Job Description

Senior QA Engineer (Non Functional Testing)

Client: HMRC

Pay rate: £453.00 P/D inside IR35

Contract Length: Initial 3 months (ASAP start)

Location: Newcastle (1-2 days per week onsite)

Clearance: BPSS required

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior QA Engineer / SDET with a strong focus on non-functional testing to join a high-performing delivery team within HMRC. This is a hands-on senior/lead-level role where you will be responsible for driving quality across the SDLC, implementing automated testing strategies, and embedding best practices within Agile teams.

You will operate in both TDD and BDD environments, working closely with developers, product owners, and DevOps to ensure high-quality, scalable, and reliable software delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Lead and execute non-functional testing activities across multiple applications and services

Able to define and implement automation testing strategies

Design, develop, and maintain automation frameworks using Java-based tools

Implement and manage BDD frameworks using Cucumber

Develop automated test scripts using Selenium WebDriver

Champion shift-left testing practices, driving early defect detection and prevention

Integrate automated tests within CI/CD pipelines to ensure continuous quality validation

Collaborate with cross-functional teams in an Agile (Scrum/Kanban) environment

Provide leadership, mentoring, and guidance to junior QA engineers (if acting in a Lead capacity)

Contribute to test strategy, test planning, and quality governance

Ensure best practices in test automation, code quality, and version controlRequired Skills & Experience

Strong experience as a Senior QA Engineer / SDET in enterprise environments

Proven expertise in non-functional testing and test automation

Solid programming skills in Java

Hands-on experience with:

Selenium WebDriver

Cucumber (BDD)

Experience working in TDD and BDD environments

Strong understanding of shift-left testing methodologies

Experience building and maintaining automation frameworks from scratch or enhancing existing ones

Strong experience with CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps)

Familiarity with cloud platforms:

AWS

Azure (experience in both is highly desirable)

Excellent understanding of Agile delivery models

Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills