Senior Test Engineer

On behalf of DWP, we are looking for a Senior Test Engineer for a 12 Month Contract (Inside IR35) contract based Hybrid in Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle or Sheffield.

As a Senior Test Engineer you will be responsible for the testing of applications which make up citizen services. This includes defining the appropriate depth and breadth of testing using a risk-based approach, and ensuring the stability, robustness and reliability of test suites. You will work with other teams within the Software Development Lifecycle to ensure that technical solutions are aligned.

As a Senior Test Engineer your main responsibilities will be:
. Test Strategy & Planning: Define and implement a comprehensive testing strategy for microservices or APIs.
. Automation: Develop and maintain automated test scripts using Cucumber for integration with continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
. Collaboration: Work closely with developers, QA engineers, and product managers in an Agile environment to identify issues.
. Analysis & Reporting: Analyse test results, identify functional & nonfunctional issues, and provide recommendations.
. Tooling & Frameworks: Evaluate and recommend new tools, frameworks, and methodologies to enhance testing efficiency and effectiveness.
. Mentorship: Provide guidance and mentorship to junior test engineers, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing.
. Identify and drive resolution of defects or issues preventing delivery of Test Engineering activities.
. Maintain full traceability of defects, tests and requirements.
. Design, build and maintain an effective test infrastructure.
. Create and maintain appropriate documentation within the test automation code base.
. Review the test suite and update the code base to reflect current best practices and reduce technical debt.
. Ensure that usability, accessibility, security, stability and capacity are Embedded in the development of citizen services.

Essential:
. Experience: 4+ years of experience in software testing, with a focus on manual testing and test automation.
. Experience with Java Springboot (Java Spring Framework): Hands-on experience with Java-based testing and development.
. Proficient in Java, with the ability to write and maintain test automation scripts.
. Cucumber: Solid experience with Cucumber and BDD (Behaviour-Driven Development) practices.
. Microservices: Experience in designing, developing, and testing microservices architectures.
. API Testing: Proficient in testing APIs, including RESTful and SOAP services, focusing on both functional and non-functional testing.
. Agile Methodologies: Proven experience working in Agile/Scrum environments, collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
. CI/CD: Experience integrating performance tests into CI/CD pipelines, using tools like GitLab, or similar.
. Non-functional skill- Good working knowledge of non-functional skills such as performance, accessibility & security.
. Cloud skills & other tools: AWS, Grafana, Splunk.
. Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to diagnose and resolve complex testing/automation issues.
. Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical issues to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Desirable:
. Event-Based Technologies: Familiarity with event-driven architectures such as Kafka, SNS, or SQS (highly desirable).

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, DWP guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply.

Armed Forces Commitment

DWP guarantees to interview veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidate from within that group.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".