Full Description

Bristol, Coventry, Darlington, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield

Please note – Bristol and Nottingham currently have site controls in place. Therefore, this location option is only available to existing DfE employees already assigned to this office location.

Job Summary

As a senior test engineer, you will be leading the quality assurance effort within a multi-discipline development team and delivering one or more programmes of work. You will drive the test engineering capability of the squad, by providing technical leadership, mentoring, coaching, and career development.

You will be responsible for implementing the Test Strategy for manual and automated testing of digital services with a view to maximise test automation. These strategies will align with wider government digital standards to ensure the services are compliant and accessible to all.

You will contribute to the Testing Community across the department, help develop junior test engineers by providing technical guidance and deliver our strategic vision by building and maintaining strong links with other Test Engineers across other Government departments, to influence standard methodology and share insights.

If You Are Successful, You Could Be

Working in Enterprise Data for Insight (EDfI), responsible for ensuring the quality and reliability of Data services developed to support policy teams, analysts, delivery colleagues and external partners. Helping to deliver better evidence‑based decisions, design more effective services, and ultimately improve outcomes for children, young people and those who support them. As a Grade 7 Test Engineer in EDfI you will be using your coding and analysis skills to plan, design, implement and manage testing within Projects. The team has already delivered award winning automation solutions and continues to innovate and develop testing techniques (posts available in all advertised locations except Bristol). On the Apprenticeship Service, our test team are responsible for ensuring the quality of the hundreds of .NET applications that make up our award-winning digital service and support the payment of over £2.7 billion of government funding for apprenticeship training provision in England and Wales. The work involves in-depth regression, automation, performance and accessibility testing, along with contributing to a diverse and active community that is committed to the continuous development and improvement of both our services and people (posts available in all advertised locations). Working in the Solution Delivery Team. We work on central repeatable tools that will form the backbone of the Departments services going forward. It’s an exciting area to work in with an established team (posts available in all advertised locations except Bristol).

Please note that Bristol location is only available for 2 posts.

Job Description

As a senior test engineer, you will

Lead and work collaboratively with other members of your integrated delivery team, to develop a cohesive service. Collaborate across disciplines to ensure that services help our stakeholders to achieve their aims, meet DfE standards and help meet users’ needs. Manage obstacles and escalations of key delivery issues through appropriate governance. Define the appropriate level of documentation to support testing efforts within the within the team and wider department. Have expert knowledge of coding Test Automation Frameworks from scratch that provides sufficient automated coverage for a project. Have up to date knowledge of the latest best practices and standards to set direction for the team. This would include appropriate coding standards and CICD processes for the automated testing. Support other testers in the Community by coaching and setting direction. Define and uphold test status reporting within the team, via dashboards or other appropriate means so that test status is clear to the team. Input into the development of wider standardised automated testing frameworks, tools, and processes within the community.

As a Senior Test Engineer, You Will

Lead and work collaboratively with other members of your integrated delivery team, to develop a cohesive service. Collaborate across disciplines to ensure that services help our stakeholders to achieve their aims, meet DfE standards and help meet users’ needs. Manage obstacles and escalations of key delivery issues through appropriate governance. Define the appropriate level of documentation to support testing efforts within the within the team and wider department. Have expert knowledge of coding Test Automation Frameworks from scratch that provides sufficient automated coverage for a project. Have up to date knowledge of the latest best practices and standards to set direction for the team. This would include appropriate coding standards and CICD processes for the automated testing. Support other testers in the Community by coaching and setting direction. Define and uphold test status reporting within the team, via dashboards or other appropriate means so that test status is clear to the team. Input into the development of wider standardised automated testing frameworks, tools, and processes within the community.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Experience leading testing activities in quality-focused teams, including articulating test strategies, priorities, and outcomes to stakeholders with varying levels of technical understanding at all stages of a project. Experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining test artefacts (e.g. test plans, scripts, data sets) tailored to the risk profile of products or systems including leading the design, development, and execution of test scenarios, ensuring alignment with user needs and business requirements. Experience in defect analysis and resolution, including tracking, triaging, and managing defects through to closure using tools such as Azure DevOps, JIRA, or similar. Experience in creating and maintaining test automation frameworks CI/CD pipelines, setting and enforcing coding standards in Object-Oriented languages such as C# or Python, including code reviews and mentoring peers. Demonstrated ability to coach and mentor test engineers, promoting best practices in test engineering, automation, and quality assurance.

Desirable Criteria

Experience with operating within Azure DevOps or similar cloud platform. Awareness of conducting and enabling non-functional testing such as Performance, Security and Accessibility; including test types, test tools, and standards. Appropriate software testing training such as ISTQB Foundation in Software Testing.

Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.

Alongside your salary of £58,185, Department for Education contributes £16,856 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Application

To apply for this role, you will be required to provide a CV and Statement of Suitability.

Your CV should include details of your employment history, and the skills and experience gained in those roles. Your Statement of Suitability (max 1250 words) should demonstrate how your experience meets the essential criteria listed above.

Sift

We will use your CV and statement to assess your suitability for the role togehter against the essential criteria listed in the person specification section above.

To confirm, the maximum word count for the statement of suitability is 1250. Please adhere to this limit as anything over 1250 words will not be taken into account.

Interview

Those successful at sift will be invited to attend an interview.

Interviews will be on MS teams, which may be remote or from a DfE office - we will confirm which when you are invited to an interview.

The interview will be one hour and 15 minutes long and is made up of two parts.

Part 1 – Job related simulation - You will be given a scenario pertaining to the day-to-day activities of a senior test engineer and you will be asked to provide a high-level description of how you would tackle the activity. This will be assessed against the essential criteria. Part 2 – Questions - At interview you will be asked questions to assess your experience in line with the essential criteria listed above.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

Timing

We expect to sift in week commencing 17 August 2026.

Interviews will likely take place in the weeks commencing 31 August, 7 September and 14 September 2026.

Once a provisional offer has been made, you will be invited to participate in a capability assessment to determine the value of the CBP allowance we can offer you. The assessment compares your skills against the Senior Test Engineer role described in DfE’s local Test Engineer Capability Framework, which is based on the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.

Subject to your availability, we will aim to conduct the capability assessment and confirm the allowance offer to you within a week of the provisional offer being made.

This is a discretionary non-consolidated, non-pensionable allowance which, if awarded, is attached to the post. The value of the allowance is based on the outcome of a capability assessment and is reviewed annually. Allowance values range up to £19,400, with the highest values reserved for candidates whose capability is above the expected level for all of the skills.

If applicants are not appointable at this grade, they may be considered for positions at the grade below.

Other Information

Interviews may be via Microsoft teams or face to face; the vacancy manager will confirm prior to the Interview.

In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.

This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment (opens in a new window).

Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your

name/title educational institutions age gender email address postal address phone number nationality/immigration status

We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.

The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs

Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.

Reasonable adjustment

If a Person With Disabilities Is Put At a Substantial Disadvantage Compared To a Non-disabled Person, We Have a Duty To Make Reasonable Changes To Our Processes. If You Need a Change To Be Made So That You Can Make Your Application, You Should

Contact Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Please refer to the attached ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guide 05_2025 – accessible version’ at the bottom of the advert, for further information.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups

UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

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: DDT Capability Based Pay team

Email: pay-capability.ddat@education.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email: Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk

Further information

The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via CentralRecruitment.Operations@education.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages