The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:
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a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the person specification section above
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a 45-minute live technical exercise to assess your test automation skills in XCUITest (Swift), Espresso (Kotlin) or Appium(Java)
- a 60 minute video interview
Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.
In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:
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has proven experience leading and managing all phases of testing for iOS and Android mobile applicationscovering both functional and non-functional testingacross multiple teams, from initial business understanding through to production delivery. This includes expertise in technical leadership, quality improvement, developing test strategies, mobile test automation, reporting, and testing in CI/CD environments
In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. Well be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.
For this role well be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:
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working together
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changing and improving
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communicating and influencing
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managing a quality service
Well also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Senior Test Engineer role:
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communicating between the technical and non-technical
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designing and executing tests
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managing, reporting and resolving defects
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test analysis
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test and quality planning
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test engineering
Recruitment Timeline
Sift completion: Friday 21st August 2026
Technical exercise: starting from Tuesday 1st September 2026
Panel interviews: starting from Monday 21st September 2026
Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.
Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.
For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.
Sponsorship
DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
