Stoke-on-Trent (Full-Time Onsite)Up to £60,000 per annumSC Clearance Eligibility RequiredSanderson Government & Defence - Permanent Role

OverviewSanderson Government & Defence are supporting a secure technology services provider delivering mission-critical ICT solutions into the UK Defence and Government sectors. We are seeking an experienced Test Lead to take ownership of testing strategy, planning and delivery across complex secure environments.

This is an excellent opportunity for a driven testing professional with leadership experience to play a key role in ensuring the reliability, performance and security of services delivered to high-assurance government customers.

The RoleAs Test Lead, you will be responsible for defining and executing test strategies while coordinating testing activities across projects and service delivery. You will work closely with engineering, delivery and stakeholder teams to ensure quality standards are met and maintained throughout the service life cycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive test plans, strategies and test cases aligned with project requirements and service specifications.

• Lead the execution of functional, system, performance and UAT testing activities.

• Identify opportunities for test automation and develop automated test scripts to improve testing efficiency and coverage.

• Manage the end-to-end defect life cycle, including logging, prioritisation, tracking and resolution.

• Implement and maintain quality assurance processes and testing best practices across services.

• Provide regular reporting on testing progress, risks and quality metrics to key stakeholders.

• Collaborate with development and delivery teams to ensure issues are resolved in a timely manner.

• Continuously improve testing processes, tooling and methodologies.

Experience Required

• Proven experience in software or operational testing, including component and system testing.

• Strong understanding of test planning, execution, automation and defect management.

• Hands-on experience with automation tools such as Selenium, Appium, JUnit, TestNG or similar frameworks.

• Experience working in secure or regulated environments, ideally within Defence or Government sectors.

• Excellent stakeholder communication and leadership skills.

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.