Lead QA Engineer in London

We are looking for a Lead QA Engineer to join our Engineering capability as a technical authority responsible for architecting, evolving, implementing and governing our strategic automated testing solutions. You will lead the design of complex automation frameworks and define the overarching quality roadmap to ensure high‑confidence delivery across diverse client engagements. This role involves mentoring other QA engineers, negotiating quality benchmarks with senior stakeholders, and driving the development of internal automation IP to scale best practices across the entire engineering practice.

Responsibilities

• Owns the end‑to‑end testing strategy and lifecycle for major projects, devising new techniques while managing the primary technical relationship with the stakeholders.
• Maintains a hands‑on approach, taking primary responsibility for building foundational framework components and resolving technical blockers that require expert intervention.
• Implements automated test solutions setting the "Gold Standard" for clean, performant, and maintainable code.
• Provides expert direction on framework design and test planning, defining firm‑wide best practices and automation standards.
• Consults with stakeholders to determine which non‑functional quality characteristics add value, leading the overarching strategy to ensure performance, security and reliability are accounted for.
• Resolves systemic architectural blockers and process inefficiencies by translating complex, conflicting requirements into strategic solutions.
• Negotiates testing priorities, timelines and regression risks with senior technical and non‑technical stakeholders across organisations.
• Governs quality by peer‑reviewing QA engineers to ensure architectural integrity and business value in all test approaches.
• Drives practice‑wide improvement by researching and implementing emerging tools and automation frameworks.
• Mentors the QA Engineer cohort to cultivate the consultancy’s next generation of technical leaders.
• Provides the final expert recommendation on release readiness based on broad, data‑driven risk analysis.
• Continuously maintain and update skills and knowledge to stay current within your relevant field of expertise.

Dimensions

• Budget: N/A
• Headcount: Typically responsible for directly managing up to 3 people.
• Resource complexity: Leads functional and technical workstreams across multiple squads or high‑complexity projects. Directly oversees the work of QA Engineers and defines firm‑wide standards for delivery coordination.
• Problem‑solving responsibility: Independently solves complex problems and contributes to the development of solutions that consider technical, user and business needs. Provides input into decision‑making and may advise others on best practices.
• Change management requirements: Supports the planning, communication and delivery of change. May lead smaller‑scale change initiatives or contribute significantly to larger programmes, ensuring that solutions are adopted effectively.
• Internal/External interactions: Works confidently with clients, stakeholders and internal teams. Regularly facilitates workshops, delivers presentations and builds strong working relationships with technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Strategic timeframe: Operates across mid‑to‑long‑term timeframes (6–12 months), contributing to strategic roadmaps and ensuring alignment of short‑term activities with broader goals.

About You

Professional Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Proven expertise in architecting and implementing scalable automation frameworks from the ground up utilizing industry‑standard tools like Playwright, Selenium or Cypress while strategically selecting the most appropriate architectural patterns (e.g., POM, Data‑Driven or Hybrid) to meet complex, long‑term client requirements.
• Advanced knowledge of the end‑to‑end testing ecosystem, including web, API and mobile tools, with the ability to evaluate and onboard new technologies for different client contexts.
• Strategic experience in designing the integration of automated testing into global CI/CD pipelines to enable a seamless "Continuous Testing" culture.
• Capacity to lead technical discovery and scoping for new projects, including the ability to provide high‑level effort estimations and articulate the strategic value of automation solutions to diverse stakeholders.
• Advanced SQL and scripting skills (UNIX/Shell/PowerShell) used to architect complex test data management solutions and backend validation processes.
• Demonstrated expertise in combining advanced technical execution with strategic oversight, successfully driving firm‑wide quality standards while providing cross‑project mentorship and guidance.

Desirable

• Previous experience in a consultancy or central government environment is highly advantageous.
• Proven ability to operate across diverse programming languages and technical stacks, with the capacity to evaluate and implement emerging technologies across different client environments.
• Experience with Ruby and using Ruby‑based automation frameworks, including Capybara, to design and maintain robust end‑to‑end test suites.
• Proven track record of shaping or leading internal Communities of Practice or Centres of Excellence to drive high‑standard testing methodologies across an organisation.
• Prior experience in Non‑Functional Testing (NFT).
• Previous experience in managing or formally leading a multi‑person test team.

Technical Skills

• Expertise in defining and enforcing firm‑wide standards for clean, maintainable and reusable code across multiple teams or projects.
• Ability to architect modular test frameworks that balance immediate delivery needs with long‑term technical debt management.
• High‑level proficiency in conducting architectural code reviews, focusing on performance, security and systemic reliability.
• Expertise in creating reusable automation IP (libraries, templates or plugins) that increases the firm’s delivery speed across new and existing accounts.
• Expertise in orchestrating and monitoring automation within a CI/CD context to provide high‑level quality reporting to stakeholders.
• Proficiency in API testing and the integration of automated security or performance checks into the API layer.

Behaviours

• Analytical Thinking & Problem‑Solving: Applies high‑level critical thinking to evaluate systemic quality issues and technical debt across the organisation, identifying the most effective automation strategies to maximise long‑term ROI. Resolves high‑complexity architectural bottlenecks and framework limitations that impact the productivity of multiple engineering squads or the wider consultancy practice.
• Strategic Communication: Translates complex technical risks and quality metrics into clear, actionable business insights for senior stakeholders and clients to influence delivery timelines and product roadmaps. Acts as a primary technical advisor, bridging the gap between engineering, product and business leadership to ensure quality is a shared responsibility at an organisational level.
• Mentoring & Leadership: Cultivates a high‑performance testing culture by setting technical standards, defining career development paths for the QA chapter, and coaching Senior Engineers into leadership roles. Drives the adoption of modern automation best practices and emerging methodologies across the entire consultancy, ensuring a consistent "Gold Standard" of delivery.
• Adaptability & Risk Management: Proactively identifies and mitigates high‑impact, cross‑project risks, ensuring the testing strategy remains resilient in the face of shifting business priorities or organisational changes. Leads teams through ambiguity and high‑pressure scenarios, making high‑stakes decisions on resource allocation and release readiness with confidence.

Strengths, Drivers and Traits

• Strategic Growth Driver: Passionate about evolving the consultancy’s automation IP and setting the "Gold Standard" for technical excellence across the entire engineering practice.
• Quality Governance Authority: Driven by the responsibility of defining organisational quality benchmarks and ensuring testing strategies align with high‑level business value.
• Influential Technical Advisor: Composed under pressure, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and translate complex technical risks into clear, actionable insights for senior stakeholders.

Benefits

• 30 days holiday + bank holidays
• 2 volunteer days for causes that you are passionate about
• Maternity/paternity - 6 months Maternity Leave, 3 months Paternity Leave
• Life assurance
• Employer pension contribution of 5%
• Health cash plan
• Personal learning and development budget
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Green incentive programmes including Electric Vehicle Leasing and the Cycle to Work Scheme
• Financial advice
• Health assessments

We actively encourage applications from all genders, ethnicities, disabled people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and those from lower socio‑economic backgrounds. Don’t meet 100% of the criteria? We still want to hear from you. Please let us know if you require any adjustments during the recruitment process.