Quality Engineer

Senior Quality Engineer - Contract

Location: Telford - minimum 2 days per month onsite, remaining time remote

Contract Length: 12 months

Rate: £460 per day

IR35: Inside IR35

Start Date: Must be available to start w/c 4 January 2027

Client: Central Government

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Quality Engineer to join a major Central Government programme on an initial 12-month contract.

You will play a key role in shaping quality engineering practices across the team, designing and developing automated testing solutions while embedding modern approaches including TDD, BDD, shift-left testing and CI/CD.

This is a hands-on role requiring strong Java-based test automation experience, alongside the ability to work closely with developers, contribute through pair programming, and coach others on quality engineering best practice.

Technology Stack

Frontend: Remix React, JavaScript

Backend: Java, Spring, .NET

Data: MongoDB, Oracle

Tools/Technologies: RabbitMQ, JSON

Key Responsibilities

Design and implement test automation solutions from scratch

Design, develop and maintain automated end-to-end and system tests using Playwright with Java

Develop and maintain automated test scripts in Java across UI, API and system-level testing

Read, understand and interpret Java unit tests, including JUnit, to support test analysis and defect investigation

Apply TDD and BDD methodologies alongside risk-based testing approaches

Support CI/CD pipelines and embed shift-left quality practices

Perform testing across multiple levels, including Unit, System, Integration and Non-Functional Testing

Undertake test analysis and test design, translating requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria into effective automated scenarios and comprehensive test coverage

Analyse business requirements and develop appropriate testing strategies

Manage test data and associated testing collateral

Participate directly in development activities through pair programming

Coach team members on quality engineering principles and best practices

Essential Skills & Experience

We are looking for strong experience across:

Selenium WebDriver, including designing, developing and maintaining automated test scripts in Java

Strong Java test automation experience

CI/CD pipelines

Software testing and quality engineering

Git / GitLab

Test analysis and test design

UI, API and system-level automated testing

Strong communication and coaching skills

Stakeholder management

A quality-focused, shift-left mindset

Desirable Skills

Experience with any of the following would be beneficial:

Playwright

Gatling for performance testing

OWASP ZAP for security testing

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

Accessibility testing, including WCAG, WAVE and Axe

Benefits

Inside IR35