Lead Test Engineer

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency; Nottingham; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK government agency is looking for a Lead Test Engineer to lead multiple teams, design automation frameworks, and ensure robust digital services. Candidates should possess strong leadership and collaboration skills, and actively drive continuous improvement in testing practices. This role promises a comprehensive benefits package, including generous annual leave and flexible work options.

Benefits

Employer pension contribution of 28.97%

25 days annual leave, increasing with service

Flexible working options

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple test engineering teams to embed quality across digital services.
• Design and scale automation-first testing frameworks, tools, and pipelines.
• Define and implement risk-based test strategies across projects.
• Establish and maintain test engineering standards and metrics.
• Coach and mentor test engineers to modernize skills.
• Collaborate with teams to ensure quality is integral.
• Drive continuous improvement in testing practices.
• Represent the organization in the wider testing community.

Skills

Leadership in test engineering

Automation-first testing

Risk-based testing strategies

Mentoring and coaching

Collaboration across teams

Continuous improvement in testing practices

Job description

The Lead Test Engineer role sits within DVSA's Strategy, Policy, Digital & Technology Directorate, which is responsible for delivering high-quality, user-focused digital services that support road safety and compliance across the UK. The directorate brings together multi-disciplinary teams of developers, testers, analysts, product owners, architects, and operations specialists to design, build and run modern digital solutions. Test Engineering is a core capability within these delivery teams, ensuring that DVSA's systems are robust, secure, and resilient. The community of Test Engineers is focused on embedding automation-first quality practices, promoting collaboration across teams, and driving continuous improvement. As part of a wider cross-government Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) function, the team works closely with partners inside and outside DVSA, sharing knowledge and aligning with industry best practices. Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance. Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - Department for Transport Careers

Responsibilities

• Leading multiple test engineering teams to embed quality across DVSA digital services.
• Designing and scaling automation-first testing frameworks, tools, and pipelines.
• Defining and implementing risk-based test strategies across projects and platforms.
• Establishing and maintaining test engineering standards, practices, and metrics.
• Coaching and mentoring test engineers to build capability and modern testing skills.
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure quality is built in from the outset.
• Driving continuous improvement in test practices, defect management, and quality reporting.
• Representing DVSA in the wider testing community, sharing innovation and best practice.
• Great line management is important to us; we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need, empowering teams to flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

Open Sessions

Disability Confident: A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. For more details please go to the official Disability Confident resource.

Open Sessions: Would you like to find out more about the role, the team and what it’s like to work in our department? We are organising an open session where you can virtually "meet the team" on 25 September 2025 at 17:30. Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1660054470609?aff=oddtdtcreator