Lead Test Engineer

DWP Digital; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 76,000 - 92,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Flexible hours

Public sector pension

Job summary

DWP Digital with Purpose is seeking a Lead Test Engineer to shape the quality of data products and services across a complex digital landscape supporting millions of users.

You will lead testing strategies, drive test automation, and provide expert testing leadership across Data & Analytics. The role offers hybrid working and competitive salary.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading testing across multiple teams and defining testing strategies.
• Experience with functional and non-functional testing for APIs and data services.
• Experience in Python-based test automation within cloud CI/CD pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Set testing strategy and standards across Data & Analytics services.
• Provide leadership to test engineers embedded in agile delivery teams.
• Champion automation and quality by design across the lifecycle.
• Assure testing for functional, performance, accessibility, security and operational aspects.
• Support recruitment and development of the Test Engineering community.

Skills

Testing leadership

Test strategy design

Test automation

Leadership and coaching

Tools

Python

Job description

£76,339 - £91,672, plus 28.97% employer pension contributions, hybrid working, flexible hours, and great work life balance.

DWP. Digital with Purpose.

Are you a Test Engineering leader? Can you deliver high-quality data solutions at scale?

Join us at a pivotal time as we drive forward our ambitious 2030 Data Strategy. We're looking for an experienced Lead Test Engineer to play a key role in shaping and assuring the quality of data products and services across a complex digital landscape that supports millions of users.

Working closely with stakeholders across Data & Analytics and the wider DWP Digital community, you'll provide expert testing leadership, influence strategic decisions, develop recommendations, and ensure robust quality assurance throughout the delivery lifecycle.

You'll lead the development of testing strategies, champion best practice, and drive test automation across both existing and future data solutions. This is a fantastic opportunity to shape the future of data testing while delivering products and services that make a real difference.

What skills, knowledge and experience will you need?

• Proven experience leading testing across multiple teams, defining and delivering testing strategies for cloud-native, open-source and commercial data platforms, while embedding quality standards, governance, test automation, and best practices across the software delivery lifecycle.
• Extensive experience designing and implementing functional and non-functional testing strategies, including performance, accessibility, reliability and integration testing for APIs, messaging platforms and modern data services.
• Proven success leading, recruiting, coaching and developing high-performing Test Engineers, driving continuous improvement and engineering excellence.
• Expert-level experience in Python-based test automation, with a strong track record of implementing automated API and data testing within cloud CI/CD pipelines, using shift-left approaches to deliver quality early and at scale.

You and your role

As our Lead Test Engineer, you'll set the standard for quality engineering across DWP's Data & Analytics services. Acting as the senior technical authority for testing, you'll provide leadership and direction to test engineers embedded in agile delivery teams, ensuring quality is built into products and services from the outset.

You'll work closely with Product Managers, Architects, Delivery Managers and Engineering teams to shape testing strategy, influence technical decisions and embed quality throughout the software delivery lifecycle. Supporting a broad portfolio of data and analytics platforms, you'll help assure solutions spanning data movement, integration, storage, analytics and insight generation.

Drawing on deep expertise in modern test engineering practices, you'll champion automation, continuous testing and quality by design. You'll provide assurance across functional, performance, accessibility, security and operational testing, helping teams deliver resilient, reliable and trusted services.

Working across a complex technology landscape spanning cloud and on-premise environments, you'll identify delivery risks, drive continuous improvement and evaluate emerging tools and approaches to strengthen engineering quality across the organisation.

You'll also play a key role in developing our Test Engineering profession, supporting recruitment, mentoring engineers, building capability and helping shape a high-performing testing community.

Location: You'll join us in your choice of our brilliant digital hubs in Birmingham, Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle or Sheffield.

Hybrid Working: We work a hybrid model - you'll spend some time working at home and some time collaborating face to face in a hub.

Pay: Pay for this role is from

£76,339 - £91,672. The maximum salary for the grade is £81,672 and a Digital Allowance of up to £10,000 per annum subject to our assessment of your capability at interview

Pension: You'll get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions of 28.97%, worth up to £23,660 a year.

Holidays: A generous leave package starting at 26 days rising to 31 days over time.

You can also take up to 3 extra days off a month on flexi-time. You'll also get all the usual public holidays

We have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Flexible working including flexible hours and flex-friendly policies
• Time off volunteering and charitable giving
• Bring your authentic self to work with 'I Can Be Me in DWP'
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
• Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it's even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference
• Sports and social activities
• Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities.

And we have an award-winning environment and culture:

• DWP have been recognised as 2024 Diversity Employer of the Year at the Computing Women in Tech Excellence awards
• Diverse and Inclusive Leadership at Digital Leaders Awards 2024
• Commended as Best Place to Work in Digital category in the Computing Digital Technology Leaders awards 2025
• Recognised as one of the Best Public Sector Employers at 2025 Women In Tech Employer Awards

Process:

We know your time is valuable, so our application and selection process is just two stages:

• Interview: a single stage interview online.