HM Revenue & Customs
Lead Test Engineer
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Lead Test Engineer
Job Opportunity: Lead Test Engineer – Chief Engineering & Platform Office (CEPO) – HMRC
About the Job
Discover Your Potential at HMRC
At HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), your work matters—directly shaping the UK’s public services by collecting revenue and providing essential support. Whether you seek purpose, growth, or a highly inclusive workplace, hear directly from employees in our YouTube series about working at HMRC or visit thinking of joining the Civil Service.
About HMRC & the Chief Engineering & Platform Office (CEPO)
HMRC serves nearly every individual and business in the UK. As demand for taxpayers’ monies—key to funding public services—evolves, so too does its critical work. One of the UK’s largest and most digital-forward organisations, CEPO drives HMRC’s technology transformation:
- Simplify systems & modernise IT, shifting to scalable, service-based solutions from trusted partners.
- Consolidate applications to reduce complexity, ensuring a future-ready digital landscape.
- Set strategic direction for robust, secure infrastructure (enabling efficiency, reliability, and user-centric experiences for millions).
Job Description
Lead Test Engineer @ HMRC’s Chief Engineering & Platform Office
About the Role
As a strategic test leader, you’ll shape consistent testing best practices across HMRC’s extensive digital platforms. Reporting to senior management, you’ll play a pivotal role in embedding quality early in the Agile delivery lifecycle, leveraging CI/CD, cloud platforms, and AI to drive high-standards testing.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Collaboration
- Coach & mentor Test Engineers across delivery teams, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with product owners, platform teams, and suppliers to build seamless, proactive testing into Agile workflows.
- Engage senior stakeholders—internal HMRC teams and external partners—to align testing with business objectives.
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Test Strategy & Implementation
- Design risk-based, shift-left strategies for driving quality and optimising testing approaches.
- Align testing strategies with evolving business needs, technical architectures, and delivery timelines.
- Enforce consistent standards across internal teams and external contractors.
Technical Expertise & Problem-Solving
- Apply advanced testing techniques to resolve complex technical challenges, boosting delivery confidence.
- Advise on functional, non-functional, automation, performance, security, and accessibility testing.
- Identify efficiency and innovation opportunities in testing workflows.
Tooling & Governance
- Evaluate and optimise test tooling (e.g., AI-assist, cloud-based solutions) for CI/CD pipelines.
- Establish governance for supplier-led testing activities, ensuring compliance with HMRC’s standards.
- Ensure tooling aligns seamlessly with platforms to improve collaboration.
Quality Assurance & Risk Management
- Validate test coverage & requirement adherence across the service lifecycle.
- Lead retrospectives, driving team improvements to reduce risks and enhance quality.
- Provide clear, data-backed insights to inform leadership and key stakeholder decisions.
Person Specification & Essential Criteria
Who We’re Looking For
A disciplined, dynamic test leader with deep experience in platform engineering, modern automation, and CI/CD:
✔ Brings hands-on expertise across:
- Test automation frameworks (e.g., Python, Scala, Selenium, Playwright), CI/CD pipelines
- Cloud-based solutions (AWS, Kubernetes/Docker), DevOps and shift-left principles
- Performance (Gatling, JMeter), security (OWASP ZAP), and accessibility (AXE) testing
✔ Technical leadership in multi-supplier/family testing environments, translating complex issues into actionable quality outcomes.
✔ Drives cultural change, coaching teams in automation, risk management, and continuous improvement.
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- Familiarity with Agile/Scrum, Jira, Confluence, and vendor engagements.
Workplace Considerations & Working Model
- Hybrid working policy: Up to 2 days/week remote (offices priority at 60% on-site presence).
- Limited relocation sites: Changes from selected transfer hubs (e.g., Newcastle’s Benton Park View → Pilgrims Quarter only upon further movement announced).
Move adjustment payments available for current City of Bradford staff relocating to Leeds.
Benefits
Your salary: £58,541 + £16,959 pension scheme contribution (Civil Service Defined Benefit). Further benefits include: ✅ 25-30 paid leave/days/year (including flexible and emergency policies). ✅ Family-friendly and personal support schemes. ✅ Coaching/development for career progression.
Selection Process
1. Job Application – Submit:
- Name-blind CV (work experience + proposed frameworks/technologies).
- 750-word Personal Statement: Tie your skills/experience to the Essential Criteria.
2. Interview Stages:
- Sift process ( screening of P/S/CVs): invite to interviews.
- Harvard-round panel interviews: expected focus on work samples/relationships.
3. Legal Checks: Criminal record screening.
Important Notes
🔹 AI Policy:
- Your application must be self-generated; cited samples/data must be 100% verified.
🔹 Eligibility Check: Tick eligibility fields accurately (no amendments possible after first submission).
🔹 Diversity & Support:
- HMRC supports disability-friendly processes, DCR initiatives, and equal opportunities.
🔹 Reserve List: Possible 12-month vacancy window for openings.
🔹 Recruitment Principles:
- HMRC employs fair, merit-based practices under Civil Service Commission guidelines.
Civil Service Professional Standards | Equality & Inclusion Resources | HMRC Candidate Guidance
(End of Job Description)
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