Quality Engineering Lead

Willis Towers Watson; Reigate; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private healthcare

Life insurance

Pension with matched contributions up

Hybrid working

Volunteer day

Car scheme

Dental and optical cover

Job summary

Willis Towers Watson is seeking a Quality Engineering Lead to shape and lead the quality strategy across a major Platform engineering function. You will embed testing throughout the delivery lifecycle, champion a shift-left approach, and drive risk-based quality practices with AI-assisted development.

You will recruit, mentor, and align with stakeholders to deliver high-quality software while balancing speed, risk, and customer outcomes in a hybrid-working UK environment.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to define QA strategy from scratch and improve existing practices.
• Experience leading and growing a QA function, including hands-on recruitment.
• Familiarity with modern CI/CD, source control, and engineering metrics tooling.
• Ability to address verification challenges associated with AI-assisted development.

Responsibilities

• Lead quality engineering practice across Platform, embedding testing into delivery.
• Define scalable verification approaches for increasing AI-assisted code volume.
• Own test strategy across a mix of new and legacy work with appropriate methods.
• Extend testing to performance, accessibility, and resilience.

Skills

QA strategy leadership

AI verification challenges

CI/CD familiarity

Security scanning

DORA metrics

Team Topologies

Recruitment & mentoring

Education

ISTQB certification

Job description

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 [e-mail]

(ICT_TECH TD_2026_37R)