QA Engineer - Java, Automation, 12 Month FTC (we have office locations in Cambridge, Leeds and London)

Job Description

QA Engineer, Java - 12 Month FTC

At Genomics England, we’re looking for an experienced QA Engineer with strong commercial Java and proven test automation experience. You’ll play a key role in ensuring quality is engineered into our products from the outset, working closely with Product Managers, Software Engineers, SMEs, and fellow QA Engineers to deliver reliable, scalable, and secure solutions.

Working as part of a cross-functional Agile squad, you'll champion a shift-left approach to quality, building and evolving automated testing frameworks using your expertise in Java, Selenium, and RestAssured, while helping improve test coverage, automation, and delivery confidence across the software development lifecycle.

This is a role for a skilled and experienced QA Engineer with proven commercial Java experience, to contribute to products that support Genomics England’s mission to transform healthcare through genomics. The work you do will directly support the delivery of high-quality digital services that enable world-leading genomic research and help improve outcomes for patients and families across the UK.

Job Description

As QA Engineer, you will:

• Own and continuously improve the test automation approach, coverage, and quality engineering practices across the SDLC.
• Champion shift-left testing, working closely with engineers to build quality into products from the earliest stages.
• Work closely with Software Engineers to improve automated test coverage, including unit and integration testing.
• Ensure requirements, acceptance criteria, test cases, defects, results, and evidence are traceable and auditable.
• Support automated testing within CI/CD pipelines and contribute to reliable software delivery.
• Collaborate across Product, Engineering, QA, and SMEs to identify risks and continuously improve quality.

Everyday Responsibilities Include:

• Developing and maintaining Java-based automation frameworks and test suites using Selenium and RestAssured.
• Creating and executing automated UI, API, integration, regression, and end-to-end tests.
• Reviewing requirements and acceptance criteria and creating test scenarios using Gherkin (Given/When/Then).
• Executing automated and manual tests, managing test data, and recording results and evidence in Jira/Xray.
• Investigating and triaging defects and supporting root cause analysis through to resolution.
• Supporting and maintaining CI/CD pipelines for automated testing.
• Maintaining clear test documentation, traceability, evidence, and quality reporting.
• Participating in Agile ceremonies, solution discussions, peer reviews, and non-functional testing where required.

Essential Skills and Experience:

• Strong commercial experience in Java test automation.
• Hands-on experience designing, developing, and maintaining automation frameworks and test suites using Java, Selenium, and RestAssured.
• Experience automating both UI and API testing, including integration, regression, and end-to-end testing.
• Strong understanding of software testing and quality engineering principles, including test design, requirements analysis, test planning, execution, and defect management.
• Experience creating test scenarios in Gherkin (Given/When/Then) and maintaining traceability across requirements, tests, defects, results, and evidence.
• Experience executing automated tests within CI/CD pipelines and contributing to shift-left testing.
• Good SQL skills, with experience preparing test data and validating data across systems and databases.
• Experience using Jira, Xray, Confluence, and Git within an Agile software delivery environment.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, together with the ability to communicate quality risks, issues, and recommendations clearly.

Desirable Skills and Experience:

• Experience working in healthcare, life sciences, medical devices, or another regulated environment.
• Experience testing cloud-native or distributed systems using AWS.
• Experience with additional test automation, contract testing, or service virtualisation tools such as Playwright, Cypress, PACT, WireMock, or BrowserStack.
• Exposure to Python-based test automation.
• Experience with accessibility, performance, or security testing, including tools such as Axe Core or OWASP ZAP.
• Knowledge of healthcare interoperability standards such as FHIR.

Qualifications

No specific qualifications are required. Relevant QA or software testing certifications are desirable but not essential. What really matters most is strong, demonstrable commercial experience as a QA Engineer, alongside proven hands-on Java and test automation skills.

Additional Information

Salary From: £53,700

Closing Date: Tuesday 24th November @ 23:00 (UK time)

Please note: This is a 12-Month FTC (Fixed Term Contract). For internal candidates, we will consider this as an internal secondment for the same duration.

