Lead Performance Test Automation Engineer

Location: Leeds
Permanent
Full time

Job Description

As a Performance Test Engineer, you'll play a key role in driving the Bank's digital transformation by delivering robust performance testing strategies and solutions that keep our platforms resilient and efficient. It's a chance to make a real impact in a collaborative, forward thinking environment and shape the future of our performance engineering approach.

Flexible Working Options

This role is open to flexible working patterns, these may include:

• Flexible start and end times each day
• Ability to adapt your calendar as needed (e.g., to fit in the school run or other appointments)
• A 50% in office attendance requirement, which can be spread across the month to accommodate diverse working patterns, such as the flexibility to purchase a weekly train ticket for certain weeks

Opportunities in Leeds

We're excited to be growing our presence in Leeds, a city we've been connected to for nearly 200 years! Our modern, accessible office in the City Centre offers an encouraging, flexible working environment. Many roles, including this one, are now available in Leeds, giving you the chance to build a meaningful career outside of London while contributing to our mission from a dynamic and growing location. You'll work collaboratively with London based colleagues in a hybrid model, with regular opportunities to travel into the London office to meet and connect in person.

Want to learn more? Discover what makes our Leeds office such a dynamic place to work by visiting our Leeds page for more details.

A Day in the Role

A typical day might start after the team's stand up, where you share updates on performance testing and highlight any bottlenecks. You'll design and run performance, load, and stress tests using tools like JMeter, LoadRunner, or Gatling, ensuring they meet strategy and non functional requirements. You'll collaborate with developers and architects to troubleshoot issues, monitor systems with Grafana and Splunk, and use diagnostics tools such as New Relic and Dynatrace. Later, you'll integrate tests into CI/CD pipelines and drive improvements to ensure robust, scalable systems across cloud, hybrid, and on premises environments.

Role Requirements

Maybe you have experience in performance testing and want to shape the future of system scalability and reliability at the Bank by creating strategies and solutions that make a real impact. Or you have a strong foundation in performance engineering and are eager to deepen your expertise in cloud and container based environments, leveraging observability tools and diagnostics to optimise application performance.

Minimum Criteria

• Strong analytical and problem solving skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast paced environment.

Essential Criteria

• Ability to design, execute, and analyse performance, load, stress, and volume tests.
• Familiarity with monitoring and observability tools (Grafana, Splunk) and diagnostics platforms (New Relic, Dynatrace).
• Understanding of containerisation technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) and big data platforms (Databricks).
• Ability to analyse complex performance issues and provide actionable recommendations.
• Strong scripting skills (e.g., Python, JavaScript) for test automation and data analysis.
• Knowledge of Performance Test Strategy and defining Non Functional Requirements.
• Proven experience in Performance Testing of cloud based architectures (Azure, AWS, GCP).
• Strong knowledge of performance testing methodologies and tools (such as JMeter, LoadRunner, Eggplant Performance, Gatling).

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of middleware systems (Kafka, IBM MQ).
• Experience with ELK stack and reporting tools (e.g., Tableau).
• Exposure to CI/CD tools (GitHub Actions, Jenkins) and version control systems (Git).
• Familiarity with security and compliance considerations in performance testing.
• Experience integrating performance testing into CI/CD pipelines.

Please don't hesitate to apply if you don't meet all the essential criteria. We value diverse perspectives and believe that different backgrounds can contribute to our team's success.

How This Role Fits into the Wider Bank

This role is part of the Digital Assurance & Productivity team in the CTO division, helping the Bank deliver high quality technology solutions. We provide testing services, performance assurance, and enablement to ensure new products and changes meet non functional requirements for scalability, reliability, and responsiveness.

Our Approach to Inclusion

The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.

At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it's by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we'll continue to make the best decisions for the public.

We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.

For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.

Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the 'Candidate Personal Information' under the 'Disability Confident Scheme' section of the application.

Salary and Benefits Information

We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro rated basis as appropriate.

We offer a salary as follows:

Leeds circa £49,360 - £55,530

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• Currently a non contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
• 26 days' annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

National Security Vetting Process

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice.

The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and/or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.

The Application Process

Important: Please ensure that you complete the 'work history' section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It's therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.

This role closes on 29 January 2026.

The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages.

Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.