Title: Senior Engineer, QA Automation
Department: Technology
Job Location: Washington, DC
Reports To: Lead Software Engineer
Supervisory Role: No
FLSA Status: Exempt
Position SummaryThe Senior QA Automation Engineer designs, develops, and maintains automated test scripts to validate software functionality, reducing manual testing efforts and ensuring high-quality releases. In this role, you will lead automation strategy for our suite of web applications and one mobile application, build scalable and maintainable test frameworks, and partner closely with Engineering, Product, QA, and DevOps teams to improve quality throughout the software delivery lifecycle. This role is expected to integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines, expand regression coverage, and help the organization ship high-confidence releases faster. The ideal candidate combines strong hands-on automation experience with sound software engineering practices, strong troubleshooting skills, and the ability to adapt quickly to evolving priorities while collaborating across teams.
Essential Functions- Design, develop, and maintain automated test scripts and frameworks for web and mobile applications using tools such as Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright
- Create reusable, maintainable, and scalable test automation patterns, utilities, and supporting libraries that improve team efficiency and long-term test stability.
- Evaluate and apply modern AI-assisted coding and test generation tools where appropriate to accelerate development while maintaining accuracy, security, and maintainability
- Integrate automated test execution into CI/CD pipelines to support pull request validation, continuous integration, regression testing, and release readiness workflows
- Develop and execute functional, smoke, regression, end-to-end, and integration test suites across multiple browsers, platforms, and devices
- Partner with software engineers, product managers, QA and DevOps teams to define acceptance criteria, risk based test strategies, and quality gates early in the development lifecycle
- Develop and manage test data, mocks, stubs, fixtures, and environment setup needed for reliable automated and integration testing
- Monitor automation results, improve reporting and visibility into quality trends, and continuously reduce flaky tests and unstable pipelines
- Contribute to API and service-layer testing to complement UI automation and improve speed and depth of feedback
- Support mobile automation strategy, device/browser coverage decisions, and ongoing framework/tooling improvements
- Promote quality engineering best practices, code reviews for test automation, and shared ownership of release quality across the engineering organization
Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities (KSAs)- Demonstrated experience building and maintaining automation frameworks for enterprise-grade software applications
- Strong hands-on experience with Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright; experience with web and mobile test automation is required
- Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD platforms such as GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, or equivalent tooling
- Solid understanding of software testing principles, test design techniques, defect lifecycle management, and quality engineering practices
- Proficiency with at least one modern programming or scripting language used in automation, such as JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, or Java
- Experience validating REST APIs, backend services, and third-party integrations in addition to user interface testing
- Understanding of source control, branching strategies, build pipelines, and modern software delivery practices
- Experience working effectively in Agile teams with strong communication and collaboration across engineering and business stakeholders
- Knowledge of test reporting, test case management, defect tracking, and release support processes
- Familiarity with accessibility, performance, and security testing concepts is a plus
- Experience with modern AI coding tools and AI-enabled developer productivity tools is a plus
- Experience with modern AI agentic workflows and self-maintaining testing suites is a plus
Required Education, Certifications/ Licenses, Related Experience- Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, or equivalent practical experience
- 5 or more years of experience in software quality assurance, test automation, or software engineering roles with significant automation responsibilities
- Experience supporting quality practices for customer-facing applications, distributed systems, and/or data driven platforms is preferred
ADA SPECIFICATIONS:- This position requires the ability to remain in a stationary position (standing and/or seated) more than half the time
- The person in this position may need to move about the corporate office(s) less than half the time
- The person in this role must be able to position him/herself (ex: kneel, crawl, crouch down) to fulfill the essential functions of the role less than half the
- The person in this position must be able to maneuver (lift, move, carry, slide, etc.) less than 15 lbs.
- This position operates machinery and/or equipment that requires the constant use of hands/fingers/wrists (ex: typing, sweeping, operating the Point of Sale system, etc.) more than half the time
- This position requires the ability to spend more than half the time viewing computer monitors
- The person in this position must be able to identify and distinguish between colors less than half the time
Travel Requirements- This position requires overnight domestic travel less than 25% of the time
- Anticipated travel will be by car, air, and/or train
PAY RANGE: $123,000.00 - $145,000.00
Note:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties as necessary.
