Job Title: Development Test Engineer
Business Function: IT
Salary: £43,850
Role Type: Permanent
Location: Within Northern’s network area; must commute to office for a minimum of two days per week.
Hours: 37 per week
Reliable journeys don’t just happen on the tracks — they’re built on effective, dependable technology. At Northern, our IT teams play a critical role in keeping the systems behind our railway running safely and smoothly. You’ll play a key role in ensuring the systems powering our railway are robust, resilient, and ready for anything.
What you’ll be doing
- Designing and building automated tests that slot into our continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.
- Running complex functional, integration, regression, and backend tests across systems and services.
- Working closely with developers to review changes, spot risks early, and improve testability.
- Turning requirements and user stories into detailed, practical test scenarios – including edge cases.
- Validating data and integrations using tools like SQL and APIs.
- Identifying, analysing, and clearly communicating defects so they can be fixed quickly.
- Supporting smooth releases by ensuring testing is complete and risks are understood.
- Improving how we test – refining frameworks, tools, and ways of working.
- Sharing knowledge with others in the team to build consistency and capability.
- Defining and establishing the tools and automation patterns used across the testing function.
About you
- Curious, methodical, and confident working with both code and data.
- Excellent communicator who can build strong relationships across multiple departments.
- Programming knowledge, automation experience, and a sharp eye for detail.
- Experience testing software across functional, integration, and regression levels.
- Role model, helping embed testing practices across the test function while working closely with the Test and Assurance Manager.
- Confidence building and maintaining automated tests using tools such as Selenium, Cypress, JUnit, or similar.
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and Agile ways of working.
- Ability to work closely with developers and understand code, architecture, and integrations.
- Experience using tools like Git and Jira (or similar) to manage work and track defects.
- Skills in querying databases using SQL to validate system behaviour.
- A practical approach to problem‑solving, with the confidence to raise risks early.
- Degree in a relevant subject or equivalent experience is welcome, as is a recognised testing certification such as ISTQB.
What’s in it for you?
- Unlimited free travel for you, your partner, and your dependents on Northern services. Plus up to 75 % discount on other UK and European networks.
- Generous pension scheme – we top up your contributions by 1.5 times.
- Enhanced family benefits – 9 months’ full pay maternity leave and 2 weeks’ paternity leave.
- Cycle to Work Scheme – save up to 42 % on a bike and spread the cost.
- Electric Car Scheme – lease a brand new electric or plug‑in hybrid car.
- Exclusive discounts from shopping to wellbeing via Northern Perks.
- Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 support for family, lifestyle, and more.
- Training and career development – tailored training and opportunities to gain recognised qualifications, with enhanced career pathways across the business.
- Recognition – Northern Lights and Northern Sparks awards celebrate brilliance every day.
Our talent team can make reasonable adjustments to the process if that’s something you need. We are a Level 2 Disability Confident employer, so if you meet the minimum criteria for the role, we’ll always offer an interview.
All successful offers will be subject to a DBS check and a medical assessment.
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