Lead Test Automation Engineer

Lead Test Automation Engineer

Vienna, VA

Working at NT Concepts means that you are part of an innovative, agile company dedicated to solving the most critical challenges in National Security. We're looking for the best and the brightest to join us in supporting this mission. If meaningful work, initiative, creativity, and continuous self-improvement are important to your career, join our growing team and discover What's Next for you.

Mission Focus: NT Concepts is seeking a Test Automation Engineer to support the DoD enterprise Military Housing system. This complex system of 34 web-based modules is used by over 10,000 active users to meet the housing needs of over 2.5 million service members, DoD civilians, and their families.

Clearance: Active DoD Secret clearance required to start

Location/Flexibility: Vienna, VA with remote flexibility

The Senior Test Automation Engineer is responsible for providing technical leadership in the design, architecture, development, and execution of automated testing solutions to ensure the quality, reliability, and performance of enterprise software applications. With a minimum of 10 years of test automation experience and deep expertise in Selenium, this role leads the transition from manual to automated testing by establishing scalable, maintainable automation frameworks and best practices.

The engineer works closely with developers, release managers, and stakeholders to validate requirements, identify quality risks early in the software development lifecycle, and embed testability into system design. This position supports a large, modular enterprise Military Housing (eMH) application deployed in a Navy on-premise environment utilizing JBoss and Oracle databases and integrates automated testing into existing CI/CD pipelines to improve delivery efficiency and software quality.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, architecture, and implementation of an enterprise-level automated testing framework, supporting the eMH application's 34+ functional modules.
• Own and execute the strategy for migrating from manual testing to automated testing, including prioritization, coverage model, and long-term maintainability.
• Serve as the technical authority for test automation, defining standards, best practices, and reusable components across modules.
• Evaluate system architecture and module complexity to determine appropriate automation approaches and tooling.
• Partner with developers, architects, and analysts to embed testability into designs and shift quality left.
• Drive integration and optimization of automated testing within existing CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins) to improve feedback cycles.
• Analyze automation results, trends, and test coverage to identify quality risks and communicate findings to stakeholders.
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to QA and development team members on automation techniques and quality improvement (no formal people management).
• Ensure automated testing approaches align with DoD, security, and compliance standards applicable to the eMH system.
• Create and manage test plans, test cases, and regression test suites.
• Collaborate with developers and analysts to understand requirements and ensure comprehensive test coverage.
• Execute automated and manual tests to validate software functionality, security, and performance.
• Track, document, and report software defects; work with the development team to resolve issues.
• Contribute to Agile ceremonies and support iterative development processes.
• Communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Certifications: Active CompTIA Security+ or equivalent DoD 8140-compliant certification or the ability to attain it within the first six months.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, or related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in software test automation, including senior-level ownership of automation strategy and framework design.
• Demonstrated experience designing and building a test automation framework from the ground up for a complex, modular application.
• Proven experience leading a manual-to-automation testing transition for enterprise-scale systems.
• Deep expertise in Java and Selenium, with a focus on framework scalability, reusability, and maintainability.
• Strong understanding of enterprise test strategy, test architecture, and risk-based testing.
• Experience working with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins to integrate and maintain automated testing pipelines.
• Ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy while influencing technical decisions without direct authority.
• Proficiency with GitHub for source control and collaboration.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting large, integrated enterprise applications with numerous functional modules.
• Experience modernizing or scaling test automation in legacy or long-lived systems.
• Experience with Google Web Toolkit (GWT).
• Experience working in Agile software development environments.
• International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) certification.
• Experience with JBoss application server and Oracle databases.
• Experience with performance testing or security testing tools.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift 10-15 pounds at times.

About NT Concepts

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in the Washington DC Metro area, NT Concepts is a private, mid-tier company with clients spanning the Intelligence and Defense communities. We deliver end-to-end data and technology solutions that advance the modernization, transformation, and automation of the national security mission—solutions with real impact developed in a strong engineering culture that encourages technical growth, leadership, and creative "big idea" problem-solving.

Employees are the core of NT Concepts. We understand that world-changing concepts happen in collaborative environments. We are a company where talented teams work together using innovation and expertise to solve our clients' most critical challenges. Here, you'll gain competitive benefits, opportunities to bolster your skills and develop new abilities, and a company culture dedicated to support and service. In addition to our benefits program, we encourage our employees to take part in #NTC_GivesBack, which paves the way for positive social change.

If joining a stable company with strong professional growth opportunities resonates with you, and you seek vital, mission-driven projects (for some pretty cool clients) that use your specific talents, we'd love to have you move forward with us.