Senior Software Development Engineer in Test


Company:	Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Salary:	£44,241 to £58,997 a year, pro rata
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Swansea, SA6 7JL
Working pattern:	Hybrid - 2 days remote
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	26 Oct 2026
Closing date:	1 Nov 2026

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Summary

📍 Location: Swansea

💷 Salary: £44,241 - £58,997. The base pay is £44,241. In addition to this the role includes a Digital and Data allowance of up to £14,756. A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

🕒 Contract Type: Permanent – Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

At the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), we take testing very seriously and we automate as much as we can. Our SDETs are building best-in-class test automation software so that we can build products quickly and safely. You will be a critical part of a squad following a behaviour-driven design approach (ATDD). You will love to code and to test in equal measure and challenge us to increase the scope of our Continuous Testing.

Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Plan and lead development on sets of related stories

Coach and mentor more junior colleagues

Understand and be proficient in different types of testing

Write clean, maintainable automated testing code

Benefits

Best in class learning and development tailored to your role

An environment with flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance

A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues

Generous employer contribution of 28.9%, depending on chosen pension scheme

Digital communities with clear career frameworks

On-site gym plus personal training available (membership applies)

On-site nursery, restaurants and coffee bar

25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), increasing by 1 each year (up to 30) & 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday

24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff

Free parking

Essential requirements

You will be comfortable using the Cucumber framework and able to develop expertise in the Ruby programming language to test applications and infrastructure on Platform-as-a-Service environments. You will bring hands on experience in developing automated tests for web based user interfaces and APIs, with a strong understanding of modern automation practices. You’ll proactively apply Continuous Testing principles to accelerate feedback loops across all quality dimensions including security, performance and accessibility by prioritising automation wherever possible. We’re looking for someone who is deeply passionate about SDET principles, with a solid grasp of automation testing techniques and the ability to use modern programming languages to validate and automate tests for any software product.

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