Lead Test Engineer - Companies House - SEO

Manchester Digital; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 41,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency in the UK is seeking a Lead Test Engineer to oversee quality assurance in software testing. This role involves mentoring junior testers and implementing test automation frameworks. Candidates should have extensive experience with modern test automation tools and Agile methodologies. This is a remote opportunity that offers a robust compensation package and promotes a healthy work-life balance.

Benefits

30 days annual leave

8 bank holidays

Civil Service Pension scheme

Qualifications

• Proven ability in test automation using modern technologies.
• Strong track record of supporting and developing Test Engineers.
• Hands-on experience working within Agile methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead test efforts with a focus on quality assurance.
• Identify and implement test frameworks to improve confidence.
• Design and execute non-functional test cases.

Skills

Coaching and mentoring

Automation testing expertise

Agile experience

Education

Professional certification (e.g., ISTQB, ISEB)

Tools

Selenium

Playwright

TypeScript

Job description

Lead Test Engineer - Companies House - SEO

Base salary is £41,571 - £45,784 with an additional DDaT allowance of £4,350 - £11,000 available. Published on 25 September 2025. Deadline 12 October 2025.

Location

Remote working (anywhere in the UK)

About the job

Job summary

We are looking for enthusiastic Lead Test Engineers with great technical skills able to coach and mentor other testers and lead the test automation, functional and non functional areas of software testing.

You will be part of our lead tester group, working collaboratively with your assigned squads overseeing the testing journey with management responsibilities. You will act as an advocate for quality and champion behaviour driven development.

This is an exciting opportunity in the Digital Services team. You’ll be joining our team at a time of transformation and you will be part of shaping the future of our department. We use Agile Methodologies and promote a culture of continuous improvement.

This provides an opportunity to make the test community thrive by exploring new and emerging tools and approaches and working out how you can help the organisation deliver better services. This is a rewarding role within the Test Team and provides an opportunity to contribute to the success of existing and future services provided by Companies House.

Companies House offers a flexible and welcoming culture that promotes a healthy work life balance as well as a proactive approach to wellbeing that allows us to be our best at work. We recognise that people are the key to our success so offer a fantastic benefits package including flexible working with no core hours, 30 days annual leave, 8 bank holidays and 1 privilege day as well as enrolment into the Civil Service Pension scheme with a contribution rate averaging 28%.

• Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.
• Security Clearance is an essential requirement for this campaign. You'll need to have been in the UK for at least 3 out of the last 5 years to be eligible to apply for SC.
• Remote contracts will only be offered to successful candidates who are not within a commutable distance to our Cardiff, Belfast or Edinburgh offices. If you are located in a reasonable distance to one our offices, you will receive a hybrid contract aligned to one of our offices.

Please see 'Things you need to know' and 'Where will you be working' sections below for more information.

As a Lead Test Engineer you will;

• Lead test efforts in your squad with a focus on quality assurance, while mentoring junior testers and driving continuous improvement across the QA process.
• Identify new and implement existing test frameworks to improve confidence in testing (Please note that we’re currently migrating from a bespoke Selenium/Java solution to use Playwright & Typescript).
• Support the broader testing practice by contributing to cross-team releases and actively driving continuous improvements in testing processes.
• Design and execute non-functional test cases using standard testing techniques
• Advise on up-to-date functional testing techniques. You know how to assess and peer-review the work of others.
• Be proficient in a range of coding languages (you may be an expert in only one)
• Line manage junior testers to foster their growth, support their development, and build team capability.

Further information on the Test Engineering profession and skills expected of a Lead can be foundhere .

Person specification

We are seeking candidates with the following experience, which will be assessed during the sift, technical stage, and interview.

• Professional certification: Hold a relevant certification (e.g., ISTQB, ISEB) or demonstrate equivalent practical experience in functional and non-functional testing.
• Automation testing expertise: Proven ability in test automation using modern technologies, with experience in frameworks such as Java, Selenium, or Cucumber. Experience in Playwright and TypeScript is particularly desirable.
• Coaching and mentoring: A strong track record of supporting and developing Test Engineers, particularly in building automation skills. Your expertise will help shape and advance the team's capabilities in automation.
• Agile experience: Certified Agile Tester qualification or substantial hands-on experience working within Agile methodologies.
• Experience of Non Functional testing practices including Security, Performance and Accessibility Testing.
• Has a working knowledge of a minimum of 5 of the following:
• API
• AWS
• Burp ( security )
• Concourse / Jenkins
• Docker
• JMeter
• Karate/Rest API
• MongoDB
• Kafka
• Oracle
• Playwright
• Postman/SOAP UI
• SQL
• Typescript
• Unix based systems
• Git
• XML

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: