Senior Test Engineer
About this role
Not as a checkbox. But as something teams can rely on day in, day out. You’ll join a small, high-performing test team working across product engineering, enterprise platforms, and client delivery. It’s Lean, it’s fast-moving, and it’s built on doing the right things well not doing everything for the sake of it. This is a hands-on role. You’ll design, build, and improve test automation. You’ll shape how teams think about quality. And you’ll step in where it matters most whether that’s automation, exploration, or straight-talking risk. The way you roll… • Design, build, and maintain automated test coverage across UI, API, and integration layers • Contribute to reliable regression automation that supports confident change and release readiness • Apply the existing test strategy across delivery teams and help refine team standards and ways of working • Work closely with engineers, product managers, and designers to shape testable requirements, identify quality risks early, and improve delivery outcomes • Carry out high-value manual and exploratory testing where automation is not appropriate • Support release readiness and regression decisions with clear, risk-based quality insight • Apply OWASP Top 10 awareness during test design and risk assessment • Actively test for common web security weaknesses and advise teams on risk • Facilitate light-weight threat modelling with delivery teams • Test against WCAG standards in a practical delivery context • Identify accessibility issues in web products and work with teams to improve them • Help embed accessibility into test design and acceptance criteria • Create and manage effective test data for automated and manual testing • Work pragmatically with imperfect or unstable non-production environments • Identify when environment or test data issues are creating false quality signals • Represent the test function in client delivery conversations and communicate quality concerns clearly to non-test audiences What’s in your toolbox… • 5+ years of experience in software testing, with clear senior-level experience in test automation • Strong hands-on experience designing and maintaining automation across UI, API, and integration layers • Experience with regression automation in fast-moving delivery environments • Strong experience testing web applications, enterprise SaaS products, and client-facing digital platforms • Practical experience of non-functional testing, with particular strength in performance automation • Experience with Playwright, Cypress, and Selenium • Experience with Postman and REST Assured • Strong working knowledge of JavaScript or TypeScript, plus experience with Java and Python • Experience working with GitLab CI in support of delivery and release quality • Strong understanding of risk-based testing, test design, and modern quality engineering practices • Practical security testing awareness, including OWASP Top 10 and light-weight threat modelling • Practical accessibility testing experience, including working against WCAG standards • Experience using coding agents and AI-assisted workflows in day-to-day engineering delivery • Ability to work effectively in an AI-enabled environment, using these tools to accelerate delivery while maintaining quality, traceability, and sound technical judgement • Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work effectively with engineering, product, and design disciplines • Extensive experience working in agile delivery environments, with a strong practical understanding of how agile ways of working help teams deliver on time, on scope, and on budget How you make it all possible… You bring a practical, delivery-focused mindset and understand how to apply agile ways of working to help teams deliver on time, on scope, and on budget. You are comfortable working closely with engineers, product managers, designers, and client stakeholders, and you can explain quality concerns clearly to non-test audiences. You use modern tools pragmatically, including coding agents and AI-assisted workflows, to improve test design, automation development, and delivery efficiency while maintaining strong engineering judgement and appropriate quality controls. Get to know us… We’re one of the most unexpectedly all-round capable communications agencies that’s been on the go for years, ever since our head honcho set up shop in a shed back in 1980, in fact. Since then, we’ve made it our mission to make anything possible for our many and varied clients, putting our creative flair into delivering strategic communication campaigns, digital solutions, film and videos, events, exhibitions, and a whole lot more in between. We’ve grown a lot, but we’ve kept everything that made us great, back from the very day we first started out. Our global HQ and largest studios are smack bang in the middle of the UK and well worth a visit to see for yourself! Hang on, there’s more… The role will be based primarily in Hartlebury, London or Manchester offices, but there will be times when you’ll need to work from our other offices and undertake other related commercial duties both in the UK and overseas. Flexibility is key! We’re a friendly team. We really, really welcome anyone who wants to become part of a brilliant company. If you’re passionate with a cracking drive to deliver on our ‘anything’s possible’ mindset, we’d love to hear from you! DRPG is an equal opportunities employer. We’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace where everyone can be their best, so if you’re excited about this role, we would love to hear from you and look forward to receiving your application. DRPG supports Armed Forces veterans and Reservists by offering a guaranteed interview to those who meet the minimum essential criteria and whose last long-term substantive employer was the Armed Forces. Please indicate if you are a veteran or Reservist in your application to help us monitor job applications from this community.
What this role is, and what else it is called
Employers in London advertise this kind of work as QA Engineer, D365 F&O Test Manager (Contract), Test Manager and Hardware Test Engineer too, so it is worth searching more than one wording. It is a senior QA & Software Testing role in London, advertised as on-site.
How this role compares to the market
1,965 live UK roles list Python right now, from 584 employers. The median advertised salary is £80,000; 30% are advertised as remote. Browse Python roles.
1,304 live UK roles list Java right now, from 330 employers. The median advertised salary is £90,000; 32% are advertised as remote. Browse Java roles.
London has 4,324 live IT vacancies across 1,366 employers, with a median advertised salary of £70,000. Browse London roles.
Senior roles make up 1,630 of the live UK IT market and advertise a median of £80,000.
Market figures are today's snapshot of live UK roles on employer careers pages; see hiring trends.
Technologies mentioned
Detected on DRPG's careers page. ProdReady Recruitment lists this vacancy as an aggregator and is not the employer; applications go to the employer's own site. More IT jobs in London.