At the NSW Department of Education, we educate and inspire lifelong learners – from early childhood, through schooling to vocational education and training.
* Ongoing Full Time Position
* Location: Eveleigh with flexible working arrangements available across NSW Department of Education offices.
* A talent pool may be created through this recruitment process to fill anticipated vacancies over the next 18 months
* Competitive remuneration ranging from $113,574 to $125,720 plus super & annual leave loading.
NSW Department of Education is seeking a detail-oriented Test Analyst to join the Infrastructure Services Team.
The Test Analyst designs, develops, and executes QA processes, test plans, and test cases to verify software against defined criteria, supporting both manual and automated testing while managing artefacts for successful delivery.
They operate within the test automation framework, select and apply tools, develop and maintain automated frameworks and scripts, and conduct technical tests (e.g., accessibility) to current standards, collaborating with stakeholders, vendors, and IT teams to resolve issues.
They maintain records per protocols, adapt to Agile or Waterfall methods, balance competing demands to meet objectives, stay updated with tools and processes, and align business expectations with delivery capacity.
For further information please click here to view the role description
About you
* Proven experience in QA testing (manual and automated) and test automation tools.
* Strong understanding of testing methodologies, standards, and accessibility requirements.
* Ability to work across Agile and Waterfall environments.
* Excellent collaboration and communication skills.
* Detail-oriented with strong organisational and documentation practices.
* Knowledge of and commitment to implementing the Department's Aboriginal Education Policy and upholding the Department's Partnership Agreement with the NSW AECG and to ensure quality outcomes for Aboriginal people.
Essential requirements of the role
* Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to the value of public education.
Benefits
* Flexible working arrangements
* 35 hour working week
* Competitive, salary sacrificing, employer's contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading
* Flex Leave entitlements, generous holidays & leave conditions
* Opportunities for advancement and mobility across the Department to support your career growth
How to apply
Attach a resume (maximum 5 pages) and a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) outlining how you meet the requirements and capabilities of this role along with addressing the following targeted questions:
Question1
You are joining a team responsible for maintaining an automated test suite that runs in a CI pipeline on every commit. The current suite consists of approximately 600 unit tests, 40 integration tests, 80 API tests, and 120 UI tests. The total pipeline runtime is around 25 minutes. Developers have reported that feedback from the pipeline is too slow, and the UI tests fail intermittently in about 18% of runs, while API and integration tests fail much less frequently. The team deploys multiple times per day and would like faster and more reliable feedback from testing.
Describe how you would analyse this situation and what improvements you would make to the testing approach. In your response, explain the main issues you see in the current test setup, how you would adjust the automation strategy, and how you would change the way tests run in the CI pipeline to improve reliability and speed. Where relevant, include considerations related to infrastructure, environments, and non-functional testing such as performance testing.
Question 2
You are supporting testing for a critical infrastructure platform integrating legacy systems with new cloud-based services. The system must meet strict accessibility and security standards. During delivery, you encounter inconsistent environments, evolving requirements, and delayed vendor components with limited documentation. Existing automated tests are unstable, provide low coverage, and are difficult to maintain.
Describe how you would design and implement an effective testing approach for this system. In your response, explain how you would structure and maintain test artefacts, and design or improve the automation framework (including tools, architecture, and coding practices). Outline how you would debug unstable tests, manage test data, and ensure reliable execution in CI/CD. Additionally, explain how you would validate accessibility compliance and manage dependencies on external vendors and environments while meeting delivery timelines.
Question 3
You are joining a team responsible for a cloud-based educational application used by students and teachers across multiple schools. The system is expected to support up to 10,000 concurrent users during peak periods such as exam weeks and assignment submission deadlines, with strict performance targets such as sub-2 second response times for key journeys like login, accessing learning materials, and submitting assessments. Previous releases have experienced performance issues, including slow page loads and occasional timeouts under load.
How would you design a performance testing approach for this system, starting from requirements analysis through to execution and reporting? In your answer, explain how you would identify and prioritise key user journeys, define realistic workloads, choose appropriate types of performance testing, and establish success criteria. Also describe how you would approach test environments, test data management, and ensure the results are reliable and meaningful for stakeholders.
Applicants are encouraged to prepare their application materials independently. The selection panel values authentic and personally written responses that reflect your own experience, insights and alignment with the Department's values and priorities.
Please refer to the Applicant's Guide to Applying to assist you with your application.
If you are an existing Education Support Staff (corporate staff) with the NSW Department of Education, click here for instructions on how to submit your application.
All other applicants please submit your application by clicking 'Apply Now'.
Note: the selection process will include a range of assessment techniques to assist in determining your suitability for the role. Successful candidates will be required to undertake pre-employment screening for this role which includes a National Criminal History Check.
As a condition of employment, successful candidates not currently employed by the Department must provide a valid Working with Children Check (WWCC) clearance number. Renewal is not required after the WWCC expires, as long as you remain in a non–child-related role. Employer obligations only apply while the WWCC is valid.
Candidates must have Australian work rights (citizens, permanent residents, New Zealand citizens or a valid work visa). Ongoing (permanent) roles are open to Australian citizens and permanent residents and New Zealand citizens, while temporary roles welcome applicants with a visa.
Closing date: Wednesday 6 May 2026 at 11:59pm.
For role enquiries please contact Shalen Prasad via email
We welcome applications from all ages and genders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees and people with disability. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better enable you to shine, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Team () or visit NSW Department of Education Diversity and Inclusion.
A recruitment pool may be created through this recruitment process. A recruitment pool is a group of applicants who have been assessed and identified as suitable for this role, and who may be considered for a range of similar roles, including temporary, term or ongoing roles, over the next 18 months.