Principal Test Engineer (Automation)

Location: Sheffield

Salary: £73,900 plus capability and skills allowance of up to £21,700

Advert Close: 10th July 11:55pm

Join the award-winning Home Office Quality Assurance & Testing (QAT) team, part of Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT). With over 900 QA professionals, we support critical UK services and were named 2024 European Testing Team of the Year.

This role provides technical QA leadership in our Automation and Innovation portfolio, delivering cutting-edge solutions aligned with the Government’s Generative AI Framework. Our work spans border security, immigration, asylum, and counter-terrorism—improving lives and public safety across the UK.

Role:

Lead quality engineering for the Home Office’s Automation & Innovation portfolio, supporting AI and low-code/no-code solutions (e.g. PowerApps). You'll shape testing strategy, embed modern DevSecOps practices, and guide a team of QA engineers delivering high-impact public services.

Key Responsibilities:

• Set QA direction for AI and automation projects
• Lead and mentor test engineering teams
• Embed test frameworks across CI/CD pipelines
• Drive innovation using modern tools and risk-based approaches
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and delivery teams

Tech Snapshot:

Power Platform, Playwright, Python, C#, Azure, AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform, Azure ML Studio, GitHub Copilot, OpenAI, and more.

Essential Experience:

• Leading QA strategy and teams in cloud DevSecOps environments
• Designing test automation for AI and low-code platforms
• Using tools like Playwright, PowerApps Test Studio, and CI/CD pipelines
• Working at senior leadership level across technical and delivery teams

Eligibility: You must have lived in the UK for the past 5 years.

Key benefits:

• A highly competitive pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days annual leave on appointment rising 1 day per year up to 30 days, plus 8 days public holidays and 1 day for the King’s Birthday.
• Flexible working options to enable you to achieve the work life balance that is right for you including; Full time, part-time, flexi time, compressed hours and job sharing.
• A hybrid working model of a minimum 60% of your contracted hours in the workplace and 40% remote.
• Training and development opportunities tailored to your role, including access to technical and professional accreditations.
• Access to funded qualifications (subject to approval)
• A capability allowance reviewed annually.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• Enhanced parental leave schemes.
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards.

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