Platform Test Lead

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has a clear mission – to grow the UK economy. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support this mission, and we are seeking a Platform Test Lead experienced in test automation (PaaS/SaaS), coding (Python or Java), test frameworks & BDD (e.g. Gherkin/Cucumber), CI/CD pipelines, containerisation (Docker/Kubernetes), cloud platforms (AWS preferred), and infrastructure‑as‑code (e.g. Terraform).

The role offers London £65,826 to £81,674, National £62,103 to £78,054 plus £17,991 annual pension contribution. 40% to 60% hybrid working.

As Platform Test Lead, you will play a critical role in ensuring the DBT Platform is robust, secure, and scalable by embedding quality assurance into its design and delivery. You will lead the development of platform‑wide test strategies, support automated testing across infrastructure and services, and collaborate with technical leaders to drive continuous improvement. This role supports DBT's digital transformation goals and contributes to the strategic evolution of the platform.

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of automated test frameworks for platform components and services.
• Define and own platform‑level test strategies, including integration, performance, security, and end‑to‑end testing across multi‑account environments.
• Collaborate with Platform Engineers, Technical Architects, and Cyber SMEs to ensure testing supports platform priorities.
• Drive improvements in deployment testing, enabling faster, more reliable releases with reduced support burden.
• Support Fin Ops and observability initiatives by ensuring test coverage includes cost‑impacting behaviours and performance metrics.
• Champion testability in platform design, simplifying environment setup and enabling self‑service testing for service teams.
• Coach and mentor engineers in test automation, quality assurance, and continuous delivery practices.
• Monitor test suite health, reduce technical debt, and ensure test infrastructure is scalable and cost‑effective.

• Proven experience in test automation for infrastructure and platform engineering, including maturing PaaS/SaaS products.
• Strong coding skills (Python or Java), with experience building reusable test frameworks, utilities, and using BDD approaches (e.g. Gherkin/Cucumber) for collaborative testing.
• Hands‑on experience with CI/CD pipelines, containerisation (Docker/Kubernetes), cloud platforms (AWS preferred), and infrastructure‑as‑code (e.g. Terraform).
• Familiarity with observability and performance testing tools (Datadog, ELK, Grafana, Locust, JMeter), plus an understanding of cyber security testing principles and logging requirements.
• Ability to coach multidisciplinary teams, embed quality practices in agile delivery, and apply Fin Ops‑aware testing approaches (e.g. cost‑impact validation, resource optimisation).

• Knowledge of platform engineering patterns (e.g. sidecar architecture, secure base images, technical contracts).
• Familiarity with accessibility and security testing standards (e.g. OWASP, WCAG).

Alongside your salary, DBT contributes £17,991 towards your membership of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

If you would like to find out more about the role, the Platform Engineering team and what it's like to work at DBT, we are holding a Hiring Manager Q&A session for this role where you can virtually "meet the team" on Wednesday 25th February m. Follow the Apply button to book your spot on the advertiser's site.