- Professional
Quality Assurance holds a vital place in River Island’s Engineering Strategy and is an integral part of the development team. It is an exciting time for RI Tech as we continue our transition to a microservices architecture and embrace a DevOps culture, while also supporting and evolving a number of existing legacy systems. This mixed technology landscape provides a unique opportunity to influence, improve, and modernise our development and testing practices, with a focus on shortening feedback loops and maximising value. We are seeking a Retail System Test Engineer to join our Quality Assurance team, responsible for testing retail applications and backend systems. The role involves designing and executing test cases, ensuring end-to-end quality across both legacy and modern retail systems, and collaborating with business, development, and operations teams to deliver reliable and scalable solutions.
Key Accountabilities
- Ownership of quality early in the lifecycle – Champion and embed a shift-left approach to ensure testing is integral to in-sprint delivery.
- Culture of continuous testing – Advocate and uphold a continuous testing mindset across the team to drive faster feedback and improved product quality.
- Effective test strategy – Ensure consistent application of the test pyramid approach, maintaining balanced and effective coverage across all levels of testing.
- Quality in solution design – Guide and influence the team to incorporate testing considerations into solution design and development decisions.
Key Responsibilities
- Design, develop, and execute manual test cases for retail applications.
- Validate system integrations across retail platforms (Store systems, Backend ERP, middleware, APIs, eCommerce).
- Review and ensure requirements/user stories/acceptance criteria stated are correct, unambiguous, and verifiable.
- Work as an embedded tester in the context of a scrum team, evaluating the complexity of user stories, contributing to estimates during sprint planning, developing and performing tests.
- Conduct appropriate levels and types of testing of user stories.
- Collaborate with developers on architecture and design, evaluate and improve processes to enhance software quality.
- Identify and inform the team of any impediments or risks to product quality or project delivery.
- Ensures defects are documented in sufficient detail to be reproducible.
- Assist and supports business users during user acceptance testing
- Ensures all work is completed on time and under established processes, practices, procedures and quality standards.
Qualifications, Experience and Competencies
Technical Competencies:
Technical Competencies:
- Strong experience in testing retail systems, including POS, ERP, CRM backend systems.
- Solid understanding of transaction flows, inventory management, Stock and payment integrations
- In-depth knowledge of SQL for database validation and backend testing.
- Extensive experience with quality assurance tools and practices.
- Understanding of agile methodologies such as test-driven development, continuous integration, agile testing.
- Experience of planning, executing and validating tests across the full test spectrum (functional, non-functional, regression, integration, E2E, UAT, OAT, etc.).
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent attention to detail and communication skills.
Preferred:
- Experience with Oracle ERP systems or similar
- Experience with API testing (Postman, SoapUI, REST-assured).
- Project/Issue tracking tools such as Jira
- Test Management tools such as Zephyr, X-ray or similar
- ISTQB/ISEB certification or equivalent.
Behavioural Competencies:
- Analytical Thinking: Ability to break down complex retail processes into clear test scenarios and identify potential risks.
- Attention to Detail: Ensures accuracy in test cases, data validation, and defect reporting.
- Collaboration: Works effectively with cross-functional teams (developers, business analysts, product owners, support teams).
- Communication Skills: Clearly articulates defects, risks, and test results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Adaptability: Flexible in working across multiple retail systems, projects, and technologies.
- Problem Solving: Proactively investigates issues, identifies root causes, and supports quick resolution
- Ownership & Accountability: Takes responsibility for the quality of deliverables, driving continuous improvement.
About Us
We’re a much-loved brand with an exciting future. Our Islanders are a diverse bunch of bright, talented people who love working together – and are proud of the work they do. Progression here can take you in all kinds of directions. This is what a career at River Island is like. And this is where yours starts.
This role is based at our Head Office in West London. Check us out here on a map.
What we can offer you:
💰 Generous 50% staff discount so you can treat yourself to the latest products, and a bargain staff shop on site!
🛒 Reducing Islanders everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more through Reward Gateway!
🎉 A free onsite gym, subsidised restaurant & café to fill you needs. Various social events to socialise throughout the year.
🤎 Every family is unique, we support Islanders with all different family setups enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility treatment. We also work closely with the Retail Trust to create dedicated support for all our Islanders!
💻 Flexible working is a given, on top of payday and summer early finish Fridays.
💕 Give as you earn scheme, a ‘Giver Island’ day each year and receive matched funding.
🎓 Support with upskilling through on the job training and qualifications. A succession plan if you want to progress.
💰 A generous bonus scheme & private pension plan.
☀️ 25 days paid holiday, exclusive of Bank Holidays. With the added option to purchase additional holiday twice a year for whatever the need!
This role is based at our Head Office in West London. Check us out here on a map.
What we can offer you:
💰 Generous 50% staff discount so you can treat yourself to the latest products, and a bargain staff shop on site!
🛒 Reducing Islanders everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more through Reward Gateway!
🎉 A free onsite gym, subsidised restaurant & café to fill you needs. Various social events to socialise throughout the year.
🤎 Every family is unique, we support Islanders with all different family setups enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility treatment. We also work closely with the Retail Trust to create dedicated support for all our Islanders!
💻 Flexible working is a given, on top of payday and summer early finish Fridays.
💕 Give as you earn scheme, a ‘Giver Island’ day each year and receive matched funding.
🎓 Support with upskilling through on the job training and qualifications. A succession plan if you want to progress.
💰 A generous bonus scheme & private pension plan.
☀️ 25 days paid holiday, exclusive of Bank Holidays. With the added option to purchase additional holiday twice a year for whatever the need!
Keeping You Safe
At River Island we are committed to the safeguarding of all of our employees regardless of age or job role. We will fulfil our obligation under the Prevent duty which seeks to stop extremism and extremist views from materialising in our business. We promote and encourage the belief in British Values- including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. To find out more, please visit www.gov.uk.
Our Island is made up of a diverse community, where we all belong and feel part of something bigger. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles unless operational requirements prevent otherwise. To find out more about this interview process, check out our hiring process below.
Our Island is made up of a diverse community, where we all belong and feel part of something bigger. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles unless operational requirements prevent otherwise. To find out more about this interview process, check out our hiring process below.
