Principal Test Engineer

Searchability®; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The Principal Test Engineer role in Manchester is a hands-on leadership position within a growing engineering function. You will shape automation frameworks and testing standards across the team, working across API, automation, exploratory and integration testing.

The role emphasizes collaboration with engineers and ongoing development of testing practices. You will remain hands-on with Playwright, TypeScript and modern CI/CD pipelines, while mentoring other Test Engineers to elevate quality

Qualifications

• Proven hands-on test engineering with automation focus.
• Experience mentoring Test Engineers and embedding testing best practices.
• Strong understanding of CI/CD and modern development workflows.
• Experience with API testing and SQL-backed validation.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across testing and quality engineering.
• Define and embed standards for automation and QA across the SDLC.
• Remain hands-on in automation, API, and exploratory testing; drive CI/CD integration.
• Mentor engineers and collaborate with software engineers to uplift testing practices.

Skills

Automation testing

Mentoring engineers

CI/CD understanding

Education

Tools

Playwright

Postman

Cypress

TypeScript

CI/CD

Job description

• Office based in Manchester city centre working model focused on collaboration and technical development
• Senior technical position within a growing engineering function
• Opportunity to shape automation, testing standards and quality engineering practices

KEY POINTS

• Senior hands-on Test Engineering position with significant technical influence
• Shape automation frameworks and testing standards across engineering
• Work across API, automation, exploratory and integration testing
• Modern environment using Cypress, Playwright, TypeScript and CI/CD

ABOUT THE CLIENT

We're supporting an established technology-led organisation that is continuing to invest in its engineering capability and modernise the way its teams build and deliver software.

As part of this continued investment, they're looking for a Principal Test Engineer to provide senior technical expertise across testing, automation and quality engineering.

THE BENEFITS

• Opportunity to influence testing strategy and technical direction
• Collaborative environment working closely with experienced engineers
• Investment in modern testing tools and technologies
• Career development and progression opportunities
• Autonomy to improve frameworks, processes and engineering standards

THE PRINCIPAL TEST ENGINEER ROLE:

As Principal Test Engineer, you'll provide technical leadership across testing and quality engineering, helping to define standards and embed quality throughout the software development lifecycle.

You'll remain hands-on across automation, API and exploratory testing, improving frameworks and CI/CD integration whilst solving complex testing challenges. You'll also mentor other Test Engineers and work closely with Software Engineers to drive modern testing practices across the wider engineering team.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS

• Strong background in Test Engineering and automation
• Strong experience with Playwright
• Strong API testing experience using Postman or similar
• Good understanding of CI/CD and modern development practices
• SQL and database querying experience
• Experience mentoring engineers and driving testing best practice

KEY SKILLS

Principal Test Engineer, Principal QA Engineer, Senior Test Engineer, SDET, Automation Testing, Quality Engineering, Playwright, TypeScript, API Testing, Postman, CI/CD, SQL, Test Automation