The Role: We are seeking a talented and motivated QA and Release Manager to join our software development team. This newly introduced role will play a pivotal part in enhancing our quality and security framework by acting as a bridge between our offshore resources and UK operations. The role will focus on test automation, quality assurance, and managing the deployment of releases to production, ensuring smooth and secure delivery while eliminating the need for offshore teams to access production systems. KeyResponsibilities: Automation Development: Design, develop, and maintain robust automated test scripts to ensure comprehensive test coverage. Drive automation across functional, regression, and end-to-end testing processes. Test Strategy & Planning: Create and implement detailed test plans, strategies, and test cases in line with project specifications. Assess key areas for automation, balancing manual and automated testing needs. Performance and Security Testing: Perform performance, load, and security testing to ensure software meets high reliability and compliance standards. Azure DevOps Integration: Utilise Azure DevOps for test case management, reporting, and CI/CD pipeline integration. Collaborate with developers to ensure seamless integration of automated tests into CI/CD workflows. Collaboration & Communication: Work closely with developers, business analysts, and project leads to gather requirements and ensure thorough test coverage. Participate in sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives, aligning testing efforts with development objectives. Quality Advocacy: Promote a quality-first mindset across the team, continuously improving software delivery practices. Provide regular feedback on testing outcomes to stakeholders, ensuring transparency and continuous improvement. What you'll bring & Technical Expertise: Proven experience as a QA Engineer with a focus on test automation. Strong hands-on experience with test automation frameworks. Solid understanding of functional, regression, performance, load, and security testing. Proficient in Azure DevOps, including test case management and CI/CD pipeline integration. Experience with integrating automated testing into CI/CD workflows. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a keen attention to detail. Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a team. Hybrid Working: While our Head office is a place to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. This role is based at our head office in Berwick. Training will also be required to take place in the office at Berwick and online. Once your training has been completed, hybrid working pattern can be discussed to ensure they meet business needs and role requirements. There are activities and meetings that you will need to support in-person held within the office.