QA Tester - Python/Gherkin/BDD - SC Cleared

Your new company is one of the largest Public Sector Organisations in the UK managing trade.

Your new role involves supporting a client in seeking an experienced Quality Assurance (QA) contractor to help design, build, and operationalise robust testing capabilities across our web application stack. You will play a key role in ensuring the reliability, performance, and security of our systems, which include a Django/Wagtail CMS backend, microservices architecture, and a modern JavaScript/CSS frontend.

You will develop and execute comprehensive test strategies, covering both manual and automated testing. This is a strategic and technical role, with a strong emphasis on quality uplift, process definition, and knowledge transfer across the team. You will be instrumental in validating deployments across multiple environments, supporting Agile delivery, and driving continuous improvement in our QA practices.

While the primary focus is on structured testing and automation, experience with performance, accessibility, and security testing is a significant plus, to support holistic quality assurance and resilience.

• Test Strategy & Planning: Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive QA strategies, test plans, test cases, and test scripts for new features and existing functionalities.
• Execution: Conduct various types of testing, including functional, regression, integration, performance, security, and user acceptance testing (UAT) across the entire application stack.
• System Knowledge: Be a subject-matter expert on the interaction between the Django/Wagtail CMS backend, the microservices, and the JavaScript/CSS frontend.
• Microservice Testing: Focus on testing the interfaces, data integrity, and inter-service communication within the microservice architecture.
• Defect Management: Identify, document, prioritise, and track bugs and defects using Jira. Work closely with developers to ensure timely resolution. Own defect resolution.
• Automation: Design, develop, and maintain automated test scripts using appropriate tools and frameworks using Playwright and Python-based frameworks such as PyTest.
• Collaboration: Participate in Agile ceremonies and collaborate closely with multidisciplinary Agile teams.
• Deployment: Validate releases and deployments across different environments (Dev, Staging, Production).

• Experience: 3+ years of professional experience in Quality Assurance and software testing, primarily focused on web applications.
• Backend/CMS Knowledge: Proven experience testing web applications built with Python/Django. Familiarity with content management systems, specifically Wagtail CMS, is a significant advantage.
• Architecture: Familiarity with understanding of microservice architecture and experience testing APIs and service-to-service communication using Postman.
• Frontend Technologies: Strong ability to test and debug JavaScript and CSS-driven frontend interfaces, ensuring cross-browser and mobile responsiveness.
• Testing Tools: Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks, specifically Gherkin/BDD.
• Soft Skills: Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills. Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (CircleCI, AWS Pipelines) and integrating automated tests into the deployment process.
• Familiarity with containerisation technologies such as Docker.
• Experience or understanding of performance and load testing.
• Knowledge of accessibility (WCAG) and security testing principles.
• A strong understanding of the Agile/Scrum development methodology.
• Proficiency in writing SQL queries to validate data integrity in relational databases (bonus).
• Testing certifications such as ISTQB/ISEB.

This role is hybrid at 40% with active SC required.

You can make a difference and lead by setting up a QA Testing environment, whilst leading hands-on.