Test Automation Engineer

Undisclosed Company; Belfast City District; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Experis (Austria) is seeking a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) for government and public sector projects in Belfast. The role is hybrid, focusing on automation, APIs, microservices and web applications within multidisciplinary Agile teams.

The candidate will design and implement automated testing strategies, embed quality into CI/CD, and mentor peers while ensuring security and performance from the outset.

Qualifications

• Active SC Clearance is required.
• Strong software development experience in Java, C#, Python or JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Understanding of OOP, SOLID, design patterns, refactoring and code reviews.
• Experience developing automation frameworks, APIs, web apps and distributed systems.
• Experience in Agile environments and Git/source control.
• Experience designing and implementing unit, API, integration, and end-to-end tests.
• Excellent debugging and stakeholder communication.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain automation frameworks and tooling.
• Build automated tests for APIs, microservices and web apps.
• Develop production-quality code with modern engineering practices.
• Embed quality controls into CI/CD pipelines.
• Collaborate with DevOps, architects and analysts to ensure quality from the start.
• Troubleshoot issues and identify root causes.
• Perform various tests including unit, integration, API, end-to-end and exploratory.
• Support Agile teams and mentor members.

Skills

SC Clearance

Java

C#

Python

JavaScript/TypeScript

OOP

SOLID Principles

Design Patterns

Refactoring

Code Reviews

Git

Automation Frameworks

Tools

Automation Tools

Job description

Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

SC Cleared

Government & Public Sector

Belfast - Hybrid Working

The Opportunity

Do you want to work on some of the UK's largest and most impactful Government and Public Sector programmes?

We're looking for talented Software Development Engineers in Test (SDETs) who are passionate about software quality, automation and engineering excellence. You'll help deliver secure, resilient and scalable digital services supporting critical national infrastructure, public services and large-scale technology transformation programmes.

This is a hands-on engineering role, combining strong software development skills with modern quality engineering practices. You'll work within multidisciplinary Agile teams to ensure quality is embedded throughout the software delivery lifecycle.

What You'll Be Doing

• Designing, developing and maintaining automation frameworks, testing solutions and engineering tooling.
• Building automated tests for APIs, microservices and web applications.
• Developing production-quality code using modern software engineering principles.
• Embedding quality controls and automated testing into CI/CD pipelines.
• Collaborating with developers, DevOps engineers, architects and business analysts to ensure quality, security and performance are considered from the outset.
• Troubleshooting application issues, identifying root causes and implementing long-term solutions.
• Applying a range of testing approaches including unit, integration, API, end-to-end and exploratory testing.
• Supporting Agile delivery teams throughout the full software development lifecycle.
• Mentoring team members and contributing to engineering best practices.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Active SC Clearance
• Strong software development experience in one or more of:
  • Java
  • C#
  • Python
  • JavaScript / TypeScript
• Understanding of:
  • Object-Oriented Programming
  • SOLID Principles
  • Design Patterns
  • Refactoring
  • Code Reviews
• Experience developing:
  • Automation Frameworks
  • Engineering Tools
  • APIs
  • Web Applications
  • Distributed Systems
• Experience working in Agile delivery environments.
• Strong Git and source control experience.
• Experience designing and implementing:
  • Unit Tests
  • Component Tests
  • API Tests
  • Integration Tests
  • End-to-End Tests
• Strong debugging, troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.