Senior QA Engineer

Contract type: Permanent Hours: 37.5/week Salary: circa £55,000 depending on experience Location: Birmingham WFH policy: Employees are required to attend the office 2 days/week Flexible working : Variety of flexible work patterns subject to line manager discretion e.g. Compressed 9-day fortnight. Reports to: Software Engineering Manager Deadline Note: We reserve the right to close the advert before the advertised deadline if there are a high volume of applications. Role Summary: As a Senior QA Engineer here at LCCC, you are the quality owner within your Scrum team. You play a crucial role in ensuring the quality, reliability, and resilience of our systems by driving strong testing practices and acting as the primary voice of quality throughout the software development lifecycle. You are the execution expert within your team—delivering high‑quality test coverage, mentoring peers, improving processes, and enabling engineers to adopt a quality‑first mindset. You collaborate closely with development teams and other stakeholders to deliver consistently high‑quality software in a fast‑paced, agile environment. Key Responsibilities Test Planning and Execution: Collaborate with the development teams to define test strategies, test plans, and test cases based on project requirements and user stories. Execute test cases and document test results thoroughly. Test Automation: Design, develop, and maintain automated test scripts to increase testing efficiency and coverage. Collaborate with the Principal QA Engineer to establish and improve the test automation framework. Defect Management: Identify, report, and track defects, working closely with development teams to ensure timely resolution and retesting. Continuous Testing: Work with the development teams to integrate automated tests into the CI/CD pipeline, enabling continuous testing and regression testing. Performance and Load Testing: Conduct performance and load testing to assess system responsiveness, stability, and scalability. Non-Functional Testing: Participate in non-functional testing activities, such as security, accessibility, and usability testing. Test Documentation: Create and maintain comprehensive test documentation, including test plans, test cases, and test reports. Test Environment Management: Collaborate with the development teams to set up and maintain testing environments. Test Data Management: Ensure the availability of test data and manage test data sets for different testing scenarios. Mentorship & Quality Leadership: Support, guide, and mentor other QAs, sharing knowledge openly and setting a strong example for quality. Skills Knowledge and Expertise Essential: Proven commercial experience in software testing, test automation, and quality assurance. Hands-on experience in test planning, test case design, and test execution. Superb knowledge of test automation tools and frameworks, such as Selenium, Playwright, JUnit, TestNG, or similar. Experience with scripting languages, such as Python, Java, or JavaScript, for test automation. Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and integrating automated tests into the development workflow. Ability to coach and mentor QA Engineers. Excellent debugging and analytical skills, with ability to go beyond surface-level failures. Desirable: Knowledge of performance testing tools, such as JMeter, Gatling, or LoadRunner. Experience in security testing methodologies and tools. Understanding of accessibility testing standards and practices. Personal Attributes: Dedication to Quality: Demonstrate a commitment to delivering high-quality software by conducting thorough and meticulous testing. Collaborative Team Player: Work effectively as part of a cross-functional team, collaborating with development teams, and stakeholders. Analytical Mindset: Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve testing issues. Continuous Learner: Stay updated with the latest testing trends, tools, and methodologies to continuously improve testing practices. Team Commitments: Excellence: Strive for excellence in delivering high-quality software through comprehensive testing and continuous improvement of testing processes. Diversity: Encourage diversity and inclusivity within the QA team, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment. Dynamic: Stay informed about emerging trends and technologies in software testing and actively seek opportunities to enhance testing practices. Integrity: Uphold the highest level of integrity in conducting testing activities and handling sensitive data. Independence: Promote independence and autonomy within the QA team, empowering team members to make informed decisions and take ownership of their testing responsibilities. Knowledge Sharing: Promote a culture of knowledge sharing within the QA team and across other technical teams to improve overall software quality. Continuous Learning: Encourage and support ongoing learning and development opportunities for QA team members to enhance their skills and expertise. Employee Benefits As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn’t rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. Key benefits that may be available depending on the role include: Annual performance based bonus, up to 10% 25 days annual leave, plus eight bank holidays Up to 8% pension contribution Financial support and time off for study relevant to your role, plus a professional membership subscription Employee referral scheme (up to £1500), and colleague recognition scheme Family friendly policies, including enhanced maternity leave and shared parental leave Free, confidential employee assistance, including financial management, family care, mental health, and on-call GP service Three paid volunteering days a year Season ticket loan and cycle to work schemes Family savings on days out and English Heritage, gym discounts, cash back and discounts at selected retailers Employee resource groups