Right to work: we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
 

Being an integral part of such a meaningful mission is extremely rewarding in itself, but in order to support our people, we’re continually improving our benefits package. We pride ourselves on investing in our people and supporting them to achieve their career goals, as well as offering a benefits package including: 

• Generous Leave: 30 days’ holiday, plus bank holidays, plus additional leave for long service, and also the option to apply for up to 30 days of remote working abroad annually (approval required).
• Family-Friendly: Blended working arrangements, flexible working, enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave benefits.
• Pension & Financial: Defined contribution pension (Genomics England double-matches up to 10%, however you can contribute more if you wish), Life Assurance (3x salary), an Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme and a Give As You Earn scheme.
• Learning & Development: Individual learning budgets, support for training and certifications, and reimbursement for one annual professional subscription (approval required).
• Recognition & Rewards: Employee recognition programme and referral scheme.
• Health & Wellbeing: Subsidised gym membership, a free Headspace account, and access to an Employee Assistance Programme, eye tests, flu jabs.

Equal opportunities and our commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace 

Genomics England is actively committed to providing and supporting an inclusive environment that promotes equity, diversity and inclusion best practice both within our community and in any other area where we have influence. We are proud of our diverse community where everyone can come to work and feel welcomed and treated with respect regardless of any disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, or social background. 

Genomics England’s policies of non-discrimination and equity and will be applied fairly to all people, regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, being pregnant or recently becoming a parent, race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, length of service, whether full or part-time or employed under a permanent or a fixed-term contract or any other relevant factor.  

Genomics England does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying at work. Such behaviour undermines our mission and core values and diminishes the dignity, respect and integrity of all parties. Our People policies outline our commitment to inclusivity. 

We aim to remove barriers in our recruitment processes and to be flexible with our interview processes. Should you require any adjustments that may help you to fully participate in the recruitment process, we encourage you to discuss this with us. 

Culture

We have four key behaviours that represent what we would like Genomics England to feel like and the culture we want to encourage, in order for us to achieve our mission. These behaviours help us all work well together, deliver on our outcomes, celebrate our successes and share feedback with each other. You can read about these and other aspects of our culture here Culture | Genomics England

Blended working model

Genomics England operates a blended working model as we know our people appreciate the flexibility that hybrid working can bring. We expect most people to come into the office a minimum of 2 times each month. However, this will vary according to role and will be agreed with your team leader. There is no expectation that people will return to the office full time unless they want to, however, some of our roles require full time on site attendance e.g., lab teams, reception team. 

Our teams and squads have, and will continue to reflect on what works best for them to work together successfully and have the freedom to design working patterns to suit, beyond the minimum. Our office locations are: Canary Wharf, Cambridge and Leeds.

Onboarding background checks

As part of our recruitment process, all successful candidates are subject to a Standard Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.  We therefore require applicants to disclose any previous offences at point of application, as some unspent convictions may mean we are unable to proceed with your application due to the nature of our work in healthcare. 

Company Description

Genomics England is a global leader in enabling genomic medicine and research, focused on creating a world where everyone benefits from genomic healthcare. Building on the 100,000 Genomes Project, we support the NHS’s world-first national whole genome sequencing service and run the growing National Genomic Research Library, alongside delivering numerous major genomics initiatives. By connecting research and clinical care at national scale, we enable immediate healthcare benefits and advances for the future.

Our mission is to provide the evidence and digital systems so that by 2035 genomics could play a role in up to half of all healthcare interactions, whilst securing the UK’s position as the best place to discover, prove and benefit from genomic innovations.

We are accelerating our impact and working with patients, doctors, scientists, government and industry to improve genomic testing, and help researchers access the health data and technology they need to make new medical discoveries and create more effective, targeted medicines for everybody.

Behind the Healthcare and Research outcomes, Genomics England delivers through designing, developing and operating complex healthcare software systems.

We're on the cusp of big changes with the real prospect of genomics becoming the fabric of everyday healthcare through the lifetime – from birth to old age.