Lead Test Engineer - Mission Critical Systems £85,000 in Bristol

I'm recruiting for a Software Test Lead/Principal Test Engineer to join my client based in North Bristol. A critical requirement for this role is experience testing complex, mission critical systems that integrate software with connected hardware or physical devices. Many of the products combine mobile applications, cloud services, and real world hardware, so you must be experienced working in environments where reliability, performance, and safety are paramount.

You will be joining an exciting scale up that develops genuinely meaningful technology designed to keep frontline personnel safe, connected, and operational in high pressure environments. The role requires attendance in the Bristol office three days per week, so you will need to be comfortable with this. Due to the sensitive nature of some projects, candidates must either hold a British passport or have lived in the UK continuously for the past five years to obtain the required security clearance.

The organisation works exclusively on technology designed to protect people, so all projects are firmly in the "tech for good" space. The Test Team currently consists of nine test engineers, and they are now seeking a Principal level hire to act as a senior technical and strategic figure within the team. This position combines hands on delivery with higher level leadership responsibilities.

You will help shape test strategy, guide quality practices across multiple engineering teams, and ensure testing is embedded early in the development life cycle. Working closely with developers, product owners, and stakeholders, you'll promote realistic, testable requirements and a strong culture of quality throughout the organisation.

Initially, the role will involve leading predominantly manual testing across mobile, hardware integrated, and cloud based systems, while also playing a key part in shaping the company's continued investment in automation and AI. Current automation technologies include Playwright and Python based frameworks.

What you’ll be doing:

• Define and govern comprehensive testing approaches that ensure mission critical systems meet strict safety, reliability and regulatory expectations.
• Embed within agile delivery teams, contributing to ceremonies and working closely with stakeholders to clarify and validate requirements.
• Plan and execute structured testing activities, including defect management, prioritisation and clear communication of results.
• Drive the growth of automated testing - you don’t need to be hands on with it yourself.
• Provide expert guidance throughout acceptance, release and deployment stages to support smooth, low risk delivery.
• Lead, coach and support senior engineers, fostering capability growth and encouraging best practice across the team.
• Exploring emerging approaches including AI driven tooling.

What they’re looking for:

• Proven experience leading or coordinating testing activities for mission critical systems.
• Strong interest in technology, innovation, and AI.
• Solid background in manual testing across complex systems (mobile, hardware integrated, or distributed platforms).
• Knowledge of automation tools without needing to be necessarily hands on yourself.
• Familiarity with CI/CD environments (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab) and modern QA practices.
• A curious, pragmatic mindset and drive for continuous improvement.

This is a company where testing is highly valued and you’ll have a real opportunity to influence strategy, shape the future of testing within the organisation, and contribute to technology that makes a real difference. The salary is up to £85,000 depending on experience.

If you’d like to learn more, please apply to Sam Miller at SR2 - Socially Responsible Recruitment.