Automation Test Engineer - AI in London

Location: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester

Salary: Competitive (based on experience)

Level: CL9 – Consultant

Please Note: Any offer of employment is subject to satisfactory BPSS and SC security clearance which requires 5 years continuous UK address history (typically including no periods of 30 consecutive days or more spent outside of the UK) and declaration of being a British passport holder with no dual nationalism at the point of application.

The company is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all these services. We believe in inclusion and diversity and supporting the whole person. Our core values comprise of Stewardship, Best People, Client Value Creation, One Global Network, Respect for the Individual and Integrity.

About us

Secure Transformation Services is the UK market leader for sovereign tech transformation for secure clients working on projects in complex regulated public sector environments. Our engineering teams deliver cutting‑edge solutions that empower organisations to tackle complex challenges, modernise infrastructure and drive transformative growth.

The Role

As an AI Quality Engineer, you will act as a proactive consultant, embedding a Shift Left and AI‑first mindset across the entire SDLC. You will embed quality early by preventing defects during requirements and design, leveraging AI‑driven and Agentic testing approaches to enhance speed, accuracy, and scalability.

Key Responsibilities

• Embeds Shift Left & AI‑Assisted Quality Practice by engaging in quality discussions during requirements and design phases, test case generation and risk identification to prevent defects before development begins.
• Executes Intelligent Exploratory Testing, designs and performs advanced exploratory testing charters augmented by AI‑driven insights and heuristics to identify risks, edge cases and hidden defects in complex architectures.
• Develops Automation with OOP & AI Augmentation. Builds and maintains modular, reusable automated test frameworks (e.g. Playwright, Selenium, Cypress) incorporating AI‑assisted script generation, self‑healing automation frameworks and test optimisation using ML‑based feedback loops.
• Leverages Cloud & AI‑Integrated Test Infrastructure. Operates within AWS/GCP environments to execute cloud‑native and distributed test execution, manage test data pipelines and monitor logs and quality signals within CI/CD pipelines.
• Drives Agentic AI in Testing. Designs, implements and experiments with Agentic AI testing solutions including autonomous test agents that generate, execute and adapt tests, AI‑driven defect prediction and root cause analysis, intelligent test suite prioritisation and optimisation.
• Improves Client Delivery with AI Insights. Identifies bottlenecks in delivery pipelines and leverages AI‑driven analytics and predictive insights to recommend strategic QA improvements.
• Maintains Strategic Interlock Across Teams. Collaborates independently with cross‑functional teams and insights to strengthen feedback loops between developers, product owners and stakeholders.

Skills & Experience

• 2+ Years Experience: Proven track record in Quality Engineering / Technical Testing roles.
• Shift Left Expertise: Experience engaging early in SDLC (e.g., Three Amigos), with exposure to AI‑assisted requirement/test analysis.
• Manual & Exploratory Testing: Strong experience in designing exploratory test charters, ideally enhanced with data‑driven or AI‑supported techniques.
• OOP & Programming: Solid understanding of OOP (Classes, Methods, Inheritance) with proficiency in Java or Python.
• Automation Tools: Hands‑on experience with frameworks like Playwright, Selenium, or Cypress.
• AI‑Augmented Testing Exposure: Working knowledge or hands‑on exposure to AI‑based test generation tools, self‑healing automation, LLM‑assisted scripting or debugging.
• Independence: Ability to manage workstreams and collaborate effectively with minimal supervision.
• API Testing: Experience testing REST APIs using tools like Postman or automation frameworks.

Desirable Skills (The Competitive Edge)

• Cloud Proficiency: Experience with AWS or GCP (e.g., S3, EC2, Lambda, GKE).
• Agentic AI Exposure: Experience or strong interest in autonomous testing agents, AI‑driven test orchestration, prompt engineering for QA use cases.
• AI Tooling Ecosystem: Familiarity with tools/platforms such as LLMs (e.g., GPT‑based tools), AI test platforms (e.g., self‑healing frameworks, intelligent test optimisation tools).
• Data‑Driven QA: Experience using test analytics, predictive quality metrics, or AI dashboards.
• Continuous Learning Mindset: Demonstrated curiosity and experimentation with AI in QA.

What’s in it for you

At the company in addition to a competitive basic salary, you will also have an extensive benefits package which includes up to 25 days’ vacation per year, private medical insurance and 3 extra days leave per year for charitable work of your choice!

Flexibility and mobility are required to deliver this role as there will be requirements to spend time onsite with our clients and partners to enable delivery of the first‑class services we are known for.