Senior Test Automation Engineer - Closing 27 April 2018

Job title: Senior Test Automation Engineer

Location: Taunton, Somerset

Salary: £31,017 - £34,473 with an RRA of up to £10,000 available for the right candidate.

Closing date: 12pm on Friday 27 April 2018

Opening statement

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is a world-leading agency providing the most comprehensive range of marine geospatial information across the globe. This information is supplied to commercial shipping, defence navies and maritime organisations for the primary purpose of safe navigation and global trade efficiency. It also supports other marine activities including economic development, environmental protection, resource exploration and utilisation, scientific research and security and defence.

Software engineering is a core activity within the business. We use agile to deliver, running multiple collaborative teams to create customer focussed digital services, data solutions and software for desktop, web and mobile with cutting edge technologies. We emphasise quality and have high standards for design, test automation and continuous delivery.

Main purpose of role

The Senior Test Automation Engineer will provide assurance to the UKHO through delivering high quality software testing services, ensuring products, systems and services meet internal and external customer requirements and are fit for purpose, reducing the risk to live systems and services by designing and implementing appropriate test coverage to new or changed software prior to release.

The post holder will be expected to lead the testing effort within a scrum team adopting a fully hands on approach taking defined product backlog items, user stories and/or requirements translating these into tests (both automated and manual) ensuring that the software meets the original acceptance criteria.

Tasks, expectations/deliverables

The Senior Test Automation Engineer will be writing automation tests using Java and/or C#, taking product backlog items and ensuring that the automated tests meet good practices in code and testing standards. They will work with the development teams to improve test coverage, reduce testing time and improve defect identification through automation. This will require both the mind-set of a tester to determine the best tests as well as that of a developer to use good coding standards. The Senior Test Automation Engineer will create strategies, plans and other testing documents for major/complex projects/changes to ensure appropriate test coverage and maximised defect detection prior to release. Other tasks include;

› Analyse requirements/user stories and design automated or manual tests and acceptance criteria to ensure the software under test meets those requirements

› Peer review test scripts produced by other testing colleagues, including writing behaviour driven tests › Lead, co-ordinate and participate in test execution, defect recording and capture of test results using agile scrum and/or waterfall approaches as required. This may include the development and use of automated test scripts

› Summarise results of test execution into test reports, during and on completion of testing

› Be recognised as a software testing Subject Matter Expert (SME) within UKHO and advise others with confidence and authority

› Mentor business SMEs in support of user acceptance testing

› Mentor other members of the team to encourage testing best practice and help develop their skills and experience

› Suggest and implement improvements to test processes especially in the area of test automation

› Setup tasks for testing, covering such things as; data setup, managing of test data and other associated environmental setup work

› Continually develop own skills as part of a program of professional development

Full brief of the core competencies, knowledge, skills and experience required

Civil Service Competencies – Level 3 - Professional Competencies:

Essential

› Able to demonstrate leadership experience of delivering professional testing services

› Evidence of experience in test automation (Including implementing test automation frameworks)

› Working knowledge of Java and/or C# in order to write automated tests

› Evidence of ability to write well-structured code, creating robust and reusable automated tests.

› ISEB/ISTQB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing

› Evidence of writing SQL queries to setup, manipulate and report on data in a rational database.

› Evidence of writing Behaviour Driven Development (BDD) tests in the form (Given/When/Then) using industry best practices

Desirable:

› Experience of non-functional testing (most desirable are performance testing, security testing and load testing) and associated test tools

› Experience using test management tools

› Experience delivering testing in Agile and waterfall project environments

› Experience of use of Cucumber and/or Spec Flow

› Experience of use of Team Foundation Server and Microsoft Test Manager › Exposure to Continuous Integration/Deployment, Rapid Delivery, DevOps environment Short-list

You will be short-listed against the following criteria:

› Able to demonstrate leadership experience of delivering professional testing services

› Evidence of behaviour driven development

› Working knowledge of Java and/or C#

› Experience in test automation (including implementing test automation frameworks)

Interview

As part of the interview process you will be undertake a 20-minute Civil Service Competency Interview, a 45 minute technical test and a 45 minute technical interview.

You will be interviewed against the following criteria:

› Able to demonstrate leadership experience if delivering professional testing services

› Experience in test automation (including implementing test automation frameworks)

› Working knowledge of Java and/or C# and its core API’s

› Changing and Improving

› Leading and Communicating

How to apply and interview process

Please prepare a competency statement, which details, with examples, how you demonstrate the core competencies, knowledge, skills and/or experience, as set out in the ‘short-list section, above. Your examples do not need to be work- related.

Please limit your examples to a maximum of 250 words for each criterion and please note that additional wording, in excess of the 250-word maximum, will be disregarded and not assessed as part of the sift.

As an employer committed to equality of opportunity, we short-list solely using information relevant to the assessment process. Please note that your competency statement will be the only document assessed; therefore, please ensure you provide all the necessary information within it.

Please send:

› Your competency statement › Your CV – this will be used in the interview process but not during short-listing

To [email protected] by 12pm on Friday 27 April 2018 Other information

› This is a non-reserved role. Non-reserved post is open to UK, British Commonwealth and European Economic Area nationals, successful applicants will require security clearance and therefore need to have resided in the UK for a minimum of five years.

› The successful candidate will be required to gain BPSS and SC clearance.

› This role has an RRA of up to £10,000 attached, available for the right candidate. A relocation package is also available with this role.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS)

We guarantee to interview anyone with a disability, whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post. By ‘minimum criteria’ we mean that the evidence you provide in your competency statement must demonstrate that you meet the minimum pass mark, set by the short-list panel, for each criteria listed in the ‘short-list’ section, above. The short-list panel will not be made aware of any individual that has applied under GIS; this information will be processed solely by HR, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

If you would like to apply under the GIS, please complete the GIS Declaration Form and send it to [email protected], along with the required documents listed at ‘How to apply and interview process’.

Civil Service Recruitment

Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please contact Human Resources, United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Admiralty Way, Taunton, Somerset TA1 2DN.

The Civil Service Code forms part of the terms and conditions of every civil servant. Candidate referral scheme

If a member of UKHO staff has personally recommended that you apply for this position please complete the form below.

If a member of UKHO staff has personally recommended that you apply for this position please complete the form below

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