Quality Engineering Lead

WTW; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Hybrid working options

Private healthcare

Life insurance

Pension with match up to 10%

EV car scheme

Share scheme

Cycle-to-work

Dental cover

Optical cover

Volunteer day

Job summary

WTW is seeking a Quality Engineering Lead to shape the quality strategy across our Platform engineering function. You will embed testing early, drive risk-based quality, and champion AI-assisted development practices across delivery teams.

You will recruit, coach, and mentor QA engineers, partner with product and engineering stakeholders, and align with the QA Guild to define standards. The role balances delivery speed with customer outcomes and security across the pipeline.

Qualifications

• Experience defining QA strategy from the ground up and improving existing practices.
• Experience leading and growing a QA function, including hands-on recruitment.
• Hands-on with modern CI/CD, source control, and engineering metrics tooling.

Responsibilities

• Lead quality engineering practice across Platform, embedding testing into delivery.
• Define verification approaches that scale with AI-assisted code volume.
• Own test strategy across a mix of new and legacy work with appropriate approaches.
• Extend testing to performance, accessibility, and resilience.
• Partner with product, business, and engineering to define quality for initiatives.
• Align with the QA Guild, cascading decisions across Platform.
• Ensure security and quality scanning across the pipeline.
• Evaluate and select testing tools and frameworks as the landscape evolves.

Skills

QA leadership

QA strategy

Recruitment

Reporting structures

AI QA challenges

CI/CD tooling

DORA metrics

ISTQB certification

Job description

This job is with WTW, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Please do not contact the recruiter directly.

Description

At WTW, quality is a shared responsibility and a critical enabler of successful delivery. As a Quality Engineering Lead, you will shape and lead the quality engineering strategy across a major Platform engineering function, ensuring testing and verification practices evolve alongside modern software delivery, including AI-assisted development. You will champion a shift-left, risk-based approach to quality, embed best practices across delivery teams, and build a culture where quality is engineered into every stage of the software lifecycle.

This is a leadership role with responsibility for defining quality strategy, developing talent, influencing engineering standards, and ensuring the right balance between delivery speed, risk management, and customer outcomes.

The Role

• Lead quality engineering practice across Platform, embedding testing into delivery rather than gating at the end of it
• Define verification approaches that scale alongside growing AI-assisted code volume
• Own test strategy across a mixed portfolio of new and legacy work, applying the right approach to each
• Extend testing beyond functional and regression coverage into performance, accessibility, and resilience
• Partner with product, business, and engineering stakeholders to define what quality means for each initiative
• Align closely with the QA Guild as Platform's primary representative, feeding standards in and cascading decisions back out
• Ensure security and quality scanning are implemented to deliver the best value across the pipeline
• Evaluate and select testing tools and frameworks as the landscape evolves
• Feed production defect and incident learnings back into test strategy
• Recruit, coach, and mentor QA engineers across the function, including embedded and partner-augmented roles
• Be a leader in driving a culture of quality across Platform

Qualifications

What you'll bring

• Strong passion for the delivery of high-quality software
• Experience defining QA strategy from the ground up as well as improving existing practices
• Experience leading and growing a QA function, including hands-on recruitment
• Experience managing both direct and dotted-line reporting structures
• Experience addressing verification challenges specific to AI-assisted development
• Hands‑on with modern CI/CD, source control, and engineering metrics tooling
• Familiarity with DORA quality metrics and Team Topologies team design (advantageous)
• Recognised testing certification (e.g., ISTQB) or equivalent practical experience (advantageous)

What does Success Look Like?

• Defect escape rate trend relative to code volume growth
• Verification cycle time vs. authoring cycle time
• Practice consistency and skills growth across embedded QA engineers
• Guild-standard adoption and cascade consistency across Platform teams

What we offer

Enjoy a benefits package designed to help you thrive, both professionally and personally. You'll receive 25 days of annual leave plus an extra WTW day to relax and recharge. Our comprehensive health and wellbeing offering includes private healthcare, life insurance, group income protection, and regular health assessments, all giving you peace of mind. Secure your future with our defined contribution pension scheme, featuring matched contributions up to 10% from the company.

We support your growth and balance with hybrid working options, access to an employee assistance programme, and a fully paid volunteer day to make a difference in your community. On top of these, you can opt into a variety of additional perks including an electric vehicle car scheme, share scheme, cycle-to-work programme, dental and optical cover, critical illness protection, and much more. Start making the most of your career and wellbeing with a range of benefits tailored for you.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We’re committed to equal employment opportunity and provide application, interview and workplace adjustments and accommodations to all applicants. If you foresee any barriers, from the application process through to joining WTW, please email