Senior QA Engineer
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Sainsbury's Tech
Closing date: 10 December 2025
Requisition ID: 400041433
We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. Think about the scale it takes for us to feed the nation. The level of data, transactions and variety it involves. Then you’ll realise that ours is a modern software engineering environment because it has to be. We’ve made serious investment into a Tech Academy and into setting standards and principles. We iterate, learn, experiment and push ways of working such as Agile, Scrum and XP. So you can look forward to awesome opportunities in everything from AI to reusable tech.
Senior QA Engineer | Sainsbury's Tech
Why join us
Joining Sainsbury's Tech as a Senior Engineer means becoming part of a leading technology organisation that powers the UK's top multi-channel, multi-brand retailer. We are a community of passionate engineers who are empowered to define and deliver through the use of technology. With a focus on continuous improvement and technical excellence, you'll have the opportunity to shape our engineering vision, drive adoption of best practises, and work with cutting-edge technologies. Not only will you contribute to innovative solutions that impact millions of customers, but you'll also be part of a progressive community that fosters growth, collaboration, and the advancement of engineering expertise. With the support and resources available, you can accelerate your professional development and enhance your skills within a dynamic, agile environment. Join us and be part of a team dedicated to making a meaningful impact within the retail industry while staying at the forefront of technological advancements.
Core Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & Test Management
- Lead and support the QA team, ensuring clear understanding of responsibilities and goals.
- Encourage collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and learning within the team.
- Guide junior members to develop their skills.
- Work with product, engineering, and business teams to align on quality goals.
- Create and implement testing strategies that support business priorities.
Test Strategy & Planning
- Collaborate with stakeholders to identify risks and quality challenges early.
- Develop detailed test plans, including scope, objectives, timelines, and resources.
- Set clear testing goals to address risks and ensure the product meets business needs.
- Adjust testing strategies to align with changing business and product goals.
Test Execution & Defect Management
- Oversee all types of testing (functional, regression, integration, performance) to ensure quality before release.
- Manage defect logging and prioritize fixes with the development team.
- Promote the use of automation tools to improve test efficiency.
- Maintain and update automation scripts to ensure effectiveness.
- Ensure testing phases meet deadlines without compromising quality.
Continuous Improvement & Process Optimization
- Regularly evaluate and improve testing processes for better efficiency and quality.
- Remove redundant tasks to improve the testing process.
- Stay updated on industry trends and encourage adoption of new tools and practices.
- Foster innovation within the team to continuously improve testing practices.
Performance Metrics
Project Delivery
- Complete testing phases on time, preventing failed releases, bugs, incidents, and ensuring quality without missing deadlines.
- Adjust to changing timelines while upholding high testing standards.
- Ensure thorough testing across all phases to meet quality criteria.
Defect Quality
- Track defect leakage to production, find patterns, and take steps to prevent future issues.
- Classify defects by severity and prioritize fixing those affecting user experience.
Process Improvement
- Regularly evaluate and optimize testing processes to improve efficiency, quality, and productivity.
- Identify and eliminate inefficiencies to enhance the overall testing process.
- Use feedback from stakeholders and retrospectives to refine and improve testing processes.
Expectations
Technical Expertise
- Stay up to date with testing tools, automation frameworks, and testing methods.
- Continuously learn about industry trends and automation practices to ensure the team uses the best solutions.
- Look for opportunities to improve technical skills and keep up with QA innovations.
Collaboration
- Build strong working relationships with cross-functional teams to align on quality goals.
- Offer constructive feedback to team members, supporting their growth and professional development.
- Foster teamwork and collaboration to ensure a shared approach to delivering quality products.
Communication
- Provide clear reports on testing progress, issues, and risks to stakeholders for informed decision-making.
- Communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders to ensure key quality information is understood.
Accountability
- Take full ownership of testing activities, meeting deadlines and maintaining quality standards.
- Commit to continuous improvement and process enhancement.
- Lead by example, promoting a culture of responsibility, accountability, and quality within the team.
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too.
Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
