Senior Test Engineer

On behalf of the Met Office, we are looking for a Senior Test Engineer (Inside IR35) for a 10 month contract based Hybrid in Exeter.

This is a great opportunity to join the Met Office on a long-running, advanced project currently in private beta. You'll be part of a multi-disciplinary agile team, working to optimise existing testing activities and support delivery of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

The role requires broad testing experience and the ability to apply your skills across the board-from test planning and execution to defect management and collaboration with developers. You'll be expected to hit the ground running, contribute to team momentum, and bring a strong understanding of modern testing practices in cloud-native environments.

SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.

As a Senior Test Engineer you will (Essential):
. Work closely with software developers to ensure shared understanding of the codebase and comprehensive test coverage at all levels including unit, integration and end to end tests.
. Coach and mentor testers, helping improve testing approaches across the team.
. Write detailed test plans and strategies covering the full project life cycle.
. Communicate effectively with technical & non-technical stakeholders.
. Carry out testing activities including analysis, test case design and implementation using appropriate methods and ensuring that results are clearly recorded.
. Work as part of a multi-disciplinary agile team.
. Manage defects and assess risks to quality, ensuring they are assessed appropriately.
. Familiar with AWS and/or serverless application development.

Desirable Skills and Experience:
. Experience with End to end testing tools such as Cypress or equivalent.
. Familiarity with API testing tools like Postman and methods such as load testing.
. Ability to plan and write Component Integration Tests both manual and automated.
. Proficiency in at least one coding language to support test automation.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, the Met Office 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. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Commitment

The Met Office guarantees to interview 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. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".