[Hiring] Lead Test Engineer @Ceox

Role Description

We are seeking a Lead Test Engineer to work within a multi-disciplinary team to own the test strategy and quality engineering approach for an Azure Databricks Platform. This role involves shaping testing practices across the platform, championing data quality tooling, and building the foundations for reliable, well-tested data engineering across the programme. The Lead Test Engineer will play a key role in designing and implementing a structured test framework, embedding automated testing into the delivery pipeline, and collaborating with test and data engineers.

Qualifications

• Proven experience defining and delivering a test strategy for a data platform, not just executing pre-defined test cases.
• Hands-on experience building test frameworks for Databricks, including writing and structuring pytest-based tests.
• Practical experience with test-driven development (TDD) and embedding it within an engineering team.
• Experience building or configuring CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps) to run automated tests as part of the delivery pipeline.
• Experience leading or mentoring test engineers, with the ability to set standards and raise quality practices across a team.
• Strong understanding of data pipeline testing challenges, including data quality, schema validation, and transformation correctness.
• Ensure documentation is reviewed and approved by central data platform team per acceptance criteria.
• Participate in communities of practice, ceremonies, and approval forums as required.

Requirements

• Define and own the test strategy for the Azure Databricks data platform.
• Design and implement a structured test framework to replace ad-hoc pytest usage, establishing consistent patterns, standards, and reusable components for the team.
• Build CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps) that run automated tests and surface data and pipeline issues before they reach production.
• Introduce and embed test-driven development (TDD) practices across the engineering team.
• Define and implement data quality checks and validation rules across ingestion and transformation stages, using tools such as Soda Data Quality or DQX.
• Lead, mentor and set direction for test engineers, reviewing their work and raising testing standards across the platform.
• Collaborate with data engineers, architects and platform leads to embed testing early in the development lifecycle.
• Produce clear documentation of the test strategy, framework, and standards for ongoing use by the wider engineering team.
• Track and report on test coverage, defect trends, and platform quality metrics to programme and technical leads.

Benefits

• Contract Type: Freelance / Contract
• Location: Remote (UK-based candidates preferred)
• Start Date: ASAP
• Clearance: Candidates must be eligible to work with UK Government departments / BPSS.