Test Engineer - Infected Blood Compensation Authority - SEO in North East

Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne

About the job

The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is a new arm's-length body set up to administer compensation to people whose lives have been impacted by the infected blood scandal. IBCA will ensure payment is made in recognition of the wrongs experienced by those who have been infected by HIV, Hepatitis B or C, as well as those who love and care for them. We are committed to putting the infected and affected blood community at the centre of every decision we make and every step we take to build our organisation to deliver compensation payments. IBCA employees will be public servants. Successful applicants will join the Civil Service Pension Scheme. 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.

Job description

As a Test Engineer, you will play a key role in ensuring the quality and reliability of digital programmes and products. The Test Engineer will focus on designing and executing comprehensive, automated, and manual test strategies within Agile environments to ensure software quality. You will work within multidisciplinary teams to design, develop, and execute comprehensive testing activities, moving away from manual processes toward automated, "shift-left" practices. You will be responsible for ensuring that software meets functional, performance, and accessibility requirements before it reaches the user.

Responsibilities

• Analyse business requirements and technical specifications to design comprehensive test plans, scenarios, and test cases for functional and non-functional requirements (e.g., performance, security, accessibility);
• Conduct various testing activities, including integration, regression, performance, accessibility, and supporting User Acceptance Testing (UAT);
• Take a hands-on approach to testing, contributing to automated test suites and helping teams deliver quality through automation and shift-left practices;
• Design, develop, and execute manual and automated Test cases within Xray to ensure robust requirement coverage;
• Proactively identify, document, and track software defects in JIRA, performing root-cause analysis and working closely with developers to ensure timely resolution;
• Build and maintain automated test frameworks and scripts using tools like Cypress or Playwright, REST Assured, or similar;
• Develop and maintain automated test scripts and support their integration into CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab);
• Support the maintenance of test environments, test data management, and the tracking of quality metrics;
• Collaborate with Product Owners, Business Analysts, and Developers to refine complex requirements into clear, verifiable, and testable acceptance criteria;
• Provide stakeholders with clear, data-driven insights into product health, test coverage, and release readiness.

Person specification

You will have the following skills, knowledge, and experience:

Essential Criteria

• Testing Lifecycle Expertise: Proven experience of the full testing lifecycle as a QA or Test Engineer, ideally within complex, multi-system digital programmes;
• Technical Environment Proficiency: Experience conducting hands-on testing activities within diverse technical environments and digital products;
• Automation Frameworks: Extensive experience developing and maintaining tests within modern automation frameworks such as Cypress, Playwright, REST Assured, or similar tools;
• CI/CD & DevOps: Practical experience using CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub, Jenkins) to execute and manage automated test suites;
• Non-Functional Testing: Ability to plan and execute non-functional testing activities, including performance, load, security, and accessibility testing;
• Agile & BDD/TDD: Strong understanding of Agile and DevOps principles, including practical experience with TDD/BDD practices and tools like Cucumber or Gherkin;
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Experience testing solutions deployed in cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and knowledge of how containerisation (Docker) and infrastructure-as-code impact testing;
• Environment & Data Management: Ability to assist in building and maintaining test environments and implementing robust test data management approaches;
• Collaboration & Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical issues and collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams.

Desirable Criteria

• Performance Testing Tools: Familiarity with performance and load testing tools such as Grafana K6, Gatling, or JMeter;
• Agile Delivery Contribution: Experience working within Agile Scrum teams, contributing to sprint ceremonies (stand-ups, retrospectives) and ensuring high-quality test coverage;
• Risk-Based Prioritisation: Understanding of risk-based testing methodologies to help prioritise testing tasks in fast-paced delivery environments;
• Accessibility & Security Standards: Knowledge of modern accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2) and basic security testing practices;
• Government Digital Standards: Familiarity with the GDS Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice for digital transformation;
• Data Compliance: Awareness of data protection requirements (e.g., GDPR) and compliance within highly regulated environments.

Qualifications

While not mandatory, professional and industry standard certifications such as ISTQB (Foundation or Advanced level) are highly desirable.