Contents
- Location
- About the job
- Benefits
- Things you need to know
- Apply and further information
London, Manchester, Sheffield, Southport
About the job
Job summary
The Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) profession enable the Home Office to keep the UK safe and secure. They do this by designing, building, and running the services that help people apply for visas or passports, support policing and counter-terrorism operations, and protect the UK’s borders.
Team members have specialised knowledge and a calling to build on it. We want the best people to come to the Home Office and work in the diverse roles and communities they’re passionate about. This is how we produce exceptional outcomes.
The Home Office has created a government-leading bespoke career framework that enables career planning, while ensuring our people can be the best they can be. The framework includes Heads of Role, who are industry specialists. They build communities, set standards for what ‘good’ looks like, and ensure we have the right people in the right jobs at the right time.
We also have a profession management unit, which aims to provide the best professional experience to all our technical staff with a real passion for – and focus on – continuous professional development. We invest heavily in our people as part of growing our collective capability.
Person specification
Your main day to day responsibilities will be (but not limited to):
- Ownership of existing test frameworks and actively reviewing them, identifying need for new frameworks, and delivering these at scale.
- Leading and coaching a team of test engineers and helping solve technical challenges that the team may require assistance with, evaluating efficacy of test engineering processes across projects and suggesting improvements. Promoting convergence, creating shared capabilities and data driven approaches within test engineering.
- Embracing innovation - evaluating tools and recommending approaches that can benefit testing. For instance, ones used for virtualisation, data mocking, contract testing or other automated integration testing techniques, and determining tools and approaches for automated test data management, test results aggregation and release management. Enabling precise, real-time reports of automation test runs and roll-up reports.
- Managing test infrastructure usage and determining approach to running distributed, parallel tests. Using container & cloud technology to orchestrate faster, scalable tests while optimising costs.
- Working with teams to promote use of code scan, code quality, accessibility testing and observability tools.
- Participating in the QAT Test Engineering community as well as QAT recruitment to help grow it.
Other day to day activities may depend on the delivery approach, business area or requirements of the product team.
Essential Criteria
You’ll have a demonstrable passion for Test Engineering, with the following skills or proven experience in:
- Programming using, Java or <<.NET>> or Python or Node.js to write secure, reusable, and maintainable automated tests and test utilities. You should be able to use concepts like thread management, synchronisation, resource, and memory management to increase the efficiency of test engineering solutions. Using scripting languages like Bash or PowerShell.
- Using tools like Selenium or similar for front-end automation, RestAssured or similar for API testing, Serenity BDD, build tools like Maven or Gradle and using Git to manage branches and merge requests through distributed version control. A solid understanding of protocols and architectural styles involved in implementing UI and backend API for applications.
- Working with unit test frameworks like JUnit or similar, assertion libraries and data serialisation tools.
- Working with POM test design pattern and SOLID code design principle. Implementing coding guidelines and standards.
- Extensively using CI/CD tools for pipeline automation and a solid understanding of release pipeline concepts. Familiarity with containerization platforms like Docker and container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes.
- Ability to actively engage with performance testing engineers and work alongside them to identify performance bottlenecks.
- Ability to read, interpret and articulate performance reports.
The skills listed above are reflective of the Home Office DDaT Profession Skills and Competency Model (based on the industry standard SFIA framework).
Please see below for the relevant skills required for your role:
Strategy & Architecture:
- Information Strategy
- Strategic Planning (ITSP) – Level 4
- Technical Strategy and Planning
- Domain Experience – Level 4
Development and implementation:
- Systems Development
- Test, Analysis, Design and Execution – Level 3
- Automation and Tooling – Level 4
- Performance Testing – Level 4
- Installation and Integration
- Integration and Assurance – Level 3
Desirable Criteria
Desirable skills may depend on the requirements of the role.
Our skills align with the cross gov DDaT Capability Framework
Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Ideally you will also have the following skills or some experience in:
- Implementing architectural design principles in multiple test solutions.
- Experience deploying and managing testing solutions on Cloud (AWS, GCP etc) and a good understanding of Cloud resources.
- Using ML/AI in the context of test engineering.
Qualifications
You may also hold the following desirable qualifications or have equivalent experience:
- Computer Science related degree
- Associate or Professional level technical certification for programming languages or technologies like Cloud
- ISTQB – Certified Tester Foundation Level
- BCS Agile Practitioner
- ISQi Certified Agile Tester
Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA):
This post is eligible for a DDaT RRA. Successful Candidates with exceptional skills and experience may apply for a RRA up to a maximum of £9,950. This allowance is subject to an initial review within six months of taking up the post and thereafter an annual review in-line with departmental priorities and could be reduced or withdrawn at any time.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
Benefits
You’ll also have access to the same benefits available to all civil servants in the Home Office:
You can find more information at Benefits - Home Office Careers..
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Optimus AC Recruitment
- Email : OptimusACRecruitment@homeoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment
principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance
HORecruitment.GRS@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.
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