Senior Test Engineer

Details
Reference number

433463

Salary

£42,385 - £51,540

National: £42,385 - £46,850 London: £46,280 - £51,540 (pro-rata for part-time hours) This vacancy is being offered on the Government Digital & Data Pay Framework and can include an allowance of up to £6,650 depending on skills, qualifications, and experience. Further details on the framework can be found on: Test engineer - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

DESNZ - Integrated Corporate Services - Digital

Type of role

Digital

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford

About the job
Job summary

The Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) is a new shared corporate service, launched in July 2023. It provides corporate services (HR, Finance, Digital, Commercial, Security and Estates) across the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).

Our team of just over 300 professionals will be leading the way in how these functions will be delivered in the future. Our ambition is to be the leading provider of integrated corporate services for government and set the standard for quality, efficiency, and innovation in our field.

We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is

found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Find Out More

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Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Job description

Join ICS Digital, where innovation meets expertise to create digital solutions. We are a cohesive digital community who work in the open, solving problems together and fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration. Our commitment to user-focused design and data-driven decision-making ensures that we deliver accessible services tailored to the needs of our customers.

As a Senior Test Engineer, you will play a critical role in ensuring the quality, reliability, and performance of services within ICS Digital. You will lead testing initiatives, define quality standards, and collaborate closely with developers, product owners, and stakeholders to deliver robust, secure, and user-focused solutions for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).

This is a key position within our Data and Development team, where you will work alongside Civil Servants and Contractors in a multidisciplinary environment. You will be responsible for designing and implementing comprehensive test strategies, automating test processes, and driving continuous improvement across our development lifecycle. Our team operates in the open, values transparency, and embraces agile ways of working.

You will work with a diverse technology stack and modern testing frameworks, leveraging cloud platforms such as Azure and AWS, and supporting applications built in C#, Python, and TypeScript. This role offers the opportunity to apply and expand your expertise in automated testing, performance testing, and quality engineering while contributing to the delivery of innovative digital services.

Visit our blog to learn more about us and our work:

Person specification

• Lead the design and implementation of comprehensive quality strategies across platforms like Salesforce, Azure, and AWS, including test approaches (unit, integration, API, UI, performance, security, accessibility) and automation frameworks using C#, Python, Apex, and TypeScript.

• Own test planning and execution for delivery initiatives, establishing quality gates, risk-based test plans, and release readiness criteria aligned with architectural standards, non-functional requirements, and delivery timelines.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams—including product owners, stakeholders, architects, and developers—to translate requirements into clear, testable acceptance criteria and ensure shared understanding of quality goals.

• Ensure robust test coverage for data workflows, including validation of data migrations, schema evolution, and integration/contract testing to support secure and seamless system interoperability.

• Develop and maintain reusable test assets and automation suites, fostering scalable testing practices across cloud platforms and embedding quality into CI/CD pipelines for reliable build validation and release verification.

• Mentor engineers and champion a culture of technical excellence, conducting reviews of test designs and automation code, resolving complex quality issues, and driving continuous improvement through emerging tools, practices, and metrics.

The above responsibilities are not exhaustive, and the post holders may be required to undertake some additional tasks not listed above, within the remit of their grade, to support the team.

Essential criteria

• Proven test automation skills using tools like Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, pytest, xUnit/NUnit, or Jest for functional, integration, API, and end-to-end testing.

• Hands-on cloud testing experience with AWS and/or Azure, including validation of distributed services and core cloud components.

• CI/CD integration expertise, embedding automated tests into pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps) to support fast and reliable delivery.

• Strong quality engineering mindset, with experience in defining test strategies, implementing shift-left practices, and establishing quality gates across the SDLC.

• Experience in performance, reliability, and security testing, including load/stress testing, vulnerability scanning, and compliance with OWASP and data protection standards.

• Comfortable with modern Agile practices, accessibility testing (WCAG 2.2 AA), and collaborative problem-solving in multidisciplinary teams.

Desirable criteria

• Cross-Cloud Breadth: Experience testing solutions across both AWS and Azure environments.

• Test Data Management: Experience designing strategies for synthetic data generation, anonymisation, and managing test environments.

• Public Sector Delivery: Experience working with GDS Service Standard, GOV.UK Design System, and preparing for service assessments.

• Certifications: Relevant credentials such as ISTQB Advanced, AWS/Azure certifications, or performance/security testing certifications.

• Leadership Impact: Experience mentoring junior QA engineers, contributing to communities of practice, and influencing quality engineering roadmaps.

It is unusual that all candidates will meet all the desirable criteria. If your skills and experience look slightly different from what we have identified and you think you can bring value to the Senior Test Engineer role and the team, we strongly encourage you to apply. We'd love to hear from you

Please, no recruitment agencies.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Designing and Executing tests - Practitioner
• Managing Reporting and Resolving defects - Practitioner
• Test Engineering - Practitioner

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,385, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £12,278 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
• A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.

Office attendance

The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home-based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.

Things you need to know
Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to describe how your past experience relates to the essential criteria outlined in this job description, focusing on your most recent career history.

Applications will be sifted on CV and personal statement.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the personal statement.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The interview will consist of behaviour and technical questions.

Interviewees will be asked to deliver a presentation; further details will be provided nearer the time.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DSIT Candidate Guidance. A DSIT Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.

We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants' section.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

A location-based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e., working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.

DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre- stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants
Job contact :

• Name : People & Development Team
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance . If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.

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