Software Test Engineer | £45,000 | Hybrid, Bracknell

Pearson Carter Limited; Bracknell; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work pattern

Job summary

Pearson Carter Limited are assisting a financial services organisation in Bracknell to recruit a Software Test Engineer / QA Analyst. This hands-on role focuses on testing across Dynamics 365, custom .NET applications and APIs, with a hybrid pattern and a £45,000 salary.

You will develop testing strategies, perform functional, integration, API and UAT testing, review requirements, investigate defects with SQL, and contribute to test automation and release readiness.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of practical software testing in business-critical applications.
• Hands-on manual testing experience.
• Experience creating test plans, test cases, test scenarios, test evidence and completion reports.
• Strong understanding of functional, integration, regression, exploratory and UAT testing.
• Experience testing APIs and system integrations.
• Good understanding of SQL for test data preparation, investigation and validation.
• Experience working with REST APIs, JSON and XML.
• Familiarity with Agile, sprint-based or hybrid development environments.
• Experience managing defects from discovery through to resolution and retesting.
• Strong understanding of risk-based testing and software quality principles.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain technical issues clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of testing across Dynamics 365 CRM, custom applications, APIs and system integrations.
• Develop and maintain pragmatic testing strategies, standards, processes and documentation.
• Review requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria to identify potential risks and ensure solutions are testable.
• Create and execute functional, integration, API, regression, exploratory and end-to-end testing.
• Test Dynamics 365 forms, workflows, business rules, security roles, plugins and customisations.
• Carry out API testing across REST services and, where required, SOAP integrations.
• Validate JSON/XML payloads, data mappings, business rules, workflows and system integrations.
• Investigate defects using SQL queries, application logs, browser developer tools and API testing tools.
• Manage defects through the full lifecycle, from identification and triage through to retesting and closure.
• Support and structure User Acceptance Testing (UAT) with business users and process owners.
• Identify opportunities for test automation and introduce automated regression testing where appropriate.
• Produce clear reporting around test coverage, defects, risks and release readiness.
• Work closely with developers, business analysts and stakeholders to improve quality throughout the software development lifecycle.

Skills

Manual testing

REST API testing

SQL for test data

Agile environments

Communication skills

Education

ISTQB certification

Tools

Playwright

Postman/Newman

Azure DevOps

Job description

Software Test Engineer £45,000 Hybrid, Bracknell

Pearson Carter are currently working with an established and growing financial services organisation who are looking to expand their technology team with an experienced Software Test Engineer / QA Analyst.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a hands‑on tester to take ownership of testing across business-critical applications, while also helping to develop and improve the organisation's wider testing approach. You will work across Microsoft Dynamics 365, custom .NET applications, APIs, integrations and business processes, with the opportunity to introduce improved testing practices and automation.

Get in touch if you are looking for your next opportunity!

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of testing across Dynamics 365 CRM, custom applications, APIs and system integrations
• Develop and maintain pragmatic testing strategies, standards, processes and documentation
• Review requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria to identify potential risks and ensure solutions are testable
• Create and execute functional, integration, API, regression, exploratory and end‑to‑end testing
• Test Dynamics 365 forms, workflows, business rules, security roles, plugins and customisations
• Carry out API testing across REST services and, where required, SOAP integrations
• Validate JSON/XML payloads, data mappings, business rules, workflows and system integrations
• Investigate defects using SQL queries, application logs, browser developer tools and API testing tools
• Manage defects through the full lifecycle, from identification and triage through to retesting and closure
• Support and structure User Acceptance Testing (UAT) with business users and process owners
• Identify opportunities for test automation and introduce automated regression testing where appropriate
• Produce clear reporting around test coverage, defects, risks and release readiness
• Work closely with developers, business analysts and stakeholders to improve quality throughout the software development lifecycle

Experience

• At least 3 years' practical software testing experience within business-critical applications
• Strong hands‑on manual testing experience
• Experience creating test plans, test cases, test scenarios, test evidence and completion reports
• Strong understanding of functional, integration, regression, exploratory and UAT testing
• Experience testing APIs and system integrations
• Good understanding of SQL for test data preparation, investigation and validation
• Experience working with REST APIs, JSON and XML
• Familiarity with Agile, sprint‑based or hybrid development environments
• Experience managing defects from discovery through to resolution and retesting
• Strong understanding of risk-based testing and software quality principles
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain technical issues clearly to non‑technical stakeholders

Desirable Experience

• Experience testing Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM / model‑driven applications
• Experience with Microsoft Dataverse
• Automated browser testing using Playwright
• API testing using Postman/Newman
• Experience with Azure DevOps Boards, Repos, Pipelines or Test Plans
• Experience testing C#/.NET and JavaScript applications
• Knowledge of NUnit, xUnit or MSTest
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated test execution
• ISTQB certification or equivalent practical testing knowledge
• Experience within financial services, leasing or other regulated environments

Salary

Competitive salary dependent on experience, plus benefits.

Location

The role is hybrid, based in Bracknell, with a full-time working pattern of Monday-Thursday 09:00-17:30 and Friday 09:00-17:00.

The company also offers 25 days' holiday, private healthcare after one year, company pension, free onsite parking and company events.

This role would suit a Software Tester, QA Analyst or Test Engineer who enjoys being hands‑on but is also keen to help establish better testing processes, introduce automation and have a genuine impact on software quality.