Test Engineer - DVSA - SEO
Government Digital & Data -
Location
Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Oldham, Swansea
About the job
Job summary
The Strategy, Policy, Digital & Technology Directorate plays a central role in delivering DVSA’s digital services that support road safety and compliance across the UK. The Test Engineering team sits within this directorate and is responsible for ensuring high-quality, reliable, and scalable digital products. Working closely with product, delivery, and engineering teams, the group embeds quality from the outset of development, balancing manual and automated testing to provide confidence in delivery. The team drives improvements in testing practices, builds reusable frameworks, and promotes a culture of collaboration, early engagement, and continuous improvement to meet both user needs and DVSA’s strategic goals.
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 Standards Agency - Department for Transport Careers
Job description
Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:
- Leading the planning, execution, and reporting of both manual and automated testing activities.
- Designing, implementing, and maintaining scalable test automation frameworks and reusable tooling.
- Embedding quality from the start by defining acceptance criteria and promoting early test engagement.
- Collaborating with cross-functional teams to align testing priorities with user and business needs.
- Providing expert guidance on defect management, test analysis, and continuous improvement.
- Driving consistency in testing approaches, standards, and frameworks across delivery teams.
- Using data insights and defect trends to recommend changes that improve quality outcomes.
- Mentoring and coaching colleagues to uplift testing skills and confidence across the organisation.
Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.
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.
Open Sessions: Would you like to find out more about the role, the team and what it’s like to work in our department? If so, we are organising an open session where you can virtually 'meet the team' on 25th September 2025 at 17:30. Sign up here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1660054470609?aff=oddtdtcreator
Person specification
To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:
- Testing across large-scale digital systems, including both legacy and cloud-native environments.
- Designing, implementing, and maintaining test automation frameworks and reusable tools.
- Proficiency in programming languages such as JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, or C#.
- Frontend, API, and database testing experience, including performance, usability, and accessibility.
- Analysing complex test results and automation outcomes to inform risk-based decisions.
- Working effectively within Agile teams and contributing to cross-team quality improvements.
- Using CI/CD pipelines, source control, and containerised environments (e.g., Docker).
- Defining acceptance criteria and embedding quality early in the development lifecycle.
- Mentoring and coaching colleagues to improve testing practices and confidence in results.
- Communicating complex technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
The role is part of the Government Digital and Data (or Government Security Profession Career Framework) profession and utilises an enhanced Capability–Based Pay Framework which provides access to a Digital and Data allowance.
The base pay is £42,848 In addition to this the role includes a Digital and Data allowance of up to £14,552.
The value of allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated through the selection process. Here are more details on the pay framework.
Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.
Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements
Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.
Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.
Monthly travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.
This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.
The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.
If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Changing and Improving
- Working Together
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Communicating between the technical and non-technical
- Design and Executing tests
- Managing, reporting and resolving defects
- Test and quality planning
- Test Engineering
