Lead Software Test Engineer

ZipRecruiter; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading QA team in Leeds is seeking a Lead Software Test Engineer to take ownership of quality through exciting projects. You will lead testing efforts, implement robust strategies, and mentor junior testers, contributing to QA evolution and collaboration with clients and engineers.

Benefits

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Private health cover

6% matched pension

Discretionary annual bonus

Cycle to work scheme

Regular social events

Weekly breakfast sandwiches

Career coaching & regular reviews

Great team culture

Clear progression paths

Qualifications

• 6+ years of commercial testing experience.
• 3+ years hands-on with UI & API test automation.
• Experience leading QA delivery in agile teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead testing across projects from planning to release.
• Define test strategies with automated and manual testing.
• Provide leadership and mentoring to test engineers.

Skills

Leadership

Collaboration

Attention to detail

Automation testing

Tools

Playwright

Cypress

JMeter

K6

Job description

Job Description

Lead Software Test Engineer - Leeds City Centre (Hybrid) – up to £60,000

Are you a Lead Test Engineer based in/around Leeds with great hands-on experience, as well as strong leadership experience?

The Role:

We’re looking for a Lead Test Engineer to join a growing QA team in Leeds. This will be a hands-on role, where you'll take ownership of quality across diverse and technically exciting projects, working collaboratively with engineers, delivery managers, and clients from concept to launch. You will define and implement robust testing strategies and contribute to the evolution of QA practices.

Your day-to-day will involve:

• Lead testing across projects from planning through to release
• Define and implement test strategies using a mix of automated, manual, performance, and security testing
• Collaborate with clients and developers to establish clear acceptance criteria
• Build and maintain automated UI and API test suites (e.g. Playwright, Cypress)
• Design and run non-functional tests (e.g. performance with JMeter/K6)
• Provide leadership and mentoring to test engineers, including reviews and appraisals
• Contribute to shaping company-wide testing processes and toolsets
• Support and triage user acceptance testing (UAT) with clients

Experience we are looking for:

• 6+ years’ commercial testing experience
• 3+ years’ hands-on test automation (UI & API)
• Proven experience leading QA delivery in agile teams
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Attention to detail and a drive for continuous improvement
• Experience with Playwright (preferably TypeScript)
• Background mentoring or training junior testers

Why Join?

• 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Private health cover
• 6% matched pension
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Cycle to work scheme
• Regular social events
• Weekly breakfast sandwiches
• Dedicated career coach & regular reviews
• Great team culture
• Clear progression paths and ongoing development.

Interested?

Apply now

Lead Software Test Engineer - Leeds City Centre (Hybrid) – up to £60,000