Quality Engineering Architect Lead

Quality Engineering Architect Lead

• Reporting into the Head of Quality Engineering, lead the technical direction of quality engineering centre of Excellence


• Shape enterprise wide frameworks, standards and automation strategy


• Hybrid 80% homeworking and 20% from Stratford upon Avon

About the role

Join NFU Mutual as we build a new Centre of Excellence for Quality Engineering. You’ll have the opportunity to help transform how quality is delivered across the full development lifecycle, elevating testing to a more integrated, proactive discipline. Working closely with our engineering and product teams, you’ll play a key role in delivering better outcomes for our customers. This is a rare opportunity to make a genuine impact while helping shape a team and function that’s still evolving.

We’re looking for a Quality Engineering Architect Lead to define and lead the technical direction of quality engineering. This is a strategic leadership role, focused on shaping frameworks, standards and tooling to embed quality as a core capability across the product lifecycle.

You will own the quality engineering framework, setting best practice approaches, guardrails and key performance indicators while influencing delivery teams to integrate quality into every stage of development.

Working across multiple teams and domains, you will provide strategic direction and technical leadership for quality engineering practices. You’ll define automation first strategies, evaluate emerging technologies including AI and GenAI, and guide the selection of tools and platforms to support scalable and secure delivery.

You’ll collaborate closely with architecture, engineering and wider business leaders to strengthen quality outcomes. This includes identifying systemic risks, providing data led insights and influencing senior stakeholders to support effective decision making.

The role also includes leading a small team of specialists, setting clear direction and supporting the development of a high performing quality engineering capability. You’ll play a key role in building a modern quality engineering function, improving confidence in delivery and supporting NFU Mutual’s transition to a product based operating model.

This is a Stratford upon Avon based role with 80% homeworking and 20% office presence. Internally this role is called QE Architect Lead.

About you

You’re an experienced Quality Engineering leader with a strong track record of defining and delivering enterprise-wide strategies, frameworks and automation approaches within complex environments. Alongside your technical expertise, you bring strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders, build trusted relationships and drive alignment across multiple teams. You’re a strategic thinker who can navigate complexity, challenge constructively and lead others through change, fostering a collaborative and high-performing culture.

You’ll also bring (essentials)

• Strong experience defining and owning quality engineering frameworks, test architecture and automation strategies


• Expertise in modern engineering practices including CI CD, automation tooling and the use of AI within quality engineering


• Proven ability to lead and develop technical teams while influencing senior stakeholders across multiple domains


• Deep understanding of software development lifecycle, integration across complex systems and data driven quality insights


• Experience working in regulated environments is highly desirable

At NFU Mutual, we support an inclusive workplace and value all the differences that make us unique. We celebrate the creativity and innovation that comes from diverse perspectives and experiences and share a common vision of doing the right thing for our customers and employees.

We recognise that some candidates may experience barriers during the recruitment process. So, we encourage candidates to discuss any adjustments or accommodations they need to be the best they can be throughout our recruitment process.

We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Race at Work and Women in Finance Charter signatory and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity, gender, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.

Benefits and Rewards

• Salary – £75,000 - £85,000 DOE


• Annual bonus (up to 25% of salary)


• Contributory pension scheme, up to 20%, including your 8% contribution


• 28 days annual leave + bank holidays + buy/sell/save holiday trading scheme


• A Family Friendly policy that helps you balance your work and family responsibilities


• Private medical insurance + options to add family members


• Access to savings at High Street brands, travel and supermarkets


• £20 contribution to a monthly gym membership – subject to T&Cs


• Health and wellbeing plan - cashback for dentist, opticians, physio and more


• Employee Volunteering - volunteer in the community for one day each year


• Unlimited access to Refer a Friend £500 bonus scheme


• Life Assurance cover of 4 x salary


• Employee discounts of 15% on a range of NFU Mutual insurance policies.


• Salary sacrifice employee car scheme - subject to eligibility

Working at NFU Mutual

We’re one of the UK’s leading general insurance and financial services organisations, and for over 110 years we’ve put our customers at the heart of everything we do. Our people are just as important to us, so we’re proud to be recognised as “a great place to work”.

Our Gallup Exceptional Workplace 2026 award was not only awarded with Distinction, but it also marked us as the first UK based company to earn a Gallup Exceptional Workplace award for eleven consecutive years. We’ve also been consistently recognised by Glassdoor. We appeared in the Glassdoor Best Places to Work UK list in 2023, 2024 and 2026 — and in 2026, we were the highest ranked insurance business in the UK, highlighting our strong employee experience and the positive feedback our people share on the platform.

Additionally, we were named in the LinkedIn Top Companies 2026 list of “Best midsize employers to grow your career in the UK”, and we’ve been certified as a UK Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
We offer a supportive and empowering culture where people are inspired to perform, given opportunities to grow, and recognised and rewarded for their contribution. Our people are proud to work for a company that respects them and their communities, and they trust us to be financially sustainable—so we’re successful now and in the future.