The Functional Test Lead is a hands‑on leadership role responsible for driving the quality of software deliverables within multiple scrum teams.
01st December, 2025
This role sits directly within a software scrum team, performing functional testing and contributing to automation, while also coaching and guiding Functional Test Engineers working across other teams. You will set the benchmark for testing excellence, ensure consistent practices are followed, and act as a quality gate for all functional deliverables. This role requires a strong technical tester who can lead by example, support engineers, collaborate closely with developers, and take ownership of functional quality throughout the development lifecycle.
Hands‑On Responsibilities
* Act as an embedded tester within a software scrum team, performing day‑to‑day functional testing.
* Review user stories, acceptance criteria, and specifications to ensure clarity and testability.
* Design detailed functional test cases and execute them during the sprint.
* Perform exploratory testing to uncover edge cases, usability gaps, and unexpected behaviours.
* Analyse logs, isolate issues, and collaborate with developers to reproduce and resolve defects.
* Contribute to sprint automation by developing and maintaining automated checks for high‑value scenarios.
* Provide input to CI pipelines by supplying test cases, data sets, and automated scripts.
* Track and report test outcomes, readiness, risks, and defects for your scrum team.
Leadership Responsibilities
* Mentor, coach, and guide functional test engineers across multiple scrum teams.
* Set and maintain functional testing standards, ensuring consistent and high‑quality practices.
* Coordinate and allocate testing resources across multiple scrum teams to balance workload.
* Align functional testing strategy with overall product roadmap and business priorities.
* Contribute to release planning, risk assessment, and feature readiness evaluation.
* Serve as the primary point of contact for functional testing across scrum teams.
* Communicate testing progress, risks, and issues to Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and senior management.
* Drive adoption of best practices across teams, including test design, reporting, and defect management.
* Support engineers through pair‑testing, technical guidance, and hands‑on problem solving.
* Drive a culture of quality, early prevention, and continuous improvement within the teams.
* Participate in and encourage team involvement in Agile ceremonies (planning, refinement, retro, etc.).
* Review and improve test artefacts (test cases, results, documentation, coverage).
* Identify skill gaps, training needs, and improvement areas within the functional test group.
* Act as the functional quality gate before features move to system and full regression test stages.
What You Need to Succeed
Qualifications & Certifications
* Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, Electronics, Telecommunications, or a related field.
* ISTQB certification (preferred but not mandatory)
This job involves some travelling so the successful applicant will have a full, clean driving licence, own car, and valid passport. Travel expenses will be paid.
This role may require Security Clearance in the future.
Experience
Must‑have
* Strong hands‑on experience performing functional testing within Agile/Scrum teams.
* Ability to take full ownership of functional product quality and act as a modern “quality gate”.
* Experience interpreting requirements, shaping acceptance criteria, and driving clarity before development begins.
* Solid understanding of functional test design techniques (boundary, equivalence, state‑based, risk‑based).
* Confident in log analysis, defect investigation, and working closely with developers.
* Proven experience testing complex software systems (embedded, telecom, networking, or similar).
* Ability to write and extend automated functional tests (Python / C#).
* Experience guiding, coaching, or supporting other testers, even without direct line management.
* Experience balancing hands‑on testing with team leadership.
Nice‑to‑have
* Experience testing telecom protocols, embedded software, or RF‑based devices.
* Exposure to CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, DevOps).
* Experience with performance, soak, or reliability testing (not essential).
Technical Skills
* Strong understanding of functional testing techniques and test strategy design.
* Ability to write maintainable automated scripts for sprint‑level checks (Python/C#).
* Experience using Jira, test management tools, and Git‑based version control.
* Ability to analyse logs, debug issues, and collaborate with developers effectively.
* Understanding of API testing, mocking, stubbing, and test data design.
* Familiarity with CI/CD workflows and integrating functional tests into automation pipelines.
Personal Attributes
* Strong communicator able to explain technical issues clearly to developers, POs, and stakeholders.
* Highly organised, proactive, and able to prioritise effectively.
* Confident decision‑maker who takes ownership of quality outcomes.
* A collaborative, supportive leader who motivates and develops others.
* Passionate about quality, continuous improvement, and high‑performing Agile teams.
* Adaptable and able to respond to changing priorities and evolving product needs.
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