Overview
Noldor is an insurance technology platform offering data management, schema mapping, and carrier portal solutions. As the Automation SQA Engineer, I own the complete E2E test automation suite built with Cypress and Cucumber (BDD) across multiple applications — Valinor QA, Carrier QA, and Data Client.
The QA monorepo is managed with Nx and follows the Page Object Model pattern. Feature files define scenarios in Gherkin, step definitions implement the logic, and page objects encapsulate UI interactions — ensuring maintainable, scalable, and readable tests.
The Problem
Noldor's multi-portal insurance platform — spanning data uploads, schema configurations, reference tables, validation sets, and carrier workflows — required thorough regression testing across interconnected modules. Manual testing could not keep pace with rapid feature development.
The Solution
Built a comprehensive Cypress + Cucumber BDD automation framework from scratch using an Nx monorepo structure. Designed modular page objects, reusable step definitions, and Gherkin feature files covering login, navigation, data uploads (CSV/XLS), schemas, reference tables, validation sets, output configs, and carrier-specific flows.
Key Contributions
Multi-Portal Automation Architecture
Designed an Nx monorepo structure housing separate Cypress projects for Valinor QA, Carrier QA, and Data Client — each with isolated configs, shared utilities, and independent execution.
Cucumber BDD Integration
Implemented Cucumber preprocessor with Gherkin feature files, enabling non-technical stakeholders to understand test scenarios while maintaining developer-friendly step definitions.
- Feature files covering login, navigation, data uploads, schemas, mappings, and validations
- Step definitions organized by domain for maintainability
- Fixtures for structured test data management
Page Object Model Implementation
Built a clean POM architecture encapsulating all UI interactions into dedicated page objects, reducing duplication and simplifying test maintenance across portals.
Tech Stack
Testing
Build & Tooling
Patterns
Challenges
Coordinating test automation across multiple interconnected portals (Valinor, Carrier, Data Client) with shared dependencies
Handling complex data upload workflows involving CSV, XLS, and JSON formats with validation
Managing environment-specific credentials pulled from Terraform state for secure test execution
Key Results
- Automated 50+ E2E scenarios across Valinor, Carrier, and Data Client portals
- Established BDD workflow with Gherkin feature files for clear stakeholder communication
- Reduced manual regression testing time significantly through comprehensive automation
- Built reusable Page Object Model architecture enabling rapid test expansion
- Integrated automated test suite with CI/CD pipelines for continuous quality assurance
Key Takeaways
- BDD with Cucumber bridges the communication gap between QA, developers, and business stakeholders
- Nx monorepo structure scales well for multi-application test suites with shared tooling
- Page Object Model is essential for maintainable automation in complex, multi-portal platforms