Job Title: Lead Test Engineer / Principal SDET - SC
Location: Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle (60% hybrid – whichever is closest)
Contract Duration: 12 Months
Daily Rate: £ 600-640 /day (Umbrella – Maximum)
IR35 Status: Inside IR35
Security Clearance: SC

Key Responsibilities
Test Strategy & Leadership
• Define and implement an end-to-end test strategy aligned to microservices architecture
• Establish standards, patterns, and best practices across multiple teams
• Assess current testing approaches and drive continuous improvement
• Embed testing strategy across teams, creating scalable frameworks and exemplars
Hands-on Engineering
• Design, build, and maintain automated test frameworks
• Work across different test levels: unit, integration, contract, system, and E2E
• Lead automation efforts in Java-based environments
• Support teams with implementation, not just direction
Collaboration & Governance
• Partner with engineering teams and stakeholders to ensure alignment
• Provide technical leadership and coaching to testers and developers
• Ensure testing practices are consistently applied across teams
• Maintain visibility of quality and delivery outcomes
Essential Skills & Experience:
Hands-on automation experience using:
• Java, Selenium, Rest Assured
• API, contract, and integration testing
Experience working with monolith and microservices systems
Knowledge of:
• CI/CD pipelines
• Spring Boot-based applications
• Performance testing fundamentals
Modern Testing Practices
Strong understanding of:
• Contract testing, API testing, and asynchronous messaging (e.g. Kafka)
• Non-functional testing (performance, accessibility)
Experience with non-relational databases (e.g. MongoDB)
Automation-first mindset with ability to build reusable, maintainable frameworks
Leadership:
• Experience operating at Lead / Principal level
• Ability to influence stakeholders without direct authority
• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
Tools & Technologies:
• Cloud: AWS
• Test Frameworks: Selenium, Serenity BDD, Playwright
• Contract Testing: Pactflow, Spring Cloud Contract
• Messaging: Kafka
• Databases: MongoDB
• CI/CD & DevOps: GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, Docker
• Performance Testing: Gatling, K6
• Observability: Grafana, Prometheus, Splunk
What We’re Looking For:
• A hands-on technical leader who can set direction and deliver
• Someone comfortable working across multiple teams and scaling best practice
• A proactive problem-solver with a strong quality-first mindset
Disability Confident
As a member of the disability confident scheme, CLIENT guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.
Armed Forces Covenant   
CLIENT is proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, we guarantee to interview all veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

If you qualify for the above, please notify us on 0121 794 8181.

We will be in touch to discuss your suitability and arrange your Guaranteed Interview.
Should you require reasonable adjustments at any point during the recruitment process or if there is a more accessible way for us to communicate, please do let me know.

To apply for this role please submit your latest CV or contact Aspect Resources on 0121 794 8181