Automation Test Lead in Manchester

The HRA is a Non Departmental Public Body with the remit to protect and promote the interests of patients and the public in health and social care research. We do this by supporting and promoting a robust and efficient regulatory and governance framework in the UK. We provide the Research Ethics Service (RES), Confidentiality Advice function, assessments and assurances on behalf of the NHS, and learning, guidance and advice for the research community. Our ambition is to make the UK a great place to do research, where more money invested in research goes into carrying out relevant, good quality research. Our purpose is to ensure that research involving NHS patients and members of the public is approved through a proportionate and robust system, that they are provided with the information they need to help them decide whether they wish to take part, and that their opportunity to do so is maximised by simplifying the processes by which high quality research is assessed. We have already delivered significant improvements by centralising and simplifying the approval of research in the NHS in England, and are undertaking a range of significant programmes to deliver further improvements.

Are you a senior automation and quality engineering professional who wants their work to make a real difference to patients, the public, and the UK research community? The Health Research Authority (HRA) is looking for an Automation Test Lead to play a pivotal role in transforming how health and social care research is approved and delivered across the UK. This is a senior leadership role within HRA Digital, working on a major national programme to build a new Integrated Research Application and Workflow system designed using microservices architecture. As Automation Test Lead, you will provide strategic and technical leadership for test automation and non‑functional testing across multiple engineering squads. You will own and evolve our core automation frameworks (including Cucumber, Playwright and K6), embed quality engineering practices into our CI/CD pipelines, and help ensure confident, reliable releases for critical national services. You will set standards, coach and guide engineers, and work closely with developers, product managers and delivery leads to ensure quality is built in from the start. You will also act as a key escalation point for risks and deputise for the Head of Test when required.

In this role, you will:

• Set and maintain test quality and engineering standards across multiple agile squads
• Own and continuously improve automated functional and non‑functional test frameworks, integrated into CI/CD pipelines
• Lead and support Automation Engineers, ensuring high‑quality, maintainable and reliable test automation
• Define and manage automation and QA branching strategies to support parallel releases and complex delivery schedules
• Champion an automation‑first and continuous testing approach, enabling early risk identification
• Own and manage regression suites, keeping them lean, relevant and valuable
• Support squads across UI, API, integration and performance testing using modern tools such as Playwright, Postman, GitHub, Azure DevOps and K6
• Review automation code and test design, reducing flakiness and technical debt
• Work closely with technical and non‑technical stakeholders, clearly communicating quality risks and test outcomes
• Contribute to HRA Digital test strategy, quality assurance documentation and wider test governance

At the HRA, we are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive working environment where we actively invest in the development and empowerment of our staff, enabling them to perform at their best. We strive to promote a healthy workplace culture where wellbeing, collaboration, and professional growth are valued and encouraged. Working at the HRA, we support flexible working, recognising that home based or hybrid arrangements provides us with the most productive environment to work well. Where possible, we’ll offer a working pattern that suits you. The HRA offers home based contracts for all locations. Newcastle, Manchester and Nottingham based staff can be office based and hybrid working arrangements are also possible. We encourage you to speak with us to explore how this could be accommodated.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that helps us to deliver the best services. We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community: age, disability, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and other diverse characteristics, and we have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.

We welcome and encourage applications, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of age, gender identity and gender expression, disability, race, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, sex or sexual orientation or any other personal circumstances. Reasonable adjustments to the interview process can be made upon request, for candidates with a disability. The HRA welcomes applicants who are interested in flexible working including job share, part time work, secondments or home-based working. Please discuss any preferred flexibility at your interview.