Lead Test Engineer - Agile QA Leader & Automation

Kainos; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Kainos is seeking a Lead Test Engineer (Consultant) to provide technical leadership in software testing within a fast-paced, multi-skilled agile team across public, defence or healthcare sectors. You will shape testing strategy, design automated and manual tests, and mentor a team while delivering high-quality software for users.

You will interact with customers, drive test practices, and stay current with QA tools and methodologies, enabling growth and delivery excellence across projects.

Qualifications

• Experience leading test strategy and tests across automated and manual layers.
• Proven ability to design and maintain test scripts and approaches.
• Hands-on use of open-source test automation tools and CI systems.
• Proficient in at least one OO language (e.g., Java).
• Demonstrated people leadership and performance management.

Responsibilities

• Lead test strategy and direction within an agile, multi-skilled team.
• Design, develop and maintain automated/manual/non-functional tests.
• Coach and develop staff, drive performance and career growth.
• Engage with customers and share knowledge to improve quality.

Skills

Test leadership

Mentoring

Stakeholder management

People management

Decision making

Tools

Selenium

JUnit

TestNG

Cucumber

Cypress

Jenkins

TeamCity

Java

Job description

Kainos is seeking a Lead Test Engineer (Consultant) to provide technical leadership in software testing within a fast-paced, multi-skilled agile team across public, defence or healthcare sectors. You will shape testing strategy, design automated and manual tests, and mentor a team while delivering high-quality software for users.

You will interact with customers, drive test practices, and stay current with QA tools and methodologies, enabling growth and delivery excellence across projects.