Test Architect

Summary: The Test Architect role involves creating and maintaining test strategies, ensuring stakeholder approval, and executing test plans within set timelines and budgets. The position requires leadership in mentoring less experienced team members and managing offshore testing efforts while adhering to quality standards. The role also emphasizes stakeholder management and engagement with customers for user acceptance testing (UAT). This position is based in Reading, UK, and is offered on a fixed-term contract basis.

Key Responsibilities:

• Creates, maintains and obtains stakeholder approval of the test strategy. Executes approved strategy and associated test plans within agreed timelines and to budget.
• Champions appropriate standards, ensuring continual developments of end-to-end process for all quality areas to include software development life cycle, QA work product deliverables, product templates and escalation processes.
• Drives automation effort for project/program.
• Liaises with performance COE and security team as required on projects to ensure all non-functional test aspects of project are covered.
• Leads, mentors and coaches a group of less experienced resources ensuring they have the skills and knowledge to perform their roles.
• Provides authoritative advice and guidance on any aspect of test planning and execution.
• Manages stakeholder's expectations with regards to the testing timelines and deliverables.
• Manage offshore testing efforts ensuring efficient and cost-effective testing is performed.
• Ensure adherence processes and provide support to internal and external ISO 9001 audits.
• Engage with customers to define and manage UAT efforts.
• Provide estimates and any required test documentation for bids.
• Be the SME for assigned portfolio(s) of work.

Key Skills:

• Demonstrate effective communication processes meeting demands of program/project.
• Able to be the lead testing on complex projects (size or scope).
• Working experience of CI and associated tools such as Azure DevOps.
• Good understanding of Cloud technologies.
• Strong stakeholder management skills.
• Strong time management skills.
• Lead/promote/initiate the development of our people assets.
• Demonstrate expert knowledge of at least one solution portfolio.
• Resolve very complex problems in QA/architecture.
• Architect, design, and configure multiple streams of work.
• Contribute to the establishment standards and technology direction.
• Mentor team leaders on a broad variety of technical and project management issues.
• Implement solutions that reflect strategic, long-term direction and planning with a complete understanding of interdependencies.
• Represent technical meetings relating to assigned roles and when working at customer sites.
• Expert knowledge of and ability to apply advanced software development principles, theories, programming languages, concepts, and techniques.
• Manage budgets.
• Expert understanding of system integration and hardware.
• Superior understanding methodologies and practices.
• Complete understanding of technology and competitive positioning of technology - driven business solutions, preferably applications/solutions.
• Development and project tools, such as version control, debugging.
• Use of appropriate tools for change control, risks and issues log and project planning.
• Must have familiarity/working knowledge of Microfocus toolset including Octane.
• Should be able to demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of testing market.
• Knowledge of ISO 9001 useful.
• Must be able to demonstrate broad range of sector experience.
• Specific experience of airline industry would be of benefit.
• Theoretical and practical knowledge of object-oriented development approaches.
• ISTQB Principles.
• Principles of Agile.

Salary (Rate): £70000 yearly

City: Reading

Country: UK

Working Arrangements: undetermined

IR35 Status: fixed-term

Seniority Level: undetermined

Industry: IT