with Cucumber only if business stakeholders will really read the feature files, and integrate reporting through Allure. Tests would run in parallel in CI on Jenkins or GitHub Actions, in containers for consistency. Naming conventions, code reviews and a short contribution guide keep the framework maintainable as the team grows.

Common mistake to avoid: Naming tools without describing use; Building a framework nobody can maintain

Want the rest?

Full model answers, key points and common mistakes for all 16 questions are on the Automation Tester interview questions page. The first five are free, no sign-up needed.