Active DV Clearance: QA & Test Automation Lead

LA International; Basingstoke; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

LA International is seeking an Agile Quality and Test Automation Lead to drive automated testing across the UK public-sector delivery. The role requires an Active DV Clearance and hands-on leadership of QA across SAFe environments with CI/CD integration.

You will design robust automated testing strategies, establish metrics and release gates, mentor engineers and collaborate with development and security teams to maintain high-quality delivery while balancing tight schedules.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in software quality engineering and automated testing.
• Proven ability to govern QA across SAFe environments and CI/CD pipelines.
• Advanced expertise with automation tools Selenium, Playwright, Cypress or RestAssured.
• Strong programming or scripting skills in Python, Java or JavaScript.
• Experience integrating automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines.
• Deep understanding of functional, regression, non-functional and security testing.
• Experience implementing automated quality gates, metrics and reporting.
• Knowledge of secure development practices and UK public-sector compliance.
• Strong leadership, mentoring and agile facilitation skills.
• Ability balance quality standards with tight delivery schedules.
• Industry certifications and SAFe/Agile qualifications are advantageous.
• ITIL Foundation knowledge is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement automated testing strategies covering functional, non-functional, regression and security testing.
• Establish and maintain scalable test automation frameworks.
• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines using GitLab CI, Jenkins or Azure DevOps.
• Embed quality assurance into SAFe PI Planning, Scrum ceremonies and backlog refinement.
• Establish automated quality gates, testing metrics and release readiness dashboards.
• Monitor defect leakage, testing effectiveness and quality risks.
• Lead quality assurance governance across multiple Agile delivery teams.
• Mentor and coach test automation engineers in modern testing practices.
• Promote shift-left testing, defect prevention and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with development, security and delivery teams to maintain quality standards.

Skills

QA governance

SAFe/agile leadership

CI/CD integration

Test automation strategy

Selenium/Playwright/Cypress/RestAssure

Python/Java/JavaScript

Security testing

Quality metrics & gates

Secure development practices

Stakeholder management

Mentoring/test automation engineers

Education

Technical NVQ Level 4 or equivalent

Relevant degree

Certifications: ISTQB CAT/Automation

Tools

Selenium

Playwright

Cypress

RestAssured

Job description

LA International is seeking an Agile Quality and Test Automation Lead to drive automated testing across the UK public-sector delivery. The role requires an Active DV Clearance and hands-on leadership of QA across SAFe environments with CI/CD integration.

You will design robust automated testing strategies, establish metrics and release gates, mentor engineers and collaborate with development and security teams to maintain high-quality delivery while balancing tight schedules.