Senior Test Engineer at Department for Work & Pensions, UK Office/Remote, 12 Months, £Contract Rate

PLEASE NOTE: SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions, and child maintenance policy. As the UK's biggest public service department, it administers the State Pension and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers. As such, we operate on a scale that is almost unmatched anywhere in Europe and most people in Britain come into contact with us at some point in their lives.

Working with DWP, you will be helping us to drive our priorities to:

• Help people to move into work and support those already in work to progress, with the aim of increasing overall workforce participation
• Help people to plan and save for later life, while providing a safety net for those who need it now
• Provide effective, efficient, and innovative services to the millions of claimants who rely on us every day, including the most vulnerable in society
• Improve experience of our services while maximising value for money for the taxpayer.

As a Senior Test Engineer, you will provide technical leadership for testing across one or more digital products and services. You will define testing strategy, oversee delivery of test activities, and ensure quality engineering practices are embedded throughout the software development lifecycle. You will act as a technical authority, driving improvements in testing capability, standards and automation across teams.

As a Senior Test Engineer your main responsibilities will be to:

• Design, develop, maintain, and enhance automated testing frameworks and test suites.
• Develop and execute automated UI, API, integration, and end-to-end tests.
• Build and maintain automation frameworks using: Java + Selenium + Rest Assured, JavaScript/TypeScript + Cypress or Playwright
• Integrate automated testing into GitLab CI/CD pipelines and ensure quality gates are implemented throughout the software delivery lifecycle or similar tools.
• Perform accessibility testing and support teams in meeting WCAG compliance requirements.

Essential:

• Experience of working with Java + Selenium + Rest Assured, JavaScript/TypeScript + Cypress or Playwright.
• Strong knowledge of automated testing frameworks and quality engineering practices.
• Experience defining and implementing test strategies for complex digital services.
• Experience designing or overseeing test environments and test infrastructure.
• Ability to assess and manage quality risks across multiple products or workstreams.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to influence technical and delivery decisions using evidence and testing insight.
• Knowledge of modern testing tools, frameworks and industry best practice.

Desirable:

• Experience leading testing across large-scale government or enterprise services.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Knowledge of performance, security, accessibility and resilience testing.

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

Disability Confident 

As a Disability Confident employer, DWP encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent candidates. Applications from candidates who identify as having a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

As a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, DWP welcome applications from veterans, service leavers, reservists and military spouses or partners. Applications from eligible candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

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.