Lead Quality Engineer & Automation & AI

Hastings Insurance Services Limited; Bexhill-on-Sea; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - GBP 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A digital insurance provider is seeking a Lead Quality Engineer specializing in automation and AI to enhance QA processes. The successful candidate will lead the QA strategy, improve testing efficiency, and deliver high-quality outcomes across underwriting. This hybrid role requires strong technical skills, leadership experience, and the ability to work closely with engineering teams. Benefits include flexible working, bonuses, and comprehensive wellbeing support.

Benefits

Flexible working

Competitive bonus scheme

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Mental wellbeing programme

27 days annual leave + bank holidays

Qualifications

• Experience leading QA or test engineering teams in complex, regulated technology environments.
• Hands-on capability to write, read, and review code.
• Proven experience with AI-assisted testing tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end QA strategy for all underwriting lines.
• Design and implement QA strategies for live issue investigation.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership in reviewing test strategies.

Skills

Leadership skills

Python proficiency

Test automation design

Stakeholder management

Problem-solving

Risk-based testing

Agile collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field

Tools

Git/GitHub

Azure DevOps

Selenium

pytest

Job description

Overview

Job Title: Lead Quality Engineer - Automation & AI

Location: Bexhill/Leicester/London – Hybrid

Welcome to Hastings Direct

We’re a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become the best and biggest in the UK market. We’ve made huge investments in our pricing and data capabilities over the past few years, along with nurturing our 4Cs culture. We provide insurance for over four million customers and are focused on pricing as a strategic capability powered by data and analytics. Our aim is to deliver fair, accurate pricing based on individual risk while enabling sustainable and profitable growth.

The Role

We are seeking a senior, hands-on QA leader to drive the technological transformation of testing across our pricing platforms. This role is responsible for improving quality, pace, and confidence of delivery through modern testing techniques, automation, and AI-enabled approaches, while leading and developing a high-performing QA function. The role operates across our in-house rating engine and Azure/GitHub-based engineering landscape. You will work closely with pricing engineers, ML engineers, and underwriting teams to modernise how testing is designed, executed, and governed, reducing duplication of effort and lowering post-live issues.

This role combines hands-on technical involvement, strong people leadership, and strategic ownership of testing capability, tooling, and environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end QA strategy and execution across all underwriting lines of business, ensuring testing supports high-quality delivery at pace.
• Design, implement, and continuously evolve the QA strategy covering pre-live testing, post-release monitoring, and live issue investigation, with a focus on improving quality, pace, and confidence of delivery.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership in reviewing test strategies, automation design, and investigation of complex or high-impact defects, including interrogation of rating behaviour and data inputs.
• Lead the strategic and practical use of test automation, ensuring automation is targeted, maintainable, and focused on the highest-risk areas.
• Drive improvements in automation and tooling to reduce manual effort and strengthen preventative quality controls, applying AI-assisted techniques where they provide clear, measurable benefit.
• Work closely with pricing engineers and ML teams to apply AI-assisted testing techniques where they add value, ensuring solutions are governed and suitable for a regulated environment.
• Own post-release quality activities, including monitoring, alerting, and validation of controls, ensuring issues are detected early and feedback loops are effective.
• Improve the efficiency, stability, and reliability of QA test environments to enable comprehensive data testing with minimal environment-related failures.
• Support incident RCA activity by providing testing insight, evidence, and analysis, and ensure learnings are embedded into improved testing practices.
• Line-manage QA Leads and the Automation Manager, providing clear direction, prioritisation, coaching, and performance support.
• Ensure QA activities are focused on preventing customer harm and supporting compliance with regulatory and internal governance requirements.
• Maintain strong communication and organisational discipline to manage multiple initiatives and report progress, risks, and outcomes clearly and consistently.
• Develop and maintain QA documentation, standards, and artefacts to ensure testing practices are consistent, auditable, and aligned with internal and regulatory requirements.
• Define and track quality metrics such as defect trends, test effectiveness, automation coverage, and release readiness to support data-driven decisions.
• Support recruitment and development of QA talent through active hiring involvement, regular one-to-one engagement, mentoring, and creating an environment where team members can perform and grow.

Skills, Knowledge And Expertise

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong experience leading QA or test engineering teams in complex, data-driven or regulated technology environments.
• Hands-on technical capability, with the ability to write, read, and review code and actively contribute to test design and automation decisions.
• Strong proficiency in Python, including writing and reviewing automated tests and debugging failures in complex rules-based or decisioning systems.
• Proven experience designing and maintaining test automation, including API and integration testing using frameworks such as pytest, with working knowledge of UI tools such as Selenium, Playwright, or Cypress where appropriate.
• Experience applying AI-assisted testing tools to improve coverage, efficiency, or defect detection, with clear understanding of governance and control requirements.
• Practical experience working with Git/GitHub, CI/CD pipelines, and Azure-based engineering environments.
• Strong understanding of modern testing practices, including risk-based testing, shift-left quality, and end-to-end assurance.
• Experience working with test environments and test data, including validation of complex inputs and outputs using SQL and data comparison techniques.
• Familiarity with test management and defect tracking tools such as Azure DevOps and producing clear, meaningful quality metrics.
• Excellent leadership skills, with experience managing senior QA roles and automation specialists.
• Strong stakeholder-management and influencing skills, with the ability to balance technical, commercial, and governance considerations.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to navigate complex pricing and engineering challenges and deliver robust solutions.
• Strong communication skills, able to clearly explain technical quality risks and solutions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience working in Agile delivery environments and collaborating closely with engineering, data, and ML teams.

Interview Process

Recruiter screening call

1st Round – Intro call with Hiring manager

2nd Round – Case study round

What We Will Give You

Join us and you’ll find a different way of doing things. We call it the 4Cs. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you’ll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we’ll give you all the support, training and development you need. Not to mention plenty of recognition and rewards, and the scope to voice your ideas and put them into practice.

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey. We also welcome applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS).For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our career's website

Benefits

Benefits: in addition to a competitive salary and £5k car allowance you will also receive…

• Flexible working – we champion a flexible hybrid working approach – please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail
• Competitive bonus scheme - all colleagues are eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus
• Physical wellbeing – as a Band 4 colleague, Hastings pay for you to receive private medical Insurance (PMI). This gives you flexibility and convenience to see a specialist or consultant
• Financial wellbeing – life assurance, income protection, matched pension contributions up to 10%, plus discounts and financial wellbeing support
• Mental wellbeing programme – Thrive app, 24/7 support, mental health first aiders, and support groups
• Other benefits – 27 days annual leave + bank holidays, option to buy/sell leave, healthcare cash plans, dental plans, Cycle to work, tech schemes, onsite facilities, social events, and more

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status. We have a thorough referencing process, including credit and criminal record checks. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us.

Job Posting End Date: 30/01/2026