Test Engineer

Job Introduction

Job Description for Test Engineer:

There’s never been a more exciting time to be part of the nuclear sector. New opportunities are being created all the time. At NNL, you’ll be in the ideal place to capitalise on this momentum, face new challenges and develop a long, successful and meaningful career.

We’re an organisation that’s here to experiment and push the limits of what’s possible. So, if you’re keen to excel in your chosen field, this is the place to do it. Because at NNL, anything is possible.

The Test Engineer is responsible for ensuring that quality is built into the development of all solutions at all stages of the development and delivery lifecycle. 
Acts as a Test lead to plan the tests - considering the context and understanding the test objectives and risk - including selecting test approaches, estimating the time, effort, and cost of testing, acquiring resources, defining test levels, cycles, and planning incident management. 
The Test Engineer is responsible for creating the test plan, test design, implementation, and execution of tests, monitoring the test results and check the exit criteria.

The right candidate will adapt to planning based on test results and progress (tweaking the plan) and take necessary actions to compensate for problems.
The test engineer will document the test summary reports based on the information gathered during testing. Also, shall lead a team of Test Analysts ensuring all testing workstreams of proposed solutions are estimated, planned, and delivered.

The location for this role is flexible and can be based at Risley, Preston or Workington.

Role Responsibility

Main Responsibilities for Test Engineer:

• Accountable to develop test plans and drive the test engineering approach within the allocated programme area.
• Determine and implement test approaches to assure, measure and build quality into every phase of the software development life cycle.
• Provide test estimates and Working with the program/project manager to develop a project plan, schedule, and resource model related to the required testing efforts.
• Use the framework and documentation templates provided in the test strategy to document test plans detailing; the appropriate methodology, processes, and approach for a project, including which test tools to use and whether test automation would be appropriate.
• Support Test function in assisting the Test Manager to define future strategies, processes, techniques, tooling / frameworks / technologies, and data across a variety of delivery and technology landscapes and methodologies, balancing a delivery and commercial focus with the need to deliver quality outputs.
• Reviewing, requirements documentation and, where appropriate, providing feedback to ensure the requirements are clear and testable.
• Leading and hands-on execution of test cases to validate that all the documented functional and non-functional requirements (if appropriate) have been met.
• Infrastructure testing: Conduct rigorous testing of infrastructure, including servers, storage systems and data servers, to ensure robustness, scalability, and reliability.
• Maintaining thorough records of all test execution results using the designated test management tool for project and audit purposes.
• Network testing: Perform comprehensive testing of our network architecture, including routers, switches, and firewalls, to optimise performance and security.
• Test environment management and the scheduling of releases to minimise the impact on testing progress and the overall project schedule.
• Schedule the tests for execution and then monitor, measure, control and report on the test progress, the product quality status, and the test results, adapting the test plan and compensating as needed to adjust to evolving conditions.
• Identify, document, and communicate any defects, risks and issues identified during the testing process. Escalate risks and issues as required.
• Ensuring defects are tracked through to completion using the designated test management tool for project and audit purposes.
• Actively seeking to identify and acknowledge program/project issues and take appropriate corrective actions, escalating, as needed.
• Producing an end of phase report detailing the test results and providing a recommendation to management on behalf of the test team.
• Producing regular reporting on test progress, defect statistics, and defect resolution to project leadership.
• Lead a team of Test Analysts including coaching and mentorship to develop individuals within the QA community.

The Ideal Candidate

Essential Criteria for Test Engineer:

• Ability to obtain SC level security clearance (this includes but is not limited to identity, employment, financial and criminal record checks plus 5 years’ worth of UK residency).
• Experience as a lead tester, taking responsibility for managing their own workload and directing the work of others.
• Strong background in the Waterfall testing methodology as well as exposure of Agile methodologies. Excellent planning and organisational skills will be necessary.
• Able to co-ordinate UAT with business teams and assist in the preparation of UAT test scripts.
• Able to define the scope of testing within the context of each release/delivery.
• Deploying and managing the appropriate testing framework to meet the testing mandate.
• Practical knowledge of best practices and frameworks of testing methodologies, TDD and BDD etc. with relevant certifications.
• Exposure to complex IT environments and interdependencies, including ERP, SaaS solutions, Cloud, Virtualisation and Data migration etc.
• Hands-on experience in infrastructure testing, network testing, and cloud technologies.
• The ability to work within, and contribute to, a team environment and build and maintain effective working relationships with customers, users, and colleagues within the wider project team.
• Hands-on experience of using the test tools (Jira/Test Rail/Azure DevOps).
• Strong technical background with in-depth knowledge of hardware and software components in an infrastructure.
• Experience of providing estimates for testing using industry standard techniques.
• Demonstrable experience of similar position/role or working within established IT practice with enterprise level applications infrastructure and technologies.
• Able to communicate technical approach of system testing to stakeholders of varying degrees of technical understanding.

Desirable Criteria for Test Engineer:

• Experience of using automated functional and/or performance test tools, including the production of advanced test scripts and the ability to write re-usable scripts.
• Confident direction setter and subject-matter expert who will communicate with business and technical stakeholders in a compelling and engaging manner.
• ISEB / ISTQB qualification in Software Testing to practitioner level or equivalent qualifications or experience.
• Resilient, determined, and practical, you thrive in a challenging environment and consistently meet deadlines without compromising the standard of your work
• Experience of working in accredited / regulated environments and able to balance business benefits against technology risk.
• Self-motivated, proactive and customer focused with excellent organisational skills. 
• Degree in IT/Engineering/Business related subjects with relevant technology certification and industry accreditations preferred.

About the Company

NNL is an incredible place to work A place where people do things that have never been done before A place where people push boundaries to further themselves, the business, and society as a whole.

This is a place where personal and professional opportunities are limitless. If you want to change the world, if you want to tackle climate change, if you want to help advance medical science, if you want to help put things in space, if you want to answer the big questions, if you want to work with extraordinary materials, if you want to meet great people, learn new skills, challenge yourself, work flexibly, and build a long successful career with the power to make a real impact… you can do it all here.

NNL has a vision for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity (ED&I) where NNL aims to be an inclusive workplace that attracts diverse talent through transparent and equal policies and procedures. We want you and the diverse mix of people that we employ, customers that we service, and stakeholders that we influence to feel valued. We encourage a workplace culture where everyone can thrive with a sense of belonging.

Recruitment Agency Notice

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for the provision of recruitment services. Only agencies on our PSL may provide CVs and only when the role is released to them by our recruitment team. We will not accept unsolicited CVs from suppliers not currently on our PSL. We explicitly reserve the right to add candidate details from unsolicited CVs from non-PSL agencies into our own candidate database and to pursue/hire such candidate(s) without any obligation, financial or otherwise, to the agency concerned.

United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory