Senior Test Engineer

Job summary

Companies House is undergoing significant digital transformation, modernising the technology and services that support millions of companies and users across the UK.

As a Senior Test Engineer, you will work within a multidisciplinary agile team to help deliver reliable, accessible and secure digital services.

You will take a leading role in defining effective test approaches, developing automated tests and embedding quality throughout the software development lifecycle.

You will combine strong hands-on testing skills with technical leadership, supporting Test Engineers and working closely with developers, delivery colleagues and other specialists.

You will help teams move beyond testing at the end of development by promoting early collaboration, appropriate automation and continuous improvement.

This is an opportunity to influence how testing is delivered across a large and diverse technology estate while continuing to develop your own technical and leadership capabilities.

Watch this video to find out more about working in Digital at Companies House

About Companies House

Companies House holds one of the largest sources of data in the UK, supporting transparency, economic research and public trust. As we continue to evolve through legislative reform, the need for well-governed, trusted and clearly defined data has never been more important.

Why choose Companies House?

Companies House offers a flexible and welcoming culture that promotes a healthy work life balance as well as a proactive approach to wellbeing that allows us to be our best at work. We recognise that people are the key to our success so offer a fantastic benefits package

Our benefits include:

• Flexible working with no core hours (between 6am and 8pm)
• 30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Civil Service Pension scheme, with an average employer contribution of 28%
• A strong focus on career development and progression

Find out more about what a great place Companies House is to work

Job description

Please note

• You will be based at either our Cardiff or Edinburgh office where you will be expected to attend on a regular basis.
• Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.
• Security Check (SC) Clearance is an essential requirement (you must have been present in the UK for at least 3 out of the last 5 years). Please see 'Things you need to know' section below for more information.
• We can only accept applications for those looking to work full time or compressed hours, working 37 hours over 4 or 5 days per week (Monday to Friday).

As a Senior Test Engineer, you will be responsible for supporting testing activities within an agile delivery team and ensuring that quality is considered throughout the development process.

You will work collaboratively with developers, product managers, business analysts, delivery managers and other specialists to understand requirements, identify risks and agree proportionate test approaches.

You will provide constructive challenge where required and ensure that testing provides meaningful evidence to support delivery decisions.

A key focus of the role will be the design, development and maintenance of automated tests for web applications and APIs. You will help ensure that automation is reliable, maintainable and integrated into continuous delivery pipelines, while recognising where exploratory, manual or specialist testing provides greater value.

You will:

• Support the planning and delivery of testing within an agile multidisciplinary team - design and implement automated tests for user interfaces, APIs and supporting services
• Contribute to the maintenance and improvement of shared automation frameworks and testing standards
• Identify quality risks early and ensure they are clearly communicated and managed
• Work with developers to improve testability and encourage testing throughout development
• Use exploratory and risk-based testing to assess areas that are not appropriately covered by automation
• Analyse test results, investigate failures and provide clear evidence to support release decisions
• Contribute to non-functional testing, including accessibility, performance and security, where appropriate
• Review test code and provide constructive technical feedback
• Coach and mentor Test Engineers, helping them develop their technical skills and confidence
• Share knowledge and contribute to the wider Companies House testing community
• Identify opportunities to improve tools, processes and ways of working
• Support a culture of collective ownership, continuous learning and continuous improvement.

Our current testing technologies and tools include Playwright, TypeScript, Karate, Java, Selenium, Docker, Concourse, BrowserStack, MongoDB, Oracle, Postman and SQL.

You are not expected to have experience with every tool, but you should be comfortable learning new technologies and applying transferable testing and automation skills.

You can read more about a career in Digital and Data within the Civil Service in the Government Digital and Data Candidate Information Pack.

About the team:

You will join a large and supportive testing community working across a diverse range of digital services. Our Test Engineers work as part of multidisciplinary agile teams, collaborating closely with developers, delivery colleagues and product teams to build quality into services from the outset. We use modern testing approaches and technologies, including Playwright, TypeScript and Karate, alongside exploratory and risk-based testing. You will be encouraged to develop your skills, contribute to our testing standards and automation frameworks, and help us continually improve how we deliver reliable, accessible and user-focused services.

Person specification

• Hands-on technical delivery with leadership, collaboration and a strong commitment to improving quality.

• Proven experience designing and automating software tests, ideally in web and API applications. You will be expected to coach and mentor Test Engineers.
• Strong proficiency in Typescript/Playwright, Java/Selenium or similar modern testing frameworks.
• Familiarity with cloud-based testing platforms (e.g. Browserstack Automate).
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments.
• Experience of Non Functional testing practices including Security, Performance and Accessibility Testing.
• Designing, developing and maintaining automated tests for web applications, APIs or both - using a modern test automation framework such as Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, Karate or an equivalent technology
• Applying a range of testing techniques, including exploratory, functional and risk-based testing
• Working within an agile multidisciplinary software delivery team
• Integrating automated tests into continuous integration or continuous delivery pipelines
• Investigating failures and distinguishing product defects from test, data or environment issues