Lead Quality Engineer in City of Westminster

The Lead Quality Engineer will play a pivotal role in ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality software across a complex and multi-team programme. Initially, this role will be dedicated to a strategic initiative focused on replacing a legacy platform with a new, scalable solution supporting a critical line of business. The programme comprises multiple Agile Product Teams, each delivering essential components.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with the Programme Test Manager to define and implement the SIT test strategy, ensuring the validation of an integrated end‑to‑end solution delivered by multiple workstreams.
• Provide ongoing oversight and test governance across a portfolio of smaller Product Teams, ensuring consistent quality practices and continuous improvement across the broader delivery landscape.
• Act as a quality advocate within the Product Team, working with cross‑functional agile team members (Engineering Delivery Leads, Developers, offshore testers, Product Owner, Business Analysts) to ensure high‑quality test deliverables.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, Business Analysts, Developers, and key business and IT stakeholders.
• Provide test status reporting, quality metrics, and readiness assessments to programme leadership.
• Lead or participate in defect triage and release readiness meetings.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to testers embedded in Scrum Teams.
• Ensure consistent QE practices across teams, including tooling alignment and test documentation standards.
• After the strategic programme delivery, extend test oversight to a wider portfolio of smaller Product Teams and support cross‑team quality initiatives.
• Collaborate with the Quality Engineering Manager to facilitate and improve testing practices, establishing the framework to track quality metrics such as test coverage, automation coverage (%), defect density, defect leakage etc.

Test Strategy & Planning

• Contribute to the overall Test Strategy for the programme by working closely with the Programme Test Manager.
• Ensure the strategy covers functional, non‑functional, integration and data migration.
• Collaborate with the data migration team to derive the test approach with focus on data completeness, accuracy, and transformation logic (where applicable).
• In collaboration with the Programme Test Manager, provide guidance to the business teams in defining and developing the UAT plan for the programme.
• Drive risk‑based test planning, including non‑functional testing (e.g., performance, scalability, data integrity).
• Experience with test automation frameworks and principles, with the ability to implement and scale automation to accelerate testing across agile teams.
• Ensure traceability from requirements through to test execution and defect closure.

Stakeholder Engagement & Governance

• Act as a quality advocate within the Product Team, working with cross‑functional agile team members (Engineering Delivery Leads, Developers, offshore testers, Product Owner, Business Analysts) to ensure high‑quality test deliverables.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, Business Analysts, Developers, and key business and IT stakeholders.
• Provide test status reporting, quality metrics, and readiness assessments to programme leadership.
• Lead or participate in defect triage and release readiness meetings.

Team Enablement & QE Oversight

• Provide guidance and mentorship to testers embedded in the Scrum Teams.
• Ensure consistent QE practices across teams, including tooling alignment and test documentation standards.
• Collaborate with the Quality Engineering Manager to facilitate and improve testing practices, establish the framework to track quality metrics such as test coverage, automation coverage (%), defect density, defect leakage etc.

Performance Objectives

• Adapt quickly to the assigned strategic initiative and ways of working.
• Effective collaboration with key programme & Product Team stakeholders (Delivery Manager / Programme Test Manager / Engineering Delivery Manager / EDL, PO, BA, Dev Lead & offshore partner team) and demonstrate testing contribution and value.
• Positive contribution to the overall test strategy for the strategic initiative.
• Effective collaboration with the Quality Engineering Practice Manager to facilitate and improve testing practices.

Qualifications

• Previous experience as a Senior Test Lead with a proven track record in complex, multi‑team transformation programmes.
• Strong background in Agile / Scrum‑based delivery models, with testers embedded in Product Teams.
• Experience in testing bespoke application built on Cloud infrastructure e.g. AWS.
• Proficiency in Pega (including Scenario testing), test automation tools (e.g. Katalon Studio), DevOps pipelines (CI/CD) and Azure Test Plans.
• Demonstrated ability to define, implement, and own test strategies across diverse functional and technical domains.
• Exposure to data migration testing, including validation of transformed data across legacy and new platforms.
• Ability to implement and scale automation solutions to accelerate testing and improve repeatability across teams. Preferably low code tools like Katalon Studio.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate complex testing concepts into business‑friendly language.
• Comfortable working in fast‑paced, change‑driven environments with shifting programme needs.
• Hands‑on experience managing testing in a BAU environment, where multiple Product Teams deliver incremental changes on a regular cadence—including prioritising, planning, and coordinating test cycles and regression efforts.
• Experience in Insurance, Financial Services, or highly regulated industries.

Location & Work Arrangement

This is a hybrid role based in London, requiring three days in the office with the option to work remotely for two days.

Company Overview

Standing still is not an option in the current world of Insurance. TMHCC are one of the world's leading Specialty Insurers. With deep expertise in our chosen lines of business, our unparalleled track record and a solid balance sheet, TMHCC evaluates and manages risk like no one else in the industry. Looking beyond profit, empowering our people and delivering on our commitments are at the core of our customer values, and so is a desire to grow and provide creative and innovative solutions to our clients. The Tokio Marine HCC Group of Companies offers a competitive salary and employee benefit package. We are a successful, dynamic organisation experiencing rapid growth and are seeking energetic and confident individuals to join our team of professionals.