Test Engineer

at  Financial Conduct Authority

Test Engineer
Salary: National from £41,800 to £56,000
Do you want a job where you can make a real difference? There are few jobs where you can do this for 40 million consumers of financial products, 2 million people who work in the UK Financial Services industry, and the stability of our economy.
The team/department
As part of the Data, Technology & Innovation (DTI) Division, we are leading the FCA in harnessing the power of data and advanced analytics to transform financial regulation.
In Digital Product, a subdivision of DTI, we believe in doing things differently. We believe in collaboration, inclusivity, innovation and using data to be at our best. We place emphasis on curiosity and experimentation. We collaborate widely with other regulators, academics, innovative companies, and within the FCA.
Importantly, we believe that people need space to learn and grow and we supply supporting learning programmes and opportunities for all staff.
In our culturally diverse team, everyone is encouraged to be part of the team and put their ideas forward. We strongly value, encourage and support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
We are currently looking for a Test Engineer to be part of our exciting new Digital Delivery Hub in Leeds. This is an opportunity to be involved at the beginning of an exciting new initiative within the FCA Digital Delivery Hub and support the testing strategy and execution for digital delivery.

What you will be doing (the role)

• Undertaking Test Planning: Collaborating with the development team to define the test goals, scope and priorities for each feature, identifying appropriate test techniques
• Test Case Design and Execution: Creating clear and concise test cases with the development team and individual developers to cover user stories; executing the test cases to validate functionality, usability, performance and reliability of the software and identifying and reporting defects or issues
• Take an automation first approach to test execution: Collaborate with the wider delivery team and Test Lead to ensure automated tests drive the Test Driven Development approach; take responsible for ensuring the automated test scripts cover all appropriate functionality and identify areas where automation is neither practical or cost effective
• Work closely with the development team, developers and product owners to help clarify requirements, refine acceptance criteria, communicate test results and articulate any impediments to delivery
• Identify opportunities to improve processes and practices that improve the quality assurance process. This includes active participation in retrospectives, keeping up to date with industry trends and best practices and implementing process improvements

What you will get from the role

• Shape the future of financial services: Contribute to a dynamic environment where you’ll help ensure the stability and fairness of the UK’s financial market
• Tackle complex challenges: Work on critical projects to address evolving regulatory requirement and protect consumers
• Make a tangible difference: See the direct impact of your work on safeguarding the financial well-being of millions of people
• Continuous learning and development: Expand your technical expertise and regulatory knowledge through exposure to new technologies and work alongside skilled professionals to develop innovative testing solutions
• Be a part of a diverse and inclusive community: Work in an environment that values different perspectives and fosters collaboration

Our competitive flexible benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifecycle. You can use this allowance to purchase additional benefits such as dental or cycle to work or you have the option top up your base salary by taking this as cash.

Core benefits that you will receive as standard are:

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Private healthcare with Bupa
• A non-contributory Pension of at least 8% of basic salary each month (there are several contribution levels that increase depending on your age – up to 12% a month once you reach age 35)
• Life assurance of eight times your basic salary
• Income protection

We support hybrid working which means you will be able to work from home up to 60% of the time over a month with the remainder of your time in Leeds.
The skills and experience you will have
Minimum

We are a signatory to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. This means that we will offer an interview to disabled candidates entering under the scheme, who best meet the minimum criteria for a role.

• Knowledge of software testing principles and methodologies
• Understanding of agile principles and experience working in an agile team (e.g., Scrum, Kanban)
• Ability to collaborate closely with developers, product owners, and other team members to clarify requirements and ensure high-quality software delivery within iterative development cycles

Essential

• Ability to grasp the context of the software being developed and its impact on end-users
• Experience of the principles, methods, techniques and tools for the effective management of the testing process
• Strong problem solving and team collaboration skills
• Strong communicator, able to convey technical information to non-technical stakeholders
• Understanding of Technology, Enterprise Architecture and Security best practices
• Experience with test automation frameworks (e.g., Gherkin, JUnit) and scripting languages (e.g. Java) to develop automated test scripts
• Knowledge of various testing types (e.g., functional, regression, integration) and test levels (e.g., unit testing, system testing)
• Proficient in designing test cases, executing tests, and identifying software defects

About the FCA
The FCA regulates the conduct of nearly 45,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. We do this to make sure markets work well for individuals, businesses and the economy as a whole. For more information on what we do, our three-year strategy can be found
here.
The FCA’s Values & Diversity
Our ambition is to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation.
The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisations. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, disabled and minority ethnic candidates for our associate role.
Flexible working
We welcome applications from candidates who are looking for flexible arrangements. Many of our staff work flexibly including working part-time, staggered hours, and job shares. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want but we won’t judge you for asking.
Useful information
Applications for this role close at 23:59 on 10th November 2024
This role is graded Associate - Level 8 - Regulatory
Got a question?
If you are interested in learning more about the role please contact:
For internal applicants, please contact Sara Holland at
Sara.Holland2@fca.org.uk
For external applicants, please contact Asha Gladis at
Asha.Gladis@fca.org.uk
What to expect from our interview process
The assessment process consists of an initial screening call with the hiring manager. If successful, you will be invited to attend a competency and technical based interview.
Application support
We want to remove any possible barriers and are committed to providing a wide range of reasonable adjustments so that you can keep the focus on your conversations and be at your best.
If you have an accessibility requirement, disability, or condition that means you might require changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter to discuss this further. Our aim is to make your application as easy and comfortable as possible, and your recruiter will be happy to work with you to make any necessary arrangements where possible.
Please note that all applications must be submitted through our online portal, applications sent via email will not be accepted

What you will be doing (the role)

• Undertaking Test Planning: Collaborating with the development team to define the test goals, scope and priorities for each feature, identifying appropriate test techniques
• Test Case Design and Execution: Creating clear and concise test cases with the development team and individual developers to cover user stories; executing the test cases to validate functionality, usability, performance and reliability of the software and identifying and reporting defects or issues
• Take an automation first approach to test execution: Collaborate with the wider delivery team and Test Lead to ensure automated tests drive the Test Driven Development approach; take responsible for ensuring the automated test scripts cover all appropriate functionality and identify areas where automation is neither practical or cost effective
• Work closely with the development team, developers and product owners to help clarify requirements, refine acceptance criteria, communicate test results and articulate any impediments to delivery
• Identify opportunities to improve processes and practices that improve the quality assurance process. This includes active participation in retrospectives, keeping up to date with industry trends and best practices and implementing process improvement

What you will get from the role

• Shape the future of financial services: Contribute to a dynamic environment where you’ll help ensure the stability and fairness of the UK’s financial market
• Tackle complex challenges: Work on critical projects to address evolving regulatory requirement and protect consumers
• Make a tangible difference: See the direct impact of your work on safeguarding the financial well-being of millions of people
• Continuous learning and development: Expand your technical expertise and regulatory knowledge through exposure to new technologies and work alongside skilled professionals to develop innovative testing solutions
• Be a part of a diverse and inclusive community: Work in an environment that values different perspectives and fosters collaboratio

We are a signatory to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. This means that we will offer an interview to disabled candidates entering under the scheme, who best meet the minimum criteria for a role.

• Knowledge of software testing principles and methodologies
• Understanding of agile principles and experience working in an agile team (e.g., Scrum, Kanban)
• Ability to collaborate closely with developers, product owners, and other team members to clarify requirements and ensure high-quality software delivery within iterative development cycle