QA and Test Automation Engineer

About the role

Meritus Talent is seeking a QA & Test Automation Engineer to support a leading Central Government defence organisation in Portsmouth. You will work in a highly regulated engineering environment, ensuring mission‑critical software systems are reliable, secure and meet strict operational standards.

Key responsibilities

• Own and maintain automated regression test suites across key system components.
• Design and implement functional and non‑functional testing approaches, including robustness and results verification.
• Support user acceptance testing readiness aligned to agreed operational use cases.
• Ensure defects are reproducible, properly tracked and verified through to closure.
• Strengthen release confidence through structured test reporting and clear documentation.
• Embed quality‑assurance practices across the software lifecycle, adhering to verification and validation standards.
• Work closely with developers and engineers to identify issues early and improve overall system quality.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of test processes, tooling and automation coverage.

Required profile

• Experience in a QA or test‑automation role within complex software environments.
• Strong understanding of automated testing frameworks and regression testing approaches.
• Proficiency with defect‑tracking and test‑reporting tools.
• Ability to design functional and non‑functional test cases focused on reliability and robustness.
• Comfort working in secure or regulated environments, ideally defence or government.
• Active DV clearance is essential.

Required skills

• Automated testing frameworks
• Regression testing
• Defect tracking tools
• Test reporting
• Functional testing
• Non‑functional testing

What we offer

• Permanent contract with up to £80,000 per year.
• Hybrid working model (3 days onsite in Portsmouth).
• Opportunity to influence the quality of critical national systems.