Software Development Engineer in Test: QA, Journey

Salary: $85,800 - 115,416 per year Requirements:

• Meet one of these qualification pathways: six years of IT quality assurance experience; an associates degree in IT or a closely related field plus four years of IT quality assurance experience; or a bachelors degree in IT or a closely related field plus two years of IT quality assurance experience.
• Experience querying relational databases.
• Experience programming scripts and/or building applications in object-oriented languages for automated testing.
• Experience planning, designing, and executing manual and automated software tests.
• Experience reporting software defects.
• Demonstrate accountability, effective communication, critical thinking, customer service, inclusiveness, and interpersonal skills.
• Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of agency systems and data, and promptly report security events, incidents, or breaches.
• Demonstrate a willingness to learn and grow, and take action to meet the needs of others.
• Pass the required unemployment insurance and paid family and medical leave claim and fraud check, as well as criminal history checks through the Washington State Patrol and FBI due to access to federal tax information.
• Preferred: experience working on an agile team; experience with Microsoft 365, Azure Cloud, Azure DevOps, and/or Power Platform; or experience in accessibility or other usability testing.

• Review backlog assignments, break them into manageable work, and investigate relevant data, users, and processing.
• Analyze business requirements, system specifications, and related information to develop understanding of enterprise applications and design test plans.
• Collaborate with developers and subject-matter experts to clarify testing needs.
• Identify the resources needed for test environments and coordinate with developers, infrastructure staff, and subject-matter experts to establish or update databases, hardware, software, services, permissions, and tools.
• Set up test environments with deployed applications.
• Write test cases with simulated data inputs and expected outputs, and organize them under test plans.
• Execute manual and automated test cases and manage test results.

• Azure
• Cloud
• Data Warehouse
• DevOps
• Hardware
• Support
• Microsoft 365
• Security
• Web
• Office 365
• LESS
• Network
• UX UI Design

More:

We are the Washington State Employment Security Departments Information Technology Services Division, which manages, develops, supports, and maintains agency computer systems, web technologies, networks, data communications, and the data warehouse. This full-time, permanent Software Development Engineer in Test role is part of the Enterprise Applications Testing Team and reports to the Software QA Supervisor. The position is based in Thurston County, Olympia, Washington, and is primarily telework with a flexible hybrid arrangement; occasional office attendance may be needed for meetings or special events. The annual salary range is $85,800 to $115,416, with the top step typically serving as a longevity step. We value access, love, belonging, equity, and stewardship, and support work-life balance, flexible schedules, and employee development. Washington State offers health and insurance coverage, retirement and deferred compensation plans, paid leave and holidays, training, and other benefits. We strive to foster an inclusive workplace that respects diversity and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

last updated 42 week of 2026