Description
Our Life Insurance client is seeking a qualified technical manager to coordinate test environments
for multiple application development groups. Candidates must have demonstrated the ability to
understand modern approaches to deployment automation on both cloud-based infrastructure and
bare-metal servers and work closely with release managers and delivery teams to track the
availability of limited testing resources. Technical tasks such as deployment and database
administration will be a product of close collaboration with engineering resources and database
specialists, but candidates should have an overall grasp of the work-effort involved to setup and
configure operating systems, networks, databases, and application servers involved in the creation of
end-to-end testing environments. Candidates will be managing the coordination of efforts to
configure environments and tracking the status of environment configuration activities.
Role/Responsibilities:
• Develop process to track environments required for QA
• Coordinating Test environments usage/scheduling for Release trains (once the SAFE pilot
completes and is rolled out to the wider teams) and resolving any potential conflicts with
common env usage, ensuring most efficient usage of our test infrastructure
• Ensure E2E test environments are populated / refreshed in a consistent well managed way
(i.e work with project teams using environments to ensure refreshes are done in a consistent
way – particularly where we may have M:N relationship between some test environments
• Ensure transparent view on versions of code deployed on specific environments
• Coordinate the activities of Devops team members to automate the setup and configuration
of test environments
• Work with CTS and the Delivery teams to ensure any Test infrastructure requirements are
Delivered for a specific deliverable
• Working with the Delivery teams to ensure automation smoke tests defined and can be run
on new env instance to confirm env is stable and ready for team usage
• Work with the delivery teams to focus on automated Test env deployments to eliminate
manual deployment steps
• Communicate test environment availability to project management
• Resolve conflicts between teams competing for environment usage
• Document and optimise the Path to production for each team from a test environment
perspective
• Implementation of effective test environment management tools – e.g. what tooling do we
utilise to manage the test environment usage
• Ensuring correct data sanitization is being used in all test environments
• Working with teams to understand if specific test environments need additional resourcing
to meet any non-functional testing requirements
• Liaising with each delivery teams to understand their current test environment setup and
then work with the teams to optimise these
• Ensuring unused environments are shut down / cleared out – i.e. to ensure we do not incur
ongoing charges – or expose data – for unnecessary environments
• Become the central POC for any test env requests
• Define and forecast environment requirements based on the anticipated future demand
from the wider delivery teams
• Manage and report on risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies of test environments
Key Personal Strengths:
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills
• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills
• Sound business case development and approval skills
• Team player who will work effectively and pro-actively with internal and external
stakeholders with the ability integrate with all areas of the business
• Proven working knowledge of techniques for planning, monitoring and controlling
programmes
• Focus on scheduling accuracy with the ability to keep a constantly shifting test environment
calendar up to date
• Ability to estimate work effort required to bring test environments to readiness
• Effective problem resolution
Essential Skills:
• Extensive knowledge of best of breed practices in relation to test environment management.
• ITIL Foundation certification
• Solid MS Azure knowledge
• Agile testing patterns
• Significant experience with Continuous Integration and Deployments tools in a DevOps
environment such as Jenkins, GitLabCI, Azure Pipelines
• Hands-on experience of the maintenance and provisioning of Test Environments
• Demonstrable track record optimising Test Environment usage in an enterprise level
organisation across several Delivery teams
• Experience working with on prem Java technology stacks and Azure cloud technologies
• Extensive experience using project and program planning tools to create, manage and track
test environments usage
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Experience with Agile and Waterfall release management
• SDLC experience within an Agile Environment
Desired Skills:
• Previous experience working in Financial Services
• Written and/or oral German language
Necessary Qualifications / Skills:
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in a similar role
• 3rd level qualification (honours degree), preferably in a related discipline