Lead QA Engineer
CV-LibraryCity of London, Greater LondonpermanentPosted: 10 September 2026
Apply NowLead QA Engineer
Location: London, EC3V
Working Pattern: Hybrid
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £60,000
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm
The Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Lead QA Engineer to join a growing Technology team and take technical ownership of the QA approach across the delivery lifecycle.
This is a hands-on leadership role where you will combine test strategy, automation, technical testing and team leadership to ensure high-quality products and reliable releases.
Working closely with the QA Manager, Software Engineers, Product Managers, DevOps and wider business stakeholders, you will establish effective testing standards, drive automation and champion a risk-based, shift-left approach to quality.
The role will also play an important part in introducing and embedding AI-assisted testing technologies to improve test coverage, efficiency and the overall quality of delivery.
Key Responsibilities
* Define and lead the QA strategy, automation approach and quality objectives for assigned products and releases.
* Translate business and technical requirements into effective, risk-based test strategies.
* Champion shift-left testing and ensure requirements and acceptance criteria are testable and traceable.
* Lead test planning, test design and hands-on execution across the delivery lifecycle.
* Perform and oversee functional, integration, regression, smoke, exploratory and acceptance testing.
* Design, review and maintain high-quality test cases, scripts and test data.
* Own and develop the test automation strategy, prioritising high-value and business-critical coverage.
* Develop, review and maintain automated tests and reusable automation frameworks.
* Work closely with DevOps and engineering teams to integrate automated testing and quality gates into CI/CD pipelines.
* Introduce and utilise AI-assisted testing tools, including AI-supported test generation, self-healing automation, synthetic test data and defect analysis.
* Investigate complex test failures and defects, supporting root-cause analysis and resolution.
* Provide technical leadership, coaching and mentoring to QA Engineers.
* Work collaboratively with developers, architects, product teams and business stakeholders to identify and manage quality risks.
* Produce clear reporting on test coverage, execution, defects, risks and release readiness.
* Drive continuous improvement across QA processes, automation coverage, efficiency and quality metrics.
About You
You will be an experienced QA Engineer, Senior QA Engineer or Lead QA Engineer with a strong technical background and a passion for delivering high-quality software.
You should have experience in:
* Manual and automated software testing.
* Developing and maintaining automated test frameworks.
* Web, mobile and API testing.
* Functional, integration, regression and exploratory testing.
* CI/CD pipelines and DevOps environments.
* Agile development methodologies and ceremonies.
* Risk-based and shift-left testing approaches.
* Test management, defect tracking and reporting.
* Diagnosing complex technical issues and supporting root-cause analysis.
* Coaching, mentoring or providing technical guidance to other QA professionals.
Experience or an interest in AI-assisted testing tools and technologies would be highly desirable, particularly where these can be used to improve automation, coverage and testing efficiency.
You will also need excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to explain technical quality risks clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
What You Can Expect
This is an excellent opportunity to take a leading role in shaping the organisation's QA strategy, automation capability and quality culture.
You will have the opportunity to remain hands-on technically while influencing standards, mentoring colleagues and introducing modern testing practices and technologies.
If you are an experienced Lead QA Engineer looking for a role where you can make a genuine impact on testing strategy, automation and software quality, we would love to hear from you.
Apply today for further information and to be considered for this opportunity
Location: London, EC3V
Working Pattern: Hybrid
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £60,000
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm
The Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Lead QA Engineer to join a growing Technology team and take technical ownership of the QA approach across the delivery lifecycle.
This is a hands-on leadership role where you will combine test strategy, automation, technical testing and team leadership to ensure high-quality products and reliable releases.
Working closely with the QA Manager, Software Engineers, Product Managers, DevOps and wider business stakeholders, you will establish effective testing standards, drive automation and champion a risk-based, shift-left approach to quality.
The role will also play an important part in introducing and embedding AI-assisted testing technologies to improve test coverage, efficiency and the overall quality of delivery.
Key Responsibilities
* Define and lead the QA strategy, automation approach and quality objectives for assigned products and releases.
* Translate business and technical requirements into effective, risk-based test strategies.
* Champion shift-left testing and ensure requirements and acceptance criteria are testable and traceable.
* Lead test planning, test design and hands-on execution across the delivery lifecycle.
* Perform and oversee functional, integration, regression, smoke, exploratory and acceptance testing.
* Design, review and maintain high-quality test cases, scripts and test data.
* Own and develop the test automation strategy, prioritising high-value and business-critical coverage.
* Develop, review and maintain automated tests and reusable automation frameworks.
* Work closely with DevOps and engineering teams to integrate automated testing and quality gates into CI/CD pipelines.
* Introduce and utilise AI-assisted testing tools, including AI-supported test generation, self-healing automation, synthetic test data and defect analysis.
* Investigate complex test failures and defects, supporting root-cause analysis and resolution.
* Provide technical leadership, coaching and mentoring to QA Engineers.
* Work collaboratively with developers, architects, product teams and business stakeholders to identify and manage quality risks.
* Produce clear reporting on test coverage, execution, defects, risks and release readiness.
* Drive continuous improvement across QA processes, automation coverage, efficiency and quality metrics.
About You
You will be an experienced QA Engineer, Senior QA Engineer or Lead QA Engineer with a strong technical background and a passion for delivering high-quality software.
You should have experience in:
* Manual and automated software testing.
* Developing and maintaining automated test frameworks.
* Web, mobile and API testing.
* Functional, integration, regression and exploratory testing.
* CI/CD pipelines and DevOps environments.
* Agile development methodologies and ceremonies.
* Risk-based and shift-left testing approaches.
* Test management, defect tracking and reporting.
* Diagnosing complex technical issues and supporting root-cause analysis.
* Coaching, mentoring or providing technical guidance to other QA professionals.
Experience or an interest in AI-assisted testing tools and technologies would be highly desirable, particularly where these can be used to improve automation, coverage and testing efficiency.
You will also need excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to explain technical quality risks clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
What You Can Expect
This is an excellent opportunity to take a leading role in shaping the organisation's QA strategy, automation capability and quality culture.
You will have the opportunity to remain hands-on technically while influencing standards, mentoring colleagues and introducing modern testing practices and technologies.
If you are an experienced Lead QA Engineer looking for a role where you can make a genuine impact on testing strategy, automation and software quality, we would love to hear from you.
Apply today for further information and to be considered for this opportunity