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 Manchester.

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:
* Run an effective welfare system that enables people to achieve financial independence by providing assistance and guidance into employment
* Increase saving for, and security in later life
* Create a fair and affordable welfare system which improves the life chances of children
* Deliver outstanding services to our customers and claimants
* Deliver efficiently: transform the way we deliver our services to reduce costs and increase productivity

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.

Essential:
* Experience: 4+ years of experience in software testing, with a focus on manual testing and test automation.
* Experience with Java.
* 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 Jenkins, GitLab, or similar.
* Non-functional skill- A good working knowledge of non-functional skills such as performance , accessibility & security.
* Cloud skills & other tools: AWS, Grafana , Splunk.
* Experience in working with MongoDB would be good but not essential.
* 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.

SC Clearance is a requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be eligible and willing to undergo these checks

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 candidates 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".