System Automation Software Engineer - Level 1

Pay Rate Range: $90 - $95.07/hr. on W2
Clearance Required: Active Top Secret/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph (lifetime) AND current CI Polygraph within the last 7 years
Position Overview:

• The Agile Developer (System Automation Software Engineer) supports the modernization of a legacy operational system using a microservices-based architecture and cutting-edge cloud-native technologies in an on-site SCIF environment at Fort Meade, MD.
• The engineer is responsible for establishing the program's test framework and automated test suite, executing performance and resilience testing across the microservices stack, and delivering quality software in an Agile, team-oriented environment.
• The role works closely with software engineers, DevOps, and program stakeholders to ensure functional, performance, and end-to-end quality of the modernized system.

Key Responsibilities:
Test Framework and Automation:
• Establish and maintain a test framework and automated test suite using Cypress and/or Playwright
• Develop, maintain, and execute automated functional and end-to-end (E2E) tests across microservices
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines to enable continuous quality gates
• uthor maintainable, data-driven, and reusable test scripts aligned to program coding standards
Performance, Load, and Resilience Testing:
• Execute load and performance testing across microservices and system interfaces
• Conduct chaos testing to validate system resilience, failover, and recovery behaviors
• Perform functional and end-to-end testing to validate user workflows and integrations
• Identify, document, and triage defects; partner with developers on root-cause analysis and remediation
Microservices and Modernization Support:
• Support modernization of a legacy operational system into a microservices-based architecture
• Validate microservice contracts, APIs, and integrations across the distributed system
• Test containerized workloads and deployments in Kubernetes/Docker environments
• Verify CI/CD pipeline behavior, deployment health, and post-deployment validation
Agile Delivery and Collaboration:
• Participate in all Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, stand-ups, refinement, reviews, retrospectives)
• Deliver test artifacts and automation on the sprint cadence in coordination with development teams
• Communicate and collaborate effectively with engineers, product owners, and program stakeholders
• Contribute to continuous improvement of team test practices, tooling, and quality metrics
Qualifications:
Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college in a related discipline, or equivalent combined education and experience.
Experience: 3+ years of professional software engineering or test automation experience; or 1+ year of professional experience with a related Master's degree.
Additional Required Qualifications:
• ctive TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph (lifetime) - must be active prior to start
• Current CI Polygraph within the last 7 years - must be active prior to start
• Hands-on experience establishing and maintaining test frameworks and automated test suites
• Working knowledge of microservices design and architecture
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and integrating automated tests into them
• Experience with test frameworks and test automation tooling
• Experience working in an Agile delivery environment
• Strong communication and collaboration skills in a team-oriented software development environment
Desired Skills (one or more of the following):
• Test automation tools: Playwright, Cypress
• 508/accessibility testing tools: JAWS or NVDA
• Performance testing: JMeter
• API testing/documentation: Swagger (or similar API tool)
• Software languages: Java, JavaScript, Python, Ansible
• Container and orchestration platforms: Kubernetes, Docker
• CI/CD tooling and pipeline development