Senior QA Engineer

Howden is a collective - a group of talented and passionate people around the world. We have pushed the boundaries of insurance, united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset. Our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team of 18,000 employees across over 100 countries.

People join Howden for many reasons, but they stay for our culture, which sets us apart and keeps employees loyal. Whether your priorities are work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, or volunteering, you'll find like-minded individuals driving change here.

Role: Senior Quality Assurance Engineer Team: Web Development Location: Remote first; with face-to-face meetings in Gloucester every fortnight to month

As one of the largest insurance groups worldwide and the fifth largest employee-owned business in the UK, we manage premiums for millions of clients across various products. Our development team focuses on innovative solutions that prioritize user needs.

Role Overview: As a Senior QA Engineer at Howden, you will join an agile team. You will utilize Microsoft Azure, Blazor, C#, and Playwright to develop and test front-end applications, creating scalable, high-performance, user-friendly, secure, and reliable solutions.

You will participate in agile sessions, collaborate closely with your team to deliver our roadmap, and develop our automated testing capabilities. You will promote a quality mindset, encourage a shift-left approach, and share knowledge to foster cross-team learning.

As a senior, you will coach and mentor less experienced colleagues, help improve standards and quality, and maximize team throughput through robust CI/CD practices. You will also take lead roles on architectural and technical design discussions and present these during team refinement.

About You:

• Strong understanding of the technological landscape
• Knowledge of the test pyramid and testing techniques (Smoke, white-box, performance, exploratory, etc.)
• Experience with C#, Blazor, or similar front-end technologies and testing methods
• Comfortable working closely with software engineers
• Understanding of automation and team-based quality responsibility
• Attention to detail and user-centric focus
• Defensive API testing and input sanitization skills
• Experience in testing accessibility standards
• Familiarity with Test-driven Development and commitment to high-quality, maintainable code
• Exposure to cloud technologies, preferably Azure
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills
• Risk-based testing approach
• Data-driven decision-making mindset
• Knowledge of agile methodologies
• Support for continuous delivery and iterative development
• Active participation in agile sessions
• Ability to demonstrate working software to diverse stakeholders
• Experience coaching and mentoring
• Collaborating with leadership on training needs
• Working with product owners on solution refinement and architecture
• Identifying and remediating risks in SDLC
• Knowledge of architectural decision records
• Strong documentation skills

Rewards:

We believe in rewarding dedication through:

• 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), pro-rated for part-year service
• Core benefits focused on health and financial protection:
• Life assurance up to 4x salary
• Income protection for up to 5 years
• Contributory pension scheme (4% employer + 5% employee, increasing to 5% + 5% in April 2025)
• Healthcare Cashplan benefits

Additional lifestyle and financial benefits include:

• Discounts on gym memberships
• Salary sacrifice schemes (Travel Insurance, Cycle to Work, Car leasing, Technology)
• Discounted personal health policies (Critical illness, private medical, dental)
• Insurance products (home, motor, travel, and more)
• High-street retailer discounts
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

What We Offer:

A career that you define. We value diversity and seek individuals who share our values:

• Innovation and bravery in trying new things
• Support for each other in daily and big challenges
• Making a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable Adjustments:

We are committed to providing accommodations to align roles with your needs, including flexible hours and hybrid working where possible. If you're interested but have concerns, apply anyway-if your profile fits, we'll assist with adjustments.

Not all roles can accommodate flexible hours or locations. Contact your Recruitment Partner for details.

Permanent position. Founded in 1994, Howden has grown from three people and a dog to a leading global insurance group managing $38bn in premiums. Our ownership by employees and long-term partners reflects our owner mindset-taking ownership and working together for shared success.