Job summary
We're looking for a highly skilled Senior Test Engineer to join our team. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in shaping the quality and reliability of our digital products and services. You'll work independently within established parameters, using your initiative to design, execute and improve test frameworks, identify risks, and provide clear insight to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
You'll bring a strong background in a range of testing techniques, coding languages, and agile methodologies, with the ability to mentor and guide other team members. Your expertise will help us continuously improve, ensuring that defects are identified, prioritised, and resolved effectively.
In this role, you'll collaborate across diverse teams, contributing to innovative healthcare solutions that make a real difference. If you're passionate about quality, confident in driving testing best practice, and ready to take ownership of meaningful projects, we'd love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
As a Senior Test Engineer, you will:
- Act independently - Use your own initiative within established parameters, self-determining when to refer matters to your manager.
- Identify and raise awareness of risks - Analyse automation test results and highlight any risks they reveal.
- Implement and improve test frameworks - Identify new and apply existing test frameworks to improve confidence in testing.
- Apply coding expertise - Be proficient in a range of coding languages (expert in at least one) to support testing activities.
- Mentor and advise others - Guide and support team members in best testing practices.
About us
Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) is an expert national body and part of NHS Wales. We work in partnership with NHS Wales colleagues and other key stakeholders to provide national digital and data services which support the delivery of health and social care in Wales. Modern health and care services depend on good digital tools, data and information. DHCW runs or works with more than 100 services and delivers major national digital transformation programmes to support this. In addition, DHCW provides expert advice in relation to cyber security and information governance. We give frontline staff the digital tools which help them provide safer and more efficient care. We are also giving patients and the public digital tools to better manage their own health and wellbeing, empowering people to live healthier lives. We put people at the heart of what we do, working to the highest standards to deliver quality and make digital a force for good in health and care.
Working for DHCW offers lots of employee benefits, including flexible working, a competitive salary, 28 days of annual leave plus Bank Holidays and opportunities for career development. We are committed to recognising and celebrating our staff as the most valuable part of our organisation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click Apply now to view in Trac
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click Apply now to view in Trac
Person Specification
Qualifications and Knowledge
Essential
- oMaster's degree in an associated professional field (or equivalent qualification / experience).
- oKnowledge gained through practical experience, working at this level, across the range of work procedures and practices.
- oEvidence of continuous professional development.
Desirable
- FEDIP Senior Practitioner, or equivalent recognised Advanced Professional qualification.
- oTheoretical and specialist knowledge gained with the following certifications (or equivalent): oISTQB-BCS Certified Tester Foundation Level. oISTQB Certified Tester Foundation level - Performance Testing. oKnowledge of NHS Wales or the Health sector.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a similar role as a confident and competent Test Engineer or Senior Test Engineer, with a successful track record of writing, debugging and refactoring complex and/or large-scale test code
- Proficient in software testing and its associated documentation such as test plans, test result reports and risk reports, as well as a detailed understanding of defect management and taking structured approaches to the resolution of issues (analysis, diagnosis and reporting of complex system errors).
- Proficient in programmatic testing in the back end of systems, including databases, data flows and messaging queues.
- Demonstratable experience with the design and creation of automated test frameworks, such as test harnesses/systems to test other systems
- Aware of principles, methods, techniques and tools for the effective management of the testing process and the execution of tests throughout the lifecycle of development or integration projects.
- oAware of observability and performance monitoring tools and frameworks, and software tools which automate or assist part of the development process.
- o Familiar with applying standards, practices, codes, and assessment and certification programmes relevant to the digital industry, and the specific organisation or business domain.
- oFamiliar with understanding and application of different development approaches e.g. iterative/ incremental methodologies (Agile, XP, TDD, SCRUM) or traditional sequential methodologies (Waterfall or V-Model), where development and operational staff work collaboratively
- o Aware of the collaborative approach consisting of agile practices, processes, and procedures designed to facilitate rapid digital service and product delivery.
- Familiar with a collection of methods, practises, tools and techniques, underpinned by the Agile Manifesto, that enable teams to deliver high value products and services in small, workable, increments.
- Familiar with methods and techniques for coaching individuals or groups by a balanced combination of support and direction, including use of virtual learning environments plus add-ons to augment feedback specific to work items, workflow or career plans.
Desirable
- oFamiliar with concepts such as Servant-Leaders; ceremonies, Stand-Ups, Sprints and Retrospectives; and the deployment of tools and techniques such as Backlogs and A/B Testing
- oAware of how DevOps emphasizes people (and culture) and seeks to improve collaboration between development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams with the aim of shortening the systems development life cycle to provide continuous release of high-quality software.
Skills and Attributes
Essential
- oAnalytical skills to acquire a proper understanding of a problem or situation by breaking it down systematically into its component parts and identifying the relationships between these parts. Selecting the appropriate method/tool to resolve the problem and reflecting critically on the result, so that what is learnt is identified and assimilated.
