Senior QA Engineer - LIVE LEAD

NXGN; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology firm in Manchester is seeking an exceptional QA Engineer to shape and refine their engineering quality strategy. In this hybrid role, you will collaborate with development teams to ensure quality throughout the product lifecycle. Key responsibilities include enhancing test coverage, mentoring peers in testing practices, and advocating for quality within an Agile environment. Candidates should possess strong problem-solving skills and a solid understanding of testing best practices. Flexibility is offered regarding office attendance.

Qualifications

• Ability to identify testing and process problems at their root.
• Track record of influencing peers positively and driving team improvements.
• Expertise in testing complex, high-performance software systems.
• Experience with secure coding and performance testing.
• Agile/lean development process familiarity.

Responsibilities

• Champion testability and mentoring developers in testing practices.
• Collaborate with engineers to enhance product release quality.
• Participate and influence quality processes in Agile ceremonies.
• Enhance automation testing coverage and observability.

Skills

Problem-solving

Quality advocacy

Understanding of TDD, BDD

Agile experience

Tools

Locust

K6

Gatling

Job description

Manchester, UK • KrakenFlex 💪 – Technology / Full-time / Hybrid

The energy industry is undergoing the largest transformation since industrialisation at an unprecedented rate of change and we are positioning ourselves to be at the heart of that change.

Our aim is to be the leading global provider of solutions that enable customers to release £30bn of value per annum from distributed energy resources (DERs). We are building a Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription business with a global addressable market of £2.4 billion per annum, by digitally connecting hundreds of thousands of DERs with energy markets.

We have already attained a market leading position and KrakenFlex is a recognised thought leader and innovator in the industry. Our efforts have not gone unnoticed and we are pleased to announce that we now have the full support and backing of Octopus Energy, an award‑winning UK energy supplier who share our passion and values.

As we enter the stage of rapid commercialisation and customer growth, we are now looking for an exceptional QA (Quality Assurance) engineer to help shape, refine and deliver our engineering quality strategy with being curious in nature and innovative in your approach regarding how to maximise quality.

We see the QA Engineer as a key collaborative role within our development teams; working with each team member – Product Owner, Developers and Designers – you will ensure quality is thoughtfully examined in both process and technology. As a hands‑on team member, you will actively contribute to our test automation coverage and encourage all teammates to weave quality into the mindsets and code.

What You’ll Do

• Operate as both a “Doer” and a “Thinker”, fulfilling quality commitments as well as contributing to and driving efforts to enhance the testing coverage of the team.
• Provide input for and champion testability, collaborating with the development teams to mentor and educate them in good testing practices to improve quality.
• Be the ambassador for quality and collaborate with our talented software engineers to produce, enhance and release products that meet the expectations of our global client base.
• Work at the forefront of a fully‑fledged Agile environment embracing continuous delivery and improvements.
• Implement key quality principles like the Test Pyramid for all development teams, including our approach to cross‑functional requirements such as security & performance.
• Be hands‑on to help enhance teams’ automation testing coverage and observability.
• Participate in agile ceremonies and help influence quality process involvements within the teams.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of the team’s Quality testing approach and help influence; share and learn culture within the teams around quality.

What You’ll Need

• Bring an ability and desire to address testing and process problems at their root, stepping back where appropriate to understand the broader context and apply creative solutions.
• Be a quality advocate who brings a track record of positively influencing peers and colleagues and driving continuous improvement at a team level.
• Solid understanding of best practices such as TDD, BDD, CI/CD and the Test Pyramid.
• Have expert understanding of the challenges of testing complex, highly performing and high quality software systems.
• Experience working in an agile/lean software development process and with code management & deployment strategies.
• An understanding of secure coding approaches & testing applications from a security perspective to deliver secured quality software to our clients.
• An understanding of approaches to building and testing for performance, including testing API performance e.g. Locust, K6, Gatling.
• Experience working in an agile/lean software development process and with code management & deployment strategies.
• You can apply your ‘test’ mindset to exploring and understanding other teammates’ perspectives and can foster a common idea of quality.

Ideally you will be based in the Greater Manchester and happy to come into the office a couple of days per week! But we appreciate that things have changed and flexibility is at the top of everyone's agenda, so if you would rather be remote please let us know.

If this sounds like you then we'd love to hear from you.

Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire. Across Octopus, we're looking for genuinely decent people who are honest and empathetic. Our people are our strongest asset and the unique skills and perspectives people bring to the team are the driving force of our success. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. Our commitment is to provide equal opportunities, an inclusive work environment, and fairness for everyone.