Senior Browser Automation Engineer for SpareRoom

We are a growing property lettings and management company based in the UK. We are currently automating many of our internal processes and are looking for an experienced browser automation engineer to build a robust automation platform for SpareRoom. Please note: SpareRoom does not provide a public API, so this project will require browser automation rather than API development. This is the first project in what we hope will become a long-term working relationship. Phase 1 – Automated Enquiry Response When a new enquiry / message is received on SpareRoom, the automation should: • Detect new incoming messages. • Determine whether this is the first message in the conversation. • Send a single automated reply containing our WhatsApp link. • Never send duplicate replies. • Leave all further communication to our existing WhatsApp chatbot. Phase 2 – Advert Renewal Automatically monitor all active adverts and: • Detect when an advert becomes eligible for renewal. • Renew the advert as soon as possible. • Handle multiple adverts. • Continue running unattended. We are open to the technology you recommend, but experience with the following is desirable: • Python • Playwright (preferred) or Selenium • Browser automation • JavaScript / Node.js (if applicable) • Docker • Linux/VPS deployment • Logging and error handling • GitHub version control We are not looking for a quick script. We want a production-quality solution that is: • Reliable • Well structured • Easy to maintain • Well documented • Able to recover from common failures (expired sessions, temporary errors, etc.) The successful developer should be comfortable designing automation that can run 24/7 with minimal intervention. Nice to Have Experience with: • Browser automation on websites without APIs • Anti-bot detection awareness • Long-running automation services • Property technology or CRM integrations Please Include In Your Proposal Please tell us: 1. Your experience with browser automation. 2. Which technologies you would use for this project and why. 3. Examples of similar automation systems you have built. 4. How you would ensure the automation remains reliable if SpareRoom changes parts of its website. 5. Any questions or recommendations you have after reading this brief. Future Work We are automating many business processes across our company. If this project is successful, we expect there to be regular follow-on work for the right developer. We value clear communication, clean code and long-term working relationships over simply completing a one-off task.