Lead IaC Test Engineer - Newcastle - 6 month contract

Opus Recruitment Solutions Ltd; North East; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consultancy in the UK seeks a Lead IaC Test Engineer to guide automation in their public sector projects. The ideal candidate will drive the testing strategy for infrastructure as code using tools like Terraform and Ansible, while ensuring best practices in security and CI/CD. Extensive experience with cloud services and expertise in test automation are essential for this role, which requires some travel to Newcastle. This role is a contract position for 6 months.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience with AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
• Proven track record of designing automated testing strategies.
• Senior-level proficiency in Python, Bash, or JavaScript.
• Deep understanding of cloud principles and security.
• Strong background in agile and DevOps methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the IaC test automation strategy.
• Design and maintain automated testing frameworks.
• Lead automated testing of IaC scripts.
• Integrate security testing into the CI/CD pipeline.

Skills

IaC Expertise

Test Automation

Scripting & Programming

Cloud Architecture

Agile/DevOps Practices

Communication & Leadership

Experience with containers

Monitoring and observability tools

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

GitLab CI

Docker

Kubernetes

Prometheus

Grafana

Terratest

InSpec

Gherkin

Job description

Overview

I am workign with a consutlancy feeding into the Public sector looking for an Lead IaC Test Engineer to join a contract. 6 month. Inside IR35. 60% of the week travel to Newcastle.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategy and Leadership: Define and lead the IaC test automation strategy for the PDU, championing quality and best practices.
• Framework Development: Design, build, and maintain scalable and resilient automated testing frameworks for infrastructure as code using industry-standard tools.
• End-to-End IaC Testing: Lead the automated testing of Terraform, Ansible, and other IaC scripts to ensure correct resource creation and configuration, performance, and operational stability.
• Security & Compliance: Drive the integration of security and compliance testing into the CI/CD pipeline, ensuring all deployments adhere to internal policies and government standards.
• CI/CD Integration: Take ownership of integrating and optimising automated tests within our CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab CI) for continuous validation and rapid feedback.

Essential Skills and Criteria

• IaC Expertise: Extensive experience with a major cloud provider (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) and expert-level, hands-on experience using IaC tools, such as Terraform or Ansible.
• Test Automation: A proven track record of designing, building, and leading automated testing strategies and frameworks for both infrastructure and application layers.
• Experience using specific IaC testing frameworks, such as Terratest, InSpec, or Gherkin.
• Scripting & Programming: Senior-level proficiency in multiple scripting or programming languages relevant to test automation (e.g., Python, Bash, or JavaScript).
• Cloud Architecture: A deep and comprehensive understanding of cloud principles, architecture, networking, security, and identity and access management.
• Agile/DevOps Practices: A strong background in modern agile and DevOps methodologies, with a demonstrable ability to integrate and improve CI/CD practices (e.g., GitLab CI).
• Communication & Leadership: Exceptional communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills, with a proven ability to provide technical leadership and mentor colleagues.
• Experience with containers and orchestration tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Extensive knowledge of monitoring and observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana).
• A strong background working with large-scale digital transformation projects in the public sector.