Testing Team Leader

Mears Group; Remote; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading digital solutions provider in the UK is seeking a Testing Team Leader to enhance the quality of digital products. This remote role requires experience in agile testing and team leadership, alongside proficiency in tools like Azure DevOps and Jira. You will mentor a small team while ensuring effective testing practices. The position offers a competitive salary and the opportunity to influence product quality in a collaborative environment.

Benefits

Great company benefits

Opportunities for training and development

Qualifications

• Experience working as a Tester or Senior Tester within agile teams.
• Strong understanding of testing practices and risk-based testing.
• Ability to balance hands-on testing with team leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach a team of testers in day-to-day activities.
• Plan and lead testing activities within agile teams.
• Ensure defects are logged and managed efficiently.

Skills

Leadership

Agile methodologies

Communication

Risk-based testing

Education

Degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience

Tools

Azure DevOps

Jira

Job description

Annual salary: up to £45,000.00

Testing Team Leader

Location: Remote (with occasional travel to Exeter and other UK locations)
Contract Type: Full-Time, Permanent position; working 08:30-17:00
Salary: £45,000, plus great company benefits

About the Role

We’re looking for a talented and motivated Testing Team Leader to support the delivery of high-quality digital products across our agile teams.

In this role, you’ll lead and support a small team of testers, providing day‑to‑day leadership, coaching and line management, while remaining close to hands‑on testing activity within your product area. Working closely with Product Owners, Developers and Delivery Managers, you’ll help ensure structured, risk‑based testing that supports sprint commitments and product goals.

If you’re passionate about quality, enjoy developing people, and thrive in a collaborative agile environment, we’d love to hear from you.

• Provide day‑to‑day leadership, coaching and support to a small team of testers
• Conduct 1:1s, set objectives and carry out performance reviews
• Build team capability through mentoring, knowledge sharing and skills development
• Support team wellbeing and effective workload management
• Plan and lead testing activities within agile teams
• Ensure test approaches are risk‑based and aligned to product priorities
• Oversee functional, regression and exploratory testing
• Support the use of automation where appropriate
• Ensure defects are clearly logged, managed and resolved efficiently
• Work closely with Product Owners and Delivery Managers to align testing with sprint goals
• Participate in backlog refinement, estimation, sprint planning and team ceremonies
• Help teams understand acceptance criteria and quality expectations
• Promote consistent testing practices across teams
• Identify opportunities to improve testing processes, tools and techniques
• Maintain and enhance test documentation and reusable assets
• Champion a culture of quality, collaboration and proactive problem solving

Key Criteria

• Experience working as a Tester or Senior Tester within agile delivery teams
• Experience coordinating testing across multiple workstreams
• Strong understanding of testing practices
• Experience with test management and defect tracking tools (e.g. Azure DevOps, Jira)
• Ability to balance hands‑on testing with team leadership responsibilities
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills
• Good standard of education including Maths and English, and a degree (or equivalent practical experience) in a relevant field

Desirable

• Experience line managing or mentoring testers
• Knowledge of risk-based testing, exploratory testing or structured test design
• Exposure to test automation tools or frameworks

All our roles require candidates to have the entitlement to work within the UK, Mears does not currently offer visa sponsorship.

As part of the recruitment process for this role, we will carry out a DBS & BPSS check, as well as Security Clearance. For these checks to be completed, we will require from you the relevant identification, including Proof of Address, References, a valid passport and proof that you have lived in the UK for the last 5 years.

Apply below or to discuss your application further; contact:
Vickie Rudge ([e-mail])

If you need any help with your application process, we are here to support you. We will be accessible every step of the way.

At Mears Group, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, we are a Disability Confident employer, valuing individuality and ensuring equal opportunities for all.

We proudly support the Armed Forces Covenant and are honoured to have achieved the Gold Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) to coincide with this, we hold an Endorser Award for the Career Transition Partnership, recognising our commitment to veterans transitioning into civilian careers.

In our continued effort to promote social mobility, we invite applicants to voluntarily share their background information during the application stages to help us better understand the diverse experiences of our candidates. This is to ensure we are committed to improving social mobility. We use the Social Mobility Index to assess and enhance opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds. These questions are optional and will not impact your ability to apply.