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 control

Required 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