Lead Test Engineer
| Posting date: | 07 May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £67,126 to £79,769 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 20 May 2025 |
| Location: | Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 404454/1 |
Summary
Are you driven and ready for an exciting opportunity which will make a real impact? This is a challenging and fulfilling role that requires pace, impact, sensitivity, and compassion.
The multidisciplinary teams within IBCA’s Digital Service Directorate are organised around delivering our mission and priorities:
- To create a user-centred, empathetic end-to-end service at the heart of IBCA.
- To provide the means of paying compensation to those eligible.
- To iterate our service through starting small and scaling fast, through a test and learn approach.
A rare opportunity to apply and embed best in class Test engineering methodologies across the breadth of a public service making a real difference. Joining IBCA early in the service lifecycle allows the Lead Test Engineer to provide technical leadership, build capability, and ensure service quality.
Opportunities to move to the new Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA).
At the moment all IBCA roles are hosted by Cabinet Office within the Civil Service. However, once IBCA becomes operational, it is anticipated that most of these roles will transfer to IBCA, which is a new Arms Length Body (ALB) separate from the Cabinet Office. Roles that transfer to IBCA from Cabinet Office will maintain the same or substantially the same terms and conditions of employment that are overall no less favourable. It is anticipated that employees who move from Cabinet Office to IBCA will be able to continue to participate in the Civil Service Pension arrangements with no break in their pensionable service. Roles commencing after IBCA has become operational will be with IBCA itself on similar terms and conditions. All successful candidates will receive full details of the terms and conditions of employment for their role with their formal job offer.
Please note that the mission of IBCA means that it is likely to be operational for a period of approximately 5 to 7 years. When IBCA’s work begins to wind down, IBCA employees will receive support and practical guidance to find a new role, whether in the Civil Service, another Arms Length Body (ALB), or an external employer.
IBCA’s Lead Test Engineer will work with senior stakeholders to define, maintain and own the test strategy, and write automation test frameworks based on functional and non-functional requirements.
You will be responsible for the full life cycle of service quality from understanding the end-to-end service, reviewing and implementing the latest practices, principles, and processes, driving towards whole team quality.
A key part of this role will be to ensure test strategies are robust to ensure effective and efficient assurance, understood by the appropriate stakeholders. To be successful, you will also need to collaborate effectively in a fast paced, transparent, multi-discipline environment.
You will be responsible for quality across the service, ensuring it is reliable, accessible, secure and user-focused. This includes defining and maintaining test automation frameworks, tools, and processes across multiple environments.
By maintaining test engineering standards and automating continuous testing practices within CI/CD pipelines, you will ensure quality outcomes and reduce tech debt. You’ll be an expert voice in releasing value early and safely.
We are looking for someone who can lead all elements of testing, from performance and integration testing, to accessibility and security testing. You will strive to deliver better outcomes and value for money by encouraging and embedding a culture of continuous improvement. Your leadership skills will be used to lead high performing test engineers, ensuring that solutions are delivered on time, to a high level of quality, and are operating in an open and collaborative manner. As a leader within the Digital directorate, you will communicate a clear strategy, inspire others and establish a culture that individuals feel proud to be a part of.
Proven hands-on experience implementing Test-Driven Development (e.g. JUnit, Jest), Behaviour-Driven Development (e.g. Cucumber), test automation frameworks (e.g. Playwright, Cypress), and contract testing (e.g. Pact) required. Desirable expertise in AWS, containerised environments.
Main Responsibilities
- Own the test strategy for the IBCA service.
- Build test engineering capability and lead the community of practice.
- Lead the development and implementation of strategies for optimising quality assurance operations. Guide teams in maintaining and enhancing coverage.
- Collaborate and find agreement with senior stakeholders, providing technical direction, and fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and good practices.
- Look for opportunities to build and reuse common components, communicating with both technical and non-technical people.
- Undertake structured evaluation of technical risks, including disaster recovery and proactive mitigation of cyber security risk.
- Assure service and system quality, ensuring test plans fit into the broader strategy for IBCA, including representing Test at appropriate governance forums.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme