QA Lead in Watford

At the heart of everything we do is our vision to change lives every day, and our mission to grow The National Lottery responsibly and champion its impact. We are Allwyn UK, part of the Allwyn Entertainment Group – a multi-national lottery operator with a market-leading presence across the USA and Europe. While the main contribution of The National Lottery to society is through the funds to good causes, at Allwyn we put our purpose and values at the heart of everything we do. Join us as we embark on a once-in-a-lifetime, large-scale transformation journey by creating a National Lottery that delivers more money to good causes.

A bit about the role: As part of the Financial Test Team, you will be responsible for the analysis, planning, design, execution, and delivery of financial testing streams to ensure the accuracy and readiness of complex gaming and financial systems. This role is central to maintaining data integrity across multiple gaming applications and ensuring that financial reporting, balancing activities, and share calculations meet operational and regulatory expectations. The role is a hands-on QA Lead role. You will work extensively in Excel to perform share calculations, reconciliations, and financial data balancing across various lottery-style games. The position requires exceptional attention to detail, strong numerical analysis skills, and a deep understanding of financial processes related to gaming transactions, prize structures, and draw-based systems. You will support and enhance processes that ensure the accuracy of end-to-end financial flows, including the validation of key transaction data and the reconciliation of summary and detailed datasets used by operational and regulatory stakeholders.

What you’ll be doing:

• Test & Quality Responsibilities: Lead QA delivery, producing test estimates, plans, schedules, and key test artefacts aligned with project milestones and governance frameworks. Manage and mentor QA Analysts and Engineers, acting as the point of escalation and supporting resourcing, work allocation, and performance management where required. Track and report test progress, risks, and mitigations to stakeholders, ensuring clear and timely communication. Coordinate and lead Defect Triage, ensuring efficient prioritisation, root-cause analysis, and resolution. Work closely with 3rd-party suppliers, technical teams, and business stakeholders to support integration quality, resolve issues, and maintain alignment on delivery. Review requirements, solution designs, and technical architecture from a quality perspective, providing actionable feedback. Work collaboratively across parallel test phases including SIT, E2E integration, UAT, OAT and security testing. Drive continuous improvement of QA processes, ways of working, and compliance across the QA function.
• Financial Balancing & Share Calculation: Perform detailed balancing of gaming transactions, draw outputs, prize allocations and summary datasets across daily, weekly, and draw-based cycles. Conduct complex Excel-based financial calculations to validate wagering volumes, share allocations, prize distributions and roll-down/roll-up scenarios. Reconcile system-generated reports against expected financial models and stakeholder requirements. Support independent verification activities, reconciling transaction-level and summary-level data to ensure accuracy and consistency. Assist in analysing discrepancies to support incident management, defect resolution, and root-cause analysis.
• Collaboration & Knowledge: Support Test Manager during planning, preparation, and execution phases. Share specialist knowledge with the wider QA and finance community, acting as a subject matter expert for lottery game mechanics, financial calculations, and balancing processes. Work collaboratively across parallel test phases including SIT, E2E integration, UAT, OAT and security testing.

Tools & Systems: You will work with a range of gaming and financial systems, including Core Draw-Based Gaming Engines, Independent Verification Systems, Data simulators for generating high-volume wagering datasets, Standard QA and test management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, TestRail), API testing tools and other technical utilities as required.

What experience we’re looking for:

• Essential: Strong experience in QA and testing methodologies of minimum 6 years, including functional and structural test design. Proven background in financial testing, reconciliation, or data-heavy quality assurance roles. Advanced Excel skills with the ability to carry out complex share calculations, financial modelling, and large-scale data reconciliation. Strong analytical, problem-solving and investigative skills with attention to detail. Experience validating requirements and applying risk-based testing techniques. Familiarity with test environments, data setup, and configuration management. Strong communication skills and stakeholder management capability.
• Desirable: Experience working with lottery, gaming, or financial transaction systems. Familiarity with independent verification solutions or balancing frameworks.

About us: At Allwyn, we are dedicated to changing lives and growing the National Lottery responsibly, championing its positive impact on people, places, and the planet. Innovation - We pride ourselves on it! We’re constantly looking for new ways to excite our customers, bringing new products to market to enjoy which is all supported by our responsible play values and making them accessible to all. Giving back – Did you know that playing the lottery generates around £30m a week for charities and good causes in the UK? Our aim is to have doubled this number by the end of the first 10-year license. Sustainability – Our aim is to become a net zero national lottery. We have 2030 targets to decarbonise our operations and energy. We’ve already transitioned to renewable energy providers, made our London and Watford offices zero gas, and ensured our fleet consists of low-emission vehicles. In addition, we’re working with our value chain partners to develop a net zero target date. Empowering every voice – We believe in creating a culture where everyone feels they belong, can be themselves, has access to opportunities and can thrive for the benefit of good causes. Our diverse teams are working hard to make all parts of The National Lottery inclusive – whether people play a game in a store or online, because when everyone can play, everyone wins.

An inclusive reward offering with wellbeing at the centre: At Allwyn, inclusion is built into how we care for our people. Our benefits and policies support colleagues and their families at every stage of life and career. By prioritising wellbeing and belonging, we create a workplace where everyone feels valued, rewarded, and empowered to succeed. Our people are more than colleagues - they’re winners, driving positive change and making a real difference in communities.

Benefits: Company Bonus Scheme, Matched pension contributions up to 8.5%, 26 days annual leave + 2 Life Days (and bank holidays), Single Private Health Cover, Complimentary Private Medical Income Protection, Flexible Benefits – EV Scheme, Money Coach, Will Writing, Mortgage Advice, Dental and Eye Care Schemes, Enhanced Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity, Adoption), Wellness Allowance £500, Employee Assistance Programme, Discounted Health Assessments, Volunteering Days, Matched Funding.

We are a Disability Confident Leader which means we’ve taken proactive steps to ensure our workplace is accessible and inclusive for disabled and neurodivergent colleagues and candidates. As part of this we offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential requirements of the job. If you need any assistance or adjustments to this job description or in the application process, please contact a member of the talent team at careers@allwyn.co.uk and we’ll be happy to help.