Senior Test Engineer - One Login

at  Government Digital Service

JOB SUMMARY

GDS exists to help the government make brilliant public services that empower people in the UK. We work at the very centre of government to drive digital transformation, focused on users. We build and maintain common platforms, products and tools for others to use and create great public services that are accessible, inclusive and easy to use. We also work with departments to identify patterns, share learning and create change to make government more efficient.

Our teams are organised around delivering on our priorities. These are:

• making it easier for people to find what they are looking for on GOV.UK
• building common service platforms to make it simpler and cheaper to build quality digital services
• promoting agile, user-centred design practices both in the UK and across the world

As the most strategic programme in government and national critical digital infrastructure, GOV.UK One Login represents a once in a career opportunity to work on a software product that will be used by the majority of the people living in the UK. GOV.UK One Login is being designed and built for the many, not the few. It will unite services across government, revolutionising the way government departments interact digitally with users. One Login will deliver an accessible and essential function that will change lives and help millions. Our technology stack runs on AWS, using serverless compute and storage products. Backend services are written in TypeScript/Node.js and JVM technologies. Web applications also use TypeScript.
The GOV.UK One Login programme is full of talented and passionate people who are focussed on delivering high quality products for services and individuals. We’re halfway through our build phase and features are being shipped daily as we work to mature our product set. We are an ambitious and visionary team so if you want to be at heart of this, have a background in software delivery with a specific focus on quality, and are used to working in a scaled agile environment then this could be the place for you!

JOB DESCRIPTION

Join us as a Grade 7 Senior Test Engineer, where you’ll lead Quality Assurance and Testing of cross-product delivery (both functional and non-functional) and quality engineering initiatives, ensuring seamless integration and delivery of high quality products. You will be part of the central Test and Quality Engineering team within the One Login program. This role offers the opportunity to innovate in testing methodologies, mentor team members and drive quality engineering practices throughout our software development lifecycle.

As a Senior Test Engineer, you’ll:

• lead and guide teams in strategic testing practices & quality engineering
• lead and guide testers/quality engineers in test approach, test planning, implementation of automated test suites, to meet acceptance criteria for both functional and non-functional product assurance
• lead and guide teams in quality metrics and, optimise quality practices and processes
• continuously learn new testing and quality engineering technologies (functional and non-functional) and apply them to the job by supporting teams with adoption as a subject matter expert in quality
• analyse technical/functional/business requirements, and collect information/evidence to identify problems and opportunities ensuring recommendations fit with strategic business objectives
• participate in the architecture and design review of the new features early in the development cycle, influencing it to drive quality, testability and adherence to the specification
• review and assess non-functional requirements. Lead design of performance tests, ensuring accurate simulation of real-world scenarios and user behaviours. Analyse and interpret test results to identify performance bottlenecks and areas for improvement
• oversee Operational Acceptance Testing(OAT) conducted by teams, ensuring that all systems meet operational requirements and are fully prepared for production deployment

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS ROLE REQUIRES SC CLEARANCE, WHICH WOULD NORMALLY NEED 5 YEARS’ UK RESIDENCY IN THE PAST 5 YEARS. THIS IS NOT AN ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENT, BUT SUPPLEMENTARY CHECKS MAY BE NEEDED WHERE INDIVIDUALS HAVE NOT LIVED IN THE UK FOR THAT PERIOD. THIS MAY MEAN YOUR SECURITY CLEARANCE (AND THEREFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT) WILL TAKE LONGER OR, IN SOME CASES, NOT BE POSSIBLE.

In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• working together
• changing and improving
• managing a quality service
• delivering at pace

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework for the Senior Test Engineer (Grade 7) role:

• Test Analysis
• Functional Testing
• Non Functional Testing
• Technical Breadth

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• a 20 minute telephone interview
• a 90 minute video/virtual interview - Both Civil Service Behaviours based and technical question