Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) Remote with the option to use the Edinburgh office Permanent/Full Time about Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

BR-DGE; City of Edinburgh; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Remote allowance

33 days holiday

Birthday day off

Family healthcare

Life insurance

Employee assistance programme

Career progression

Learning & development

Team events

Job summary

BR-DGE seeks a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) to own automated testing infrastructure and quality tooling in Java. This remote-first role enables our teams to ship high-quality software rapidly with confidence.

You will architect and build automation frameworks (Integration, Contract, E2E, Performance), develop internal tools, and optimize CI/CD pipelines to reduce manual testing and accelerate delivery. Strong Java, cloud, and distributed systems expertise are essential.

Qualifications

• Strong, recent Java experience with JVM internals, patterns, and idiomatic Java at a senior level.
• Background as a software engineer with test automation architecture focus, not a QA role.
• Proven ability to design, build, and scale multi-layered automation frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Design and build automation frameworks in Java for Integration, Contract, E2E, and Performance tests.
• Build, maintain, and scale internal testing tools and data-management utilities.
• Engineer fast, reliable CI/CD pipelines with automated gates.

Skills

Java proficiency

Software engineer background

Automation framework design

CI/CD pipelines

Cloud native architecture

Debugging distributed systems

Mentoring

Job description

Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

Remote (UK)-Permanent / Full time (35 hrs/wk, flexible working)

BR-DGE is an award winning FinTech founded in Edinburgh. Our platform enables e-commerce and technology businesses to have the freedom and flexibility to redefine the way they handle payments.

Since our inception in 2018 we have been leading the way in the future of payment orchestration. Our products enable enterprise businesses to optimise their payment infrastructure and create frictionless digital payment experiences for their end users. Now with a global reach, our customer base is made up of incredible brands and household names from across the travel, retail and gambling sectors and it’s growing fast! Our world class partners include Visa and Worldpay and we’re continuing to build a strong partner network with the biggest players in the payments industry. It’s an exciting time to be part of BR-DGE!

The journey so far has been incredible, but we’re just getting started and with ambitious growth plans, we’re now looking for more exceptional talent to join our team.

All BR-DGE Builders receive the following benefits:

• Flexible and remote working
• Remote working allowance
• 33 days holiday including public holidays
• Your birthday as a day off
• Family healthcare
• Life insurance
• Employee assistance programme
• A culture that champions rapid career progression
• Investment in your learning and development
• Regular team events & socials

Become a BR-DGE Builder

About this role

This is a software engineering role, not a QA or manual testing role.At BR-DGE, our Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) is a core engineer who architects, builds, and scales our automated testing infrastructure and quality tooling inJava. You will write production-grade code that enables our teams to ship high quality software frequently and with total confidence - not execute test cases.

You will not sit at the end of a delivery pipeline manually validating tickets or acting as a gatekeeper. You will not be running scripted or exploratory manual tests. Instead, you own the technical design, development, and evolution of our centralised automation frameworks and infrastructure, engineering systemic solutions that let development teams own their own quality and deploy safely.

Who this isn't for:if your background is primarily manual QA, exploratory testing, or test-case execution, even with some scripting exposure, this role isn't the right fit. We need someone who identifies as, and has worked as, a software engineer first.

Whatyou’llbe doing

• Framework Architecture and Engineering:Design and build automation frameworks in Java, covering Integration, Contract, E2E, and Performance / Load testing. Be informed and opinionated on what good looks like for Unit and Component tests.
• Tooling and Infrastructure Development:Build, maintain, and scale internal testing tools, libraries, and test data management utilities that streamline the development lifecycle for all engineering teams.
• CI / CD Optimisation:Engineer and manage fast, reliable, CI native pipelines. Implement advanced, parallelised quality gates and automated feedback loops directly into the deployment infrastructure to eliminate manual intervention.
• Architectural Testability:Analyse system architecture and cloud native topologies to suggest and implement improvements that enhance system testability and quality.
• Production Quality:Build out monitoring, logging, and alerting tooling and standards. Translate incident postmortem findings into concrete, automated safeguards and process improvements.
• Metrics and Diagnostics:Implement and track quality metrics to diagnose system bottlenecks, using data to drive targeted performance and reliability enhancements across our frameworks.
• Mentoring and Engineering Maturity:Proactively drive forward the organisation-wide quality strategy, building and designing our testing ecosystem, and mentoring software engineers. Act as a thought leader to coach development teams on 'quality first' design.

Whatwe’relooking for

• Strong, Recent Java Experience:Deep, hands‑on proficiency in Java is required, this is non‑negotiable. You should be able to speak confidently about JVM internals, design patterns, and idiomatic Java at a senior engineering level.
• Software Engineering Background:You have worked as a software engineer or backend developer, with test automation architecture as part of (or the focus of) that engineering remit, not as a QA professional who picked up scripting.
• Framework Design from Scratch:A proven track record of designing, building, and scaling multi-layered automation frameworks from the ground up (Integration, Contract, E2E, and Performance).
• CI / CD and Pipeline Engineering:Heavy hands‑on experience building, optimising, and maintaining CI / CD pipelines, with a focus on fast, parallelised execution and automated gates.
• Cloud Native Architecture:Deep understanding of distributed system design, microservices, and cloud native environments, with the ability to optimise them for logging, observability, and testability.
• Root Cause Debugging:Exceptional technical debugging skills across complex, distributed systems, with the ability to write robust automated regressions to address production vulnerabilities.
• Technical Collaboration:Ability to define technical standards, document framework architectures clearly, and collaborate with engineering teams to ensure seamless adoption of quality tooling.

Nice to Have

• Background as a general‑purpose Software Engineer (backend-heavy) prior to specialising in test infrastructure.
• Experience implementing, capturing, and visualising DORA metrics automatically within deployment pipelines.
• Familiarity with feature flagging frameworks and progressive delivery infrastructure.
• Experience in fintech, payments, or other high-throughput environments where transactional integrity, security, and strict reliability are paramount.

Why this role exists

Our business is growing rapidly. We recognise that to achieve fast delivery and systemic quality, we need to move away from traditional testing bottlenecks. We need dedicated engineers who can build the robust, scalable automation infrastructure required to support continuous, hands‑off deployment. If you're an engineer who loves writing code that empowers other systems and teams to run faster and safer, we want to talk to you.

What we offer

We provide a supportive, high-growth environment where your impact is visible every day.

• Financial:Competitive salary and life insurance.
• Flexibility:Remote‑first working culture that respects your other priorities.
• Health:Family private healthcare and an Employee Assistance Programme.
• Growth:A culture that championscareer progression and direct investment in your learning and development.
• Community:Regularteam events and socials to keep our remote team connected.

At BR-DGE, we champion diversity and inclusion. We believe that our roles should be open to everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, or neurotype. We value the unique talents and perspectives that each individual brings and try to create a fair and accessible hiring process for all.