Software Engineer in Test

Location: Hybrid (2 days onsite) Leeds

We’re partnered with a purpose-driven digital consultancy delivering impactful technology solutions across higher education, and the public sector.

They’re now looking for a Lead SDET to spearhead a major evolution in their engineering function — moving from a predominantly manual QA approach to a modern, automation-first quality engineering capability. This is a rare opportunity to join at a pivotal moment and build the company’s first dedicated automation strategy from scratch.

If you’re a senior automation engineer ready to step into your first leadership role — or an established Lead SDET looking for genuine ownership — this could be the ideal next move.

The current Head of QA is leaving, creating a unique opportunity for someone to redefine how quality is delivered across the business.

• Build the organisation’s first automation testing framework from the ground up
• Embed quality throughout the SDLC rather than treating testing as an end-of-cycle activity
• Mentor and upskill the existing QA team (2–3 testers)
• Influence engineering strategy at senior leadership level

There’s also a clear progression path into Head of QA within 1–2 years.

• Define and implement the company-wide automation testing strategy
• Build and maintain greenfield automation frameworks using Playwright (or similar)
• Design automated functional, regression and integration test suites
• Integrate automated testing into existing CI/CD pipelines
• Collaborate with Project Managers to define testing requirements early
• Work closely with Front End and Back End leadership to improve quality standards
• Attend senior leadership and Heads of Department meetings to influence delivery and engineering strategy
• Mentor the QA team and help transition them toward automation capability

• Proven experience building automation frameworks from scratch
• Strong experience embedding automated testing into CI/CD pipelines
• Hands‑on expertise with Playwright (or equivalent)
• Experience with Git workflows and modern engineering practices
• Ability to define and execute an organisation-wide automation strategy
• Previous mentoring or leadership experience within QA / Testing

• Experience with Drupal or other CMS platforms
• REST API and contract testing experience
• Experience using AI tools (such as Claude) for test generation or execution
• Exposure to TDD or broader quality engineering practices
• Build the company’s first automation function from scratch
• Clear progression into Head of QA
• High autonomy and genuine influence
• Greenfield opportunity with modern tooling
• Collaborative engineering culture that embraces change
• AI‑enabled development environment using tools like Claude
• Work on meaningful projects that create positive societal impact

If you’re excited by the idea of building modern quality engineering practices from the ground up, we’d love to hear from you.