At Instil, we develop digital products for a range of blue-chip clients. Our work is impactful and varied, often at the leading edge of technology. Our clients choose Instil because we are seen as a cut above.

We are looking for a Principal QA Engineer with a strong background in automated testing to join our dynamic team.  Over the years we have built a reputation like no other; creating great software through a culture of engineering excellence, curiosity and continuous learning.

As a Principal QA Engineer at Instil, you will play a key role in ensuring the quality and reliability of our software products, with a strong emphasis on automated testing. You will be responsible for driving test automation strategy, developing robust test frameworks, and contributing to the continuous improvement of QA practices across projects.You will serve as a technical expert and hands-on contributor, collaborating with cross-functional teams to embed quality into every stage of the development lifecycle. You’ll also mentor junior QA engineers and act as a technical point of contact for complex QA challenges.

In return, we offer varied, challenging work in a supportive environment where you will find yourself constantly evolving and learning. If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you.

Location Requirements

This role requires regular in office attendance. Therefore, candidates should be located in Northern Ireland.

Benefits include

• Competitive Salary & Annual Bonus
• Hybrid Working
• Flexible Working Hours
• Summer Working Hours
• 35 Days Holiday
• Private Pension (8% Employer, 5% Employee)
• Private Healthcare
• Life Assurance
• Cycle to Work Scheme

Day to Day

Automation and Testing (Primary Focus)

• Help define and evolve the automated testing strategy to ensure scalability and maintainability 
• Advise engineering teams on suitable test automation approaches based on industry good practices and principles 
• Design, develop, and maintain robust automated test frameworks using modern tooling such as Playwright 
• Automate different types of functional (E2E, UI and API) and non-functional (performance) tests using appropriate tools and methodologies 
• Collaborate with developers to integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions) 
• Identify opportunities to expand automation coverage across services and platforms 

Performance & Load Testing 

• Utilise JMeter and other tools to conduct performance and load testing, analysing the results to identify potential bottlenecks and areas for optimization 
• Provide recommendations for improving application performance and scalability based on test results 

Quality Assurance and Control 

• Create and maintain test plans, test cases, and test data for both manual and automated testing. 
• Execute exploratory and regression testing to ensure comprehensive quality coverage. 
• Track, report, and manage defects and their resolution in collaboration with developers. 
• Ensure that test results are actionable and clearly communicated to stakeholders. 

Collaboration and Mentorship 

• Work closely with the QA Lead to align on quality strategy, tooling, and process improvements. 
• Provide technical mentorship to other QA engineers, sharing best practices in test automation and tooling. 
• Participate in code reviews of test scripts and offer constructive feedback to elevate team output. 

Process Improvement 

• Contribute to the evolution of QA standards, practices, and documentation. 
• Stay current with industry trends, tools, and techniques to enhance the QA function. 
• Suggest and implement improvements to test coverage, test efficiency, and QA tooling. 

Need to have

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field. 
• Equivalent experience may be considered 6+ years of experience in software quality assurance, with a strong focus on test automation. 
• Proven experience in establishing and scaling QA automation practices and coverage within an Engineering organisation. 
• Strong hands-on experience of using test automation tools, such as: Playwright (UI/E2E/API), Postman (API) and JMeter (Performance). 
• Solid understanding of software development life cycle (SDLC) and agile methodologies. 
• Experience of various types of testing and executing against web applications, APIs, and microservices. 
• Proficiency in one or more programming/scripting languages (e.g., JavaScript, Python, C# or Java). 
• Extensive experience with test automation tools, frameworks and good practice approaches. 
• Strong knowledge of performance testing and performance testing tools such as JMeter. 
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools and integration of automated tests within pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI). 
• Understanding of version control systems (e.g., Git). 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. 
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment. 
• Ability to mentor and train junior team members. 
• Eligibility to live and work in the UK without sponsorship. (Please note we are unable to provide sponsorship)

Nice to have

• Relevant certifications in software testing (e.g., ISTQB, Certified Software Test Professional). 
• Knowledge of continuous integration and continuous deployment tools (e.g., Jenkins, Github Actions). 
• Experience with cloud-based testing environments and services. 
• Knowledge of different types of non-functional testing, tools and approaches to support this effort.
• Experience with test management tools such as X-ray, TestRail or Zephyr

Equality

Instil is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff. Applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.