Data & Analytics Senior Test Engineer

All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory right‑to‑work checks. Candidates must be able to demonstrate their right to work in the UK. At the present time TfL is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4‑week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.

Overview of project/role: The post holder will have responsibility for ensuring that technical data and analytics solutions, which include applications, reports, extracts and refunds, which have been designed and developed in Data & Analytics have been thoroughly unit, system and user acceptance tested in line with the published Data & Analytics test strategy. Data & Analytics provide insight to inform customer and business decisions (harnessing data to solve transport challenges). Data & Analytics will own Business Intelligence/Data Science, data and/or analysis platforms, and the frequent delivery and support of all production services using these platforms. A priority will be designing delivery of tools that allow for self‑serve across TfL, providing quality information for decision making. Where prototyped concepts demonstrate that data can be used to improve business, operational or customer outcomes this will be scaled, built and operationalised as a supported data product. Data & Analytics will define and publish a data governance framework, architecture, development standards and enforce compliance across all business units with teams working in this area to effectuate a lower total cost of ownership for data and analytics services.

Key Accountabilities:

• Define test requirements from accurate analysis of project documentation, test cases and test data according to the scope defined and in accordance with Data & Analytics standards to comply with business requirements.
• Design and automate tests effectively for work items assigned to their scrum agile development team.
• Lead a test‑first development method, in which the tests constructed will be used to prove the correctness of data extraction from sources, transformation and load code for a data warehouse or application, to validate reports and user interfaces built using various visualisation tools.
• Work with Technology & Data Business Analysts to achieve sign off from a variety of business stakeholders that the Data & Analytics solutions have met requirements through comprehensive test results and that the completion of all test activity has been undertaken within scheduled timescales and business expectations.
• Troubleshoot issues found during testing, working closely with peers and Business Analysts across Technology & Data.
• Resolve and fix such identified issues, or suggest alternative solutions which still meet business requirements.
• Raise defects where necessary and pro‑actively track to a timely completion, re‑testing fixes to ensure reported problems are corrected.
• Identify and escape, where appropriate, critical technical issues to the Development Stream Lead and/or Technical Delivery Manager that may impact on the timeline.
• Develop, actively contribute to, maintain and publish a test strategy which will form the basis of all Data & Analytics test activity over a 1 to 3 year period.
• Contribute to and provide insight into agile process activities such as estimation of tasks, supporting work planning and completed work demonstrations, as well as generating test documentation as needed by the working practices agreed by the team.
• Lead the construction of a complete regression test suite that maximises the use of test automation, and that ultimately fits into an overnight/continuous integration build process.
• Suggest and execute initiatives to improve the testing process to ensure that TfL’s policy on privacy and data protection is adhered to in the design of all BI solutions.
• Ensure that access to data is controlled, that personal data is stored securely and is anonymised in accordance with best practice guidelines.

Knowledge:

• Detailed working knowledge of software testing with a high SQL or data content; design of unit tests, integration testing, functional and smoke testing, system test and acceptance test.
• Working knowledge of test automation – particularly on automating tests in parallel with iterative incremental product development.
• Working knowledge of ETL/ELT, data warehousing/business intelligence methodologies and best practice including dealing with big data, cloud technology and unstructured data and the relative required approaches to testing.
• Experience of an industry recognised test/software development tracking tool or a bespoke system, project management tools.
• Knowledge of different testing methodologies - eg V model, Waterfall approach and knowledge of development lifecycle.
• Good working knowledge of SQL Scripting.
• Knowledge of star schema structure & design, detailed understanding of Kimball & Inmon and hybrid data warehouse design.
• Understanding of Agile development approach and tools.
• Good Degree in IT/Computer Science and ISEB or ISTQB Foundation qualification is desirable.
• Knowledge of London’s public transport system.
• Knowledge of relevant national and international legislation pertaining to the Government/Public Sector IT – e.g. Act, EU Procurement Directives and Freedom of Information Act, including knowledge of basic confidentiality and data protection requirements that apply.

Skills:

• Extensive use of and fully conversant in T‑SQL (SQL Server) or PL‑SQL (Oracle).
• Knowledge of SQL on Microsoft APS desirable.
• Skilled in using automation test tools which includes; Microsoft Test; NUnit; SpecFlow; Selenium; Coded UI test; DBFit; SQL Server test tools in Visual studio and performance monitoring tools.
• Highly skilled user of test/defect management tools such as Visual Studio ALM tools (TFS) or HP ALM.
• Skilled at solving and communicating problems collaboratively, applying knowledge and technology to the full.
• Strong analytical skills; communicates all needs, instructions and decisions clearly.
• Adapts the style of communication to meet the needs of the audience.
• Checks for understanding.
• Proficient at use of standard computer packages.

Experience:

• Robust experience of software testing as a discipline, with evidence of testing at all levels of test: design of unit tests; integration testing; functional and smoke testing; system test and acceptance test.
• Good experience in test automation, test automation and iterative incremental product development.
• Good testing experience in the data warehouse arena, with strong evidence of code testing with high SQL/data content.
• Worked as part of an agile development team, practising agile techniques for testing such as test‑driven development, and/or Behaviour Driven Development.
• Experience of working with the Data Protection Act and Data Security managers.

Equality, diversity and inclusion: We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria. We also use anonymising software that removes identifying information from CVs and cover letters to make the process fair.

Benefits: In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow. Rewards vary according to the level of role but mostly include the below:

• Final salary pension scheme
• Free travel for you on the TfL network
• Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home
• 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays
• TfL is committed to work‑life balance, operating a hybrid working approach where business and role requirements allow
• Tax‑efficient cycle‑to‑work programme
• Retail, health, leisure and travel offers
• Discounted Eurostar travel

Vetting Process: At Transport for London, safety, trust and fairness sit at the heart of how we recruit. Our Vetting Charter explains the checks we carry out before you join us, helping ensure we create a safe, inclusive and reliable network for everyone who depends on our services. We simply ask that the information you provide is honest and accurate so we can progress your application smoothly. If something doesn’t match or can’t be verified, we may not be able to move forward with your application, but we’ll always treat you with transparency, respect, and clear communication throughout.