Senior Software Development Engineer in Test - Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - SEO

Location

Swansea

About the job

Job summary

Are you experienced in building test automation for both web-based user interfaces and APIs?

Is your attention to detail thorough?

Are you passionate about Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) principles with a good comprehension of Automation Testing?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at: Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

At the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), we take testing very seriously and we automate as much as we can. Our SDETs are building best-in-class test automation software so that we can build products quickly and safely.

You will be a critical part of a squad following a behaviour-driven design approach (ATDD). You will love to code and to test in equal measure and challenge us to increase the scope of our Continuous Testing.

We use Cucumber with Ruby for most of our testing. Our systems under test are usually Dockerised or Serverless applications.

In this dynamic role you will be part of an engineering team accountable for continually driving all aspects of quality improvements. You will be working in one of our delivery teams or as part of the dedicated independent testing team.

Our automation frameworks primarily use Cucumber with Ruby, and the systems we test are typically Dockerised or based on serverless architectures.

This is a dynamic position where you will contribute to an engineering team committed to improving all aspects of software quality. You may work within one of our delivery teams or as part of our dedicated independent testing function.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Plan and lead development on sets of related stories
• Coach and mentor more junior colleagues
• Understand and be proficient in different types of testing
• Write clean, maintainable automated testing code

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• The DVLA is at the cutting edge of cloud-first technologies. You will be comfortable using the Cucumber framework and able to develop expertise in the Ruby programming language to test applications and infrastructure on Platform-as-a-Service environments.
• You will bring hands‑on experience in developing automated tests for web‑based user interfaces and APIs, with a strong understanding of modern automation practices. You’ll proactively apply Continuous Testing principles to accelerate feedback loops across all quality dimensions including security, performance and accessibility by prioritising automation wherever possible.
• We’re looking for someone who is deeply passionate about SDET principles, with a solid grasp of automation testing techniques and the ability to use modern programming languages to validate and automate tests for any software product.
• You’ll be able to demonstrate how you have previously improved quality engineering efficiency through automation, tooling, and process enhancements. Strong attention to detail is essential, along with the confidence to challenge assumptions and drive best practice across teams.
• Experience in technical coaching or mentoring would be highly valuable, and we’d welcome someone who enjoys supporting and guiding junior engineers as they grow.