At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and maintain automated test frameworks for mission-critical software systems.
- Company: Join a leading Central Government defence organisation in Portsmouth.
- Benefits: Competitive salary up to £80,000, with opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Active DV clearance needed; work in a high-trust, regulated environment.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on national security through quality assurance and automation.
- Qualifications: Experience in QA or test automation within complex software environments required.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 80000 £ per year.
MERITUS are recruiting for a QA & Test Automation Engineer (SFIA 4) to join a leading Central Government defence organisation in Portsmouth, supporting the assurance, automation, and validation of complex, mission critical software systems.
This role sits within a highly regulated engineering environment where software quality is critical to operational confidence and system reliability. You will be responsible for designing and maintaining automated test frameworks, strengthening regression coverage, and ensuring that every release is supported by clear, repeatable and auditable validation evidence. The work is hands on and technical, requiring a strong understanding of both functional and non functional testing in complex software environments.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and maintain automated regression test suites across key system components
- Design and implement functional and non functional testing approaches including robustness and results verification
- Support user acceptance testing readiness aligned to agreed operational use cases
- Ensure defects are clearly reproducible, properly tracked, and verified through to closure
- Strengthen release confidence through structured test reporting and clear documentation
- Embed quality assurance practices across the software lifecycle including testing, verification and validation standards
- Ensure outputs meet customer acceptance criteria in regulated and security constrained environments
- Work closely with developers and engineers to identify issues early and improve overall system quality
- Contribute to continuous improvement of test processes, tooling and automation coverage
About You
- Experience in a QA or test automation role within complex software environments
- Strong understanding of automated testing frameworks and regression testing approaches
- Experience working with defect tracking, test reporting and structured QA processes
- Ability to design both functional and non functional test cases with a focus on reliability and robustness
- Comfortable working in secure or regulated environments, ideally defence or government
- Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and a methodical approach to problem solving
Active DV clearance is essential for this role. This is a strong opportunity for a test engineer who wants to operate in a high trust environment, take ownership of automation strategy, and directly influence the quality and reliability of critical national systems.
QA And Test Automation Engineer in Portsmouth employer: Yolk Recruitment Ltd
MERITUS offers an exceptional work environment for QA & Test Automation Engineers, particularly in the dynamic and secure setting of Central Government defence in Portsmouth. With a strong emphasis on employee growth, you will have the opportunity to enhance your skills in a highly regulated engineering environment while contributing to mission-critical software systems. The company fosters a collaborative culture that values quality assurance and continuous improvement, ensuring that every team member plays a vital role in maintaining operational confidence and system reliability.
