Lead Test Engineer - DEFRA - G7

Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink. Digital, Data Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group. We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.

Digital and Delivery within Digital, Data Technology and Security (DDTS) are looking for Lead Test Engineers. Take on the role of Lead Test Engineer and be a part of the team who deliver transformative change across the Defra group. In Defra, you will have the opportunity to influence delivery at a strategic level on some of the most exciting IT transformations cross-government as a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET). We can offer you a position in our established test function with a supportive team, learning and career pathways and the opportunity to develop your skills. We are recruiting for five Lead Test Engineers. In this role you will be working on several digital services in a challenging environment which continues to evolve as an exemplar in the Quality Assurance and Test (QA&T) profession. Working in a supportive, diverse and user-focused culture our flexible working arrangements mean you can maintain a healthy work-life balance. You will play an important part in building a digital future for Defra and our customers.

Responsibilities

• Working in a multidisciplinary agile team on a wide range of digital projects, you will use Government Digital Service Standards (GDS) and software testing tools.
• You will ensure the right level of quality is built into services throughout the lifecycle of a delivery by engineering automated and functional and non-functional tests.
• As a Lead Test Engineer, you will provide professional software test engineering leadership and influence the automated testing approach.
• You will contribute to the team community, coaching and mentoring team members, promoting knowledge transfer and a culture of continuous improvement.
• You will assess, and own escalated risks raised by other QA&T engineers at the programme and project level.
• Challenge timelines where appropriate and ensure quality of services is in line with standards.
• Driving improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of test processes.
• Helping recruit testers including sifting and interviewing.

Skills and Experience

• A strong dedication to developing self and others.
• Excellent self-organisational and time management skills enabling you to manage multiple projects often under high pressure and to short/urgent timescales.
• Experience of validating acceptance criteria and using Behavioural Driven Development or similar approaches in practice.
• Expertise in test automation using JavaScript/TypeScript and frameworks such as WebdriverIO, Cypress or Playwright.
• Experience in testing APIs using Postman, Axios, RestAssured or similar.
• An excellent working knowledge of non-functional testing, using open-source tools.
• You can advise on and implement up-to-date non-functional testing techniques, peer review code and coach others.
• Experience of writing test strategies for business-critical services and providing guidance on risk approaches.
• Experience of testing within a continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline using Jenkins or Azure DevOps on cloud platforms.
• Experience using source control tools such as GitHub and GitLab.
• Experience using exploratory test techniques to focus testing on the areas of greatest risk.

Selection process

The Civil Service marks each element of the selection process on a merit basis. Ensure you have tailored your CV to the 'responsibilities' and 'skills and experience' section of the job advert by providing examples on how you are suitable for the role.

Application

As part of the application process, you will be assessed on your experience and will be asked to complete: A CV. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Sift will begin shortly after the advert closes.

Interview

If successful at sift stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on technical skills and the behaviours listed below. A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed. The technical skills are aligned with the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability framework for the Lead Test Engineer profession. Interview dates are to be confirmed. Please note that these may be subject to change. Interviews will be held virtually on Microsoft Teams. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Developing Self and Others, Leadership.

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: Functional testing: level expert, Non-functional testing: level expert, Technical breadth: level expert, Test analysis: level practitioner.