Software Test Engineer

Rowden; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Rowden is seeking a Software Test Engineer to enhance product quality and process efficiency. You will be responsible for driving best practices in testing while collaborating with teams on diverse projects. Join us in building innovative solutions that meet the high standards of our mission-focused customers.

Benefits

Flexible working model

Inclusive company culture

Support for workplace adjustments

Qualifications

• Experience testing in software integration projects.
• Proficiency in designing and documenting test strategies.
• Experience with APIs and programming languages like Python and Kotlin.

Responsibilities

• Drive quality and process improvement across projects.
• Design, execute, and manage test plans and cases.
• Provide expert support through acceptance and deployment phases.

Skills

Testing expertise

Collaboration

Automation

Communication

Education

ISTQB or equivalent certifications

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Appium

Espresso

Jenkins

GitLab CI

Job description

Department: Engineering

Location: Bristol, UK

Description

We’re building the next UK-headquartered engineering powerhouse.

At Rowden, we design and integrate advanced systems that sense, connect, and protect data in challenging environments where quick decisions are vital. Our solutions use intelligent automation to enhance speed and efficiency and are built to be reliable and straightforward for critical operations in remote or high-pressure settings.

Headquartered in Bristol (UK), we combine modern engineering methods with cutting-edge commercial technology to create adaptable, mission-critical systems. We focus on solving the tough challenges that others overlook, ensuring our customers can operate effectively in an ever-changing world.

We’re growing our team and are looking for talented Software Test Engineers to drive best practices and elevate product and process quality across our software integration and project teams.

With a keen eye for detail and a pragmatic approach, you will ensure our software products are robust, reliable, and meet the high standards expected by both Rowden and our mission-focused customers.

Working on diverse projects ranging from bespoke mobile applications to geospatial tools, you will play a pivotal role in delivering critical technologies that bridge the gap between frontline operators and the commercial advancements they need to succeed. By ensuring our products perform flawlessly, you will help support modern security operations and fulfil Rowden’s mission of building better-integrated digital technologies—faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.

Salary Ranges


For transparency and to help candidates make informed decisions, these are the salary ranges for the different levels we are hiring across software engineering (DOE):

• Junior Level: £25,000 - £35,000
• Mid-Level: £35,000 - £45,000
• Senior Level: £45,000 - £60,000
  
  

Key Areas of Responsibility

As a Software Test Engineer at Rowden, you will be responsible for:

• Driving quality and process improvement: Champion and implement best practices to enhance testing strategies, processes, and quality across projects, while advising on test estimations and technical considerations.
• Collaboration and team integration: Actively engage in agile ceremonies and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure requirements are understood, implementable and testable.
• Test planning, execution, and management: Design, execute, and manage test plans and test cases. Engaging in defect triage sessions through to issue resolution, and comprehensive reporting of testing outcomes.
• Customer and deployment support: Provide expert support through acceptance, release, and deployment phases, acting as a trusted adviser to ensure seamless delivery and successful outcomes.
• Triage and live environment support: Deliver real-time issue triage and resolution in live environments while monitoring and maintaining system stability and performance.
• Coaching & Mentoring: Coach and mentor colleagues, fostering a collaborative team culture, and advocate for quality testing.
  
  

About You

We are seeking passionate and driven individuals who thrive on technology and actively hones their technical skills and expertise. Relevant and transferable industry experience is a bonus when applying for this role, however not entirely required for the right people. This role offers significant opportunities to grow and gain valuable experience and we’re looking for someone who already brings:

Testing expertise:

• Relevant levels of experience testing in software integration projects, with proficiency in designing and documenting test strategies, plans, and detailed test cases.
• Skilled in static analysis; translating requirements and user stories into comprehensive test suites, including consideration of accessibility, usability and mobile best practices.
• Experience producing clear execution records, reporting, and release documentation.

Automation and CI/CD:

• Experience in creating, maintaining and debugging bash scripts
• Familiarity with tools such as Appium, Espresso, and CI/CD platforms including Jenkins and GitLab CI
• Experience in working with APIs, and popular programming languages such as Python, JSON, Kotlin

Collaboration and communication:

• In-depth knowledge of, and ability to promote the use of agile methodologies and tools (Jira, Confluence)
• Confident in customer-facing roles; participating in or leading product demos, and facilitating discussions around software testing and release planning

Hardware and software integration:

• Experience testing software with hardware systems and troubleshooting interoperability issues

Highly desirable:

• Experience building and maintaining automated regression test suites
• A proactive approach to adopting new tools and techniques
• ISTQB or equivalent certifications
• Knowledge of performance, security, and exploratory testing, containerised environments and cloud platforms
  
  

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are!

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don’t meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we’d still love to hear from you!