About the Role
As a Test Lead, you will be responsible for leading the testing function across a major UK government digital transformation programme. You will oversee test planning, strategy, execution, and reporting, ensuring that high‑quality software is delivered consistently and efficiently. You will guide a multidisciplinary team of testers and engineers, fostering a culture of quality, collaboration, and continuous improvement. This role requires strong leadership, deep technical testing expertise, and the ability to coordinate testing activities across multiple teams, systems, and stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead the end‑to‑end testing lifecycle, including planning, estimation, execution, and reporting.
Define and maintain test strategies, frameworks, and quality standards across the programme.
Oversee the design and maintenance of automated test suites using JUnit, Cucumber, and Selenium.
Coordinate system, integration, regression, and end‑to‑end testing across distributed and microservice‑based applications.
Ensure robust backend validation and data integrity checks using PostgreSQL.
Oversee the use of WireMock for service virtualisation and integration isolation.
Lead performance and load testing activities using JMeter, ensuring results are analysed and communicated effectively.
Manage test resources, priorities, risks, and dependencies across multiple workstreams. • Facilitate workshops, show‑and‑tells, defect triage sessions, and stakeholder reviews.
Provide leadership, coaching, and mentoring to testers and automation engineers.
Ensure defects, issues, and risks are clearly communicated and driven to resolution.
Champion continuous improvement in testing processes, tooling, and delivery practices.
Requirements
Extensive experience leading testing teams in complex, multi‑system environments.
Strong hands‑on background with JUnit, Cucumber, and Selenium WebDriver.
Deep understanding of Spring applications, microservices, and distributed architectures.
Strong proficiency with PostgreSQL, including advanced query writing and validation techniques. • Experience with WireMockfor mocking and stubbing external services.
Strong expertise with JMeter for performance and load testing.
Proven ability to define test strategies, manage test phases, and coordinate cross‑team delivery. • Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines and modern engineering practices.
Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and reporting skills.
Experience with Git, Jira, Confluence, and similar delivery tools.
Desired Skills and Experience:
Experience leading testing in government or consultancy environments.
Exposure to containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Understanding of BDD/TDD and quality‑driven engineering practices.
Experience with monitoring and observability tools (Grafana, Prometheus, ELK).
Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple teams and workstreams. • Passion for coaching, mentoring, and developing high‑performing test teams.
Experience with contract testing, API testing frameworks, and service‑level validation.
Ability to drive continuous improvement initiatives across large delivery programmes.