- oStress handling skills to retain objectivity and a proper understanding of a problem or situation when placed under conditions of stress.
- oAttention to detail skills to apply specific quality standards to all tasks undertaken to ensure that deliverables are accurate and complete.
- oGoal orientation skills to maintain focus on agreed objectives and deliverables.
- oTeamwork skills to work collaboratively with others to achieve a common goal.
- oWritten and verbal expression skills to communicate effectively using the spoken word and in writing, such as reports and via emails.
- oWelsh Language Skills are desirable at level 1, or above, in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in Welsh.
Desirable
- Commitment to supporting the organisation's mission to encourage and embrace diversity and inclusion across the NHS.
- oRequirement to demonstrate and embed the Values and Behaviours of the organisation, including the Compassionate Leadership Principles for Health and Social Care in Wales.
- oAble to work flexibly in a hybrid working environment.
- oTravel throughout Wales between sites, as required by the job
- oStandard keyboard skills.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Knowledge
Essential
- oMaster's degree in an associated professional field (or equivalent qualification / experience).
- oKnowledge gained through practical experience, working at this level, across the range of work procedures and practices.
- oEvidence of continuous professional development.
Desirable
- FEDIP Senior Practitioner, or equivalent recognised Advanced Professional qualification.
- oTheoretical and specialist knowledge gained with the following certifications (or equivalent): oISTQB-BCS Certified Tester Foundation Level. oISTQB Certified Tester Foundation level - Performance Testing. oKnowledge of NHS Wales or the Health sector.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a similar role as a confident and competent Test Engineer or Senior Test Engineer, with a successful track record of writing, debugging and refactoring complex and/or large-scale test code
- Proficient in software testing and its associated documentation such as test plans, test result reports and risk reports, as well as a detailed understanding of defect management and taking structured approaches to the resolution of issues (analysis, diagnosis and reporting of complex system errors).
- Proficient in programmatic testing in the back end of systems, including databases, data flows and messaging queues.
- Demonstratable experience with the design and creation of automated test frameworks, such as test harnesses/systems to test other systems
- Aware of principles, methods, techniques and tools for the effective management of the testing process and the execution of tests throughout the lifecycle of development or integration projects.
- oAware of observability and performance monitoring tools and frameworks, and software tools which automate or assist part of the development process.
- o Familiar with applying standards, practices, codes, and assessment and certification programmes relevant to the digital industry, and the specific organisation or business domain.
- oFamiliar with understanding and application of different development approaches e.g. iterative/ incremental methodologies (Agile, XP, TDD, SCRUM) or traditional sequential methodologies (Waterfall or V-Model), where development and operational staff work collaboratively
- o Aware of the collaborative approach consisting of agile practices, processes, and procedures designed to facilitate rapid digital service and product delivery.
- Familiar with a collection of methods, practises, tools and techniques, underpinned by the Agile Manifesto, that enable teams to deliver high value products and services in small, workable, increments.
- Familiar with methods and techniques for coaching individuals or groups by a balanced combination of support and direction, including use of virtual learning environments plus add-ons to augment feedback specific to work items, workflow or career plans.
Desirable
- oFamiliar with concepts such as Servant-Leaders; ceremonies, Stand-Ups, Sprints and Retrospectives; and the deployment of tools and techniques such as Backlogs and A/B Testing
- oAware of how DevOps emphasizes people (and culture) and seeks to improve collaboration between development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams with the aim of shortening the systems development life cycle to provide continuous release of high-quality software.
Skills and Attributes
Essential
- oAnalytical skills to acquire a proper understanding of a problem or situation by breaking it down systematically into its component parts and identifying the relationships between these parts. Selecting the appropriate method/tool to resolve the problem and reflecting critically on the result, so that what is learnt is identified and assimilated.
- oStress handling skills to retain objectivity and a proper understanding of a problem or situation when placed under conditions of stress.
- oAttention to detail skills to apply specific quality standards to all tasks undertaken to ensure that deliverables are accurate and complete.
- oGoal orientation skills to maintain focus on agreed objectives and deliverables.
- oTeamwork skills to work collaboratively with others to achieve a common goal.
- oWritten and verbal expression skills to communicate effectively using the spoken word and in writing, such as reports and via emails.
- oWelsh Language Skills are desirable at level 1, or above, in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in Welsh.
Desirable
- Commitment to supporting the organisation's mission to encourage and embrace diversity and inclusion across the NHS.
- oRequirement to demonstrate and embed the Values and Behaviours of the organisation, including the Compassionate Leadership Principles for Health and Social Care in Wales.
- oAble to work flexibly in a hybrid working environment.
- oTravel throughout Wales between sites, as required by the job
- oStandard keyboard skills.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
