Junior SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test)

Quality Engineering & Assurance · UK Public Sector

Cognizant has set the standard for the AI builder company, being first to market with this concept-moving beyond integration to building the context-infused platforms, agentic journeys, tools and models that make AI's potential real for the enterprise. This means closing the gap between AI hype and real business outcomes for our clients by blending people, platforms, and context to build agents that do real work. As AI generates more code than ever before, a new imperative has emerged: the Verification Economy. Every AI-generated line must be validated, every agent tested, every public-sector service proven safe before it ships. This role sits at the centre of that mission - and we believe early-career engineers are more critical to that mission, not less.

WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON

• Design and execute test cases, automated scripts, and regression suites for web, API, and backend services across UK government digital programmes.
• Work within Agile delivery teams - contributing quality perspectives, supporting defect triage, and maintaining test environment readiness across release cycles.
• Review and validate AI-generated code and outputs, developing the judgment to distinguish between what an AI has produced and what is actually safe to ship.
• Apply scripting and CI/CD skills to support test automation pipelines, with hands-on exposure to AI-assisted quality practices including prompt testing and non-deterministic behaviour.
• Monitor quality metrics and test coverage, identifying breakdowns in automated workflows and escalating where AI outputs diverge from expected behaviour.
• Build the foundations of a career in AI-led Quality Engineering - understanding not just how to test software, but how to test software that was itself built by AI, using AI.
• Hybrid · Regular client travel and Requires candidates to be eligible for SC clearance

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• Understanding of software testing fundamentals - able to write a test case, identify equivalence classes, and articulate what a defect lifecycle looks like end to end.
• Working knowledge of at least one programming or scripting language (Java, Python, C# or JavaScript preferred) - sufficient to read existing test code, modify a script, and understand what it is doing.
• Familiarity with one or more test automation frameworks - Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Webdriver IO, Jmeter or Loadrunner - and an understanding of when automation adds value and when it does not.
• Awareness of CI/CD concepts and version control - comfortable working with Git, and familiar with how test automation pipelines fit into tools such as Azure DevOps or Jenkins.
• Awareness of Agile ceremonies and the role quality plays within a sprint - not just testing at the end, but contributing to definition of ready and definition of done.
• Able to think critically about AI-generated outputs - questioning results, recognising when behaviour is unexpected, and knowing when to escalate rather than accept.

WHY COGNIZANT

• Real impact. Work on UK government accounts - where quality and resilience are the product, not an afterthought.
• Fast track. AI compresses the path to seniority. You will use AI to acquire skills faster, perform judgment-based work earlier, and reach higher-value roles sooner.
• Deliberate investment in you. We hired 25,000 fresh graduates in 2025 and expect to exceed that in 2026 - a deliberate bet that digital natives are the most valuable asset in an AI-first workforce.
• AI-native environment. Access a $1 billion AI ecosystem: Synapse skilling (2M target), Agent Foundry for enterprise agents, and Neuro® AI tooling embedded in your daily work.
• Leadership that delivers. Join a CEO named to the TIME 100 AI 2025 list for building the talent infrastructure the AI economy demands - and a Chief People Officer who is making that case globally.