QA Lead

Overview

As QA Lead, you will steer quality assurance across cross-functional agile squads, shaping end-to-end testing for applications, data pipelines, APIs, and cloud services. You’ll drive automation, improve QA practices, and lead a team of Analysts to ensure high-quality, reliable deliveries. You’ll embed continuous improvement and champion robust testing strategies across multi-system digital journeys. This role offers impact in public services digital transformation and collaboration with engineering, architecture, and product teams.

Pay / Benefits

• Flexible working
• Pension – 6%
• Discounter schemes (cinema, Merlin, online shopping)
• Wellbeing support (Employee Assistance Programme, health plans)
• Career development training
• Diversity and inclusion commitment

Responsibilities

• Design and oversee end-to-end testing across multi-system digital journeys
• Coordinate integration testing across APIs, events, workflows, and external systems
• Ensure data/process integrity across boundaries with reconciliation, error handling, and audit validation
• Develop and integrate automated API and integration tests into CI/CD pipelines
• Promote contract testing and service virtualisation to reduce delivery dependencies
• Maintain and enhance reusable automated regression suites for critical services
• Oversee non-functional testing (performance, security, usability, accessibility)
• Ensure solutions meet security, GDPR, and organisational controls
• Collaborate with engineers, architects, BAs, and delivery teams on quality standards and early test engagement
• Participate in Agile ceremonies and contribute QA input into design, solutions, and release planning
• Lead QA Analysts with coaching and technical oversight to sustain high performance
• Drive continuous automation and QA process improvements
• Contribute to runbooks, release readiness, and test environment coordination
• Define test data strategies including synthetic, masked, and production-like datasets

Key requirements

• 7+ years in software testing or QA engineering in digital or cloud environments
• Proven experience in QA leadership or senior QA roles
• Strong experience in functional, integration, regression, and system testing
• Hands-on with test automation tools (Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Robot Framework)
• Strong defect management and test lifecycle knowledge
• Experience in Agile or hybrid delivery environments
• Strong communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience leading or mentoring QA engineers or analysts
• Working knowledge of SQL, JSON, and XML
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, Jenkins, GitHub Actions)
• Understanding of API testing and microservices architectures
• Awareness of cloud platforms (Azure or AWS)
• Basic scripting skills (Python, JavaScript, PowerShell) – desirable
• Experience with enterprise platforms (ServiceNow, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Appian, Maximo) – desirable
• Experience testing in event-driven or API-first architectures – desirable
• Knowledge of performance, accessibility, and security testing frameworks – desirable
• ISTQB Agile or Test Automation certifications – desirable
• SC clearance may be needed (or willingness to obtain it)

• strong communication
• stakeholder engagement
• leadership and mentoring
• Selenium
• Playwright
• Cypress

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