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Test engineer

Find out what a test engineer in government does and the skills you need to do the role at each level.

Last updated 31 May 2024 — See all updates

Contents

What a test engineer does

A test engineer undertakes test planning activity including discovery capture, test definition and the estimation of test effort, as part of a broader risk-based approach.

Test engineer role levels

There are 4 test engineer role levels, from tester (test engineer) to lead test engineer.

The typical responsibilities and skills for each role level are described in the sections below. You can use this to identify the skills you need to progress in your career, or simply to learn more about each role in the Government Digital and Data profession.

1. Tester (test engineer)

A tester (test engineer) works closely with test engineers and QAT analysts to learn the activities and techniques required to establish the basis of testing.

At this role level, you will:

  • have domain and business knowledge
  • develop test scripts under supervision
  • raise awareness of and manage defects

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • EO (Executive Officer)
  • HEO (Higher Executive Officer)
Skill Description

Functional testing

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show an awareness of functional testing techniques
  • execute test scenarios and identify defects, raising awareness of them
  • run tests others have written and know the processes to do so
  • show an understanding of a range of standard testing techniques

Non-functional testing

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show an awareness of non-functional testing techniques
  • execute non-functional test scenarios and identify defects
  • run non-functional tests others have written and know the processes to do so
  • understand a range of standard non-functional testing techniques

Technical breadth

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show an awareness of a range of tools and techniques for test automation
  • demonstrate some technical attributes

Test analysis

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • contribute to improving delivery and understand the importance of evidence-based design and analysis

2. Test engineer

A test engineer is responsible for writing, debugging and refactoring test code.

At this role level, you will:

  • work closely with software developers to reach a common understanding of the code base and test coverage at unit level
  • collaborate with analysts to ensure the required business scenarios are covered in the acceptance test scripts
  • work on both functional and non-functional areas of an application
  • coach and mentor testers

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • HEO (Higher Executive Officer)
  • SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
Skill Description

Functional testing

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • design and execute test cases using standard testing techniques
  • come up with different business scenarios for a feature, working with others in the team

Non-functional testing

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • design and execute non-functional test cases using standard testing techniques, in instructed environments
  • come up with different business scenarios for a feature, working with others in the team

Technical breadth

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • use a range of technologies for testing
  • use one type of tool to write test scripts
  • use technologies to design and execute test cases under guidance

Test analysis

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • identify simple patterns and trends
  • investigate problems and opportunities in existing processes, and contribute to recommending solutions
  • work with stakeholders to identify objectives and potential benefits

3. Senior test engineer

A senior test engineer has similar responsibilities to a test engineer but at a more complex level and on a greater scale.

At this role level, you will:

  • identify and raise awareness of risks arising from the automation test results
  • identify new and implement existing test frameworks to improve confidence in testing
  • be proficient in a range of coding languages (you may be an expert in only one)
  • mentor and advise other team members in testing practices

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
  • G7 (Grade 7)
Skill Description

Functional testing

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • design and execute a wide range of testing techniques and communicate test results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • make decisions on the environment for testing, and can coach others
  • identify defects, alert the business to them, and help to prioritise them based on defect severity

Non-functional testing

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • design and execute a wide range of non-functional testing techniques
  • communicate non-functional test results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • make decisions on running types of non-functional testing
  • coach and mentor others
  • identify defects, alert the business to them, and help to prioritise them based on defect severity

Technical breadth

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • demonstrate a good working knowledge of different tools and techniques, and can train others
  • advise others on testing techniques and frameworks
  • effectively research, plan and train others within the team

Test analysis

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • think creatively, ask the right questions and critically evaluate and communicate findings to a larger team
  • lead investigative work into problems and opportunities in existing processes
  • drive the collection of information and the creation of recommendations for improvements
  • absorb large amounts of conflicting information and use it to determine solutions

4. Lead test engineer

A lead test engineer writes new automation test frameworks based on project requirements.

At this role level, you will:

  • promote the use of open source tools
  • be proficient in multiple test scripting languages
  • have a presence in external test communities and regularly share learning
  • work closely with leads across the Government Digital and Data profession to champion quality
  • guide test team members to design test strategies (which may involve more complex and larger scale delivery)
  • manage communications between projects to control integration and dependencies

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • G7 (Grade 7)
  • G6 (Grade 6)
Skill Description

Functional testing

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • advise on up-to-date functional testing techniques
  • assess and peer-review the work of others
  • coach and mentor others
  • write test approaches for major projects and provide guidance on risk approaches
  • devise new test techniques and provide recommendations

Non-functional testing

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • advise on up-to-date non-functional testing techniques
  • assess and peer-review the work of others
  • coach and mentor others
  • write non-functional test approaches for major projects and provide guidance on risk approaches
  • devise new non-functional test techniques and provide recommendations

Technical breadth

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • act as an adviser with a strategic understanding of IT trends and technologies
  • write and publish papers
  • demonstrate knowledge of emerging tools and techniques
  • set up frameworks based on the needs of the team
  • effectively work across different tools and software languages

Test analysis

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • think creatively, ask the right questions and critically evaluate and communicate findings to a larger team
  • lead investigative work into problems and opportunities in existing processes
  • drive the collection of information and the creation of recommendations for improvements
  • absorb large amounts of conflicting information and use it to determine solutions
Role Shared skills
Quality assurance testing (QAT) analyst

Functional testing

Non-functional testing

Technical breadth

Test analysis
Test manager

Functional testing

Non-functional testing

Technical breadth

Test analysis

Updates

Published 7 January 2020

Last updated 31 May 2024

31 May 2024

  • The indicative job grades for the 'tester (test engineer)' role level have been updated from 'AO and EO' to 'EO and HEO'. This change is based on the latest data on the most common grades for these role levels across government.

7 January 2020

  • First published.