Senior Test Specialist

Senior Test Manager/Environment Specialist Ultima has been on a journey over the last 3 years, driving a modern infrastructure and application portfolio that is delivered on modern cloud and hybrid on-premises software defied data centre architecture. As an IT organisation, we are organically moving to thinking and operating in a cloud native way. Our Infrastructure should be resilient, evergreen and we should operate a modern as a service infrastructure that eliminates the need for large, expensive upgrade programs. The Environments Specialist will be responsible for the end-to-end physical, virtual and cloud platforms across Ultima supporting us as we navigate through the next part of our journey. This will cover both our current on premises data centres and driving our move to the cloud as part of our cloud strategy. They will be responsible for taking on the current Ultima IT environments strategy and driving it to delivery through the creation of the roadmaps, principles, and guiderails, while continuing to evolve the strategy alongside our Infosec and architecture teams to ensure we have a secure and agile infrastructure/cloud platform. This role will be key in delivering our Testing platforms and will be responsible for managing the data and application consistency across the platform, ensuring the baseline is protected with the ability to restore and make the environments ready for the test scenarios, working closely with the test manager. The Environments Specialist will need to develop a strong partnership with our various application and business teams to gain a clear understanding of our current platforms, and to then develop a clear plan for each test scenario. To be successful this person will need to be: - A technical leader in IT Technologies (Ansible, Terraform, Pulumi, Git) Demonstrate clear leadership in Test platform transformation, with a very clear focus on delivery Hands-on as and when required to both educate our current teams and help accelerate delivery programs as required Knowledge of SAP testing Knowledge of POS testing Principal Accountabilities Coordinate the synchronisation of multiple testing environments, including development, testing, staging, and production environments, maintain consistency and reliability across the software development lifecycle. Implement automated synchronisation processes and tools including Ansible, Terraform, Pulumi to ensure that all environments are updated with the latest configurations, data sets, and software versions. Monitor synchronisation activities to identify discrepancies or conflicts and implement corrective actions to resolve them promptly. Manage and optimise CI/CD pipelines to automate the build, test, and deployment processes across different environments. Collaborate with development and operations teams to design and implement efficient and reliable pipeline workflows that meet project requirements and quality standards. Monitor pipeline performance and reliability, identify bottlenecks or issues, and implement improvements to enhance efficiency and stability. Maintain version control systems utilising Git to track changes to code, configurations, and scripts across different environments and pipelines. Ensure that version control practices are followed consistently to prevent conflicts, maintain audit trails, and facilitate collaboration among team members. Implement branching and merging strategies to manage code changes effectively and minimise disruptions to ongoing development and testing activities. Collaborate with development teams to define and implement integration testing strategies to validate the interoperability and compatibility of software components across different environments. Execute integration tests and analyse results to identify integration issues or failures, and work with development teams to resolve them promptly. Document integration testing procedures, configurations, and results to ensure repeatability and consistency in future testing cycles. Key Performance Indicators (KPI s) Robust Roadmaps (3 Year) with Investment requirements identified Support/maintain and improve the deployed technologies Adhere to the Ultima Values Competencies Consistently adopts strong, logical thinking when solving problems and troubleshooting. Ability to quickly penetrate technology areas to solve problems, ask relevant questions, be proactive, take initiative, and drive for improvements and changes in approach Demonstrates a broad outlook and ability to think medium to long-term. Identifies root cause of the problem and establishes priorities. Demonstrates clear leadership and the ability to influence and persuade at all levels. Can coach and mentor teams across the wider organisation Experience in Infrastructure (Linux, Kubernetes, Docker, Azure, AWS, VMWare VCF, Backup/DR) In-depth knowledge of the core platforms with certifications or strong on the job experience Detailed knowledge around the delivery of Infrastructure Automation and Orchestration. Strong technical knowledge including Microsoft Technologies, Red Hat Linux, VMWare, Data Centre, Enterprise networking, WAN/LAN/WLAN, Routing, Firewall, IDS/IPS, WAN optimization, Proxy, VPN services, Load Balancing Solid understanding of Infrastructure Security, IAM, Cloud Authentication Ability to build a consensus and drive and agree technical direction Well-developed written and communications skills Strong ability to influence and negotiate