IT Specialist (APPSW)

National Institutes of Health • Montgomery County, MD

13d

About The Position

Join the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an IT Specialist Applications Software (APPSW), supporting clinical research IT systems. The position plans and leads software testing and provides technical recommendations to support reliable system releases for patient care and clinical research. It covers testing clinical information systems, custom applications, integrations, and software across multiple user platforms and environments.

The role involves reviewing requirements; developing and executing test plans, cases, scripts, test data, and criteria; documenting and tracking defects; evaluating test results and risks; and coordinating testing resources and activities. The specialist communicates testing status and findings, provides technical direction to personnel supporting testing, and participates in release-readiness discussions. The work is sedentary, with occasional walking and standing for travel to meetings and conferences. The position is designated non-emergency/teleworker; availability to telework or request leave is required in the event of a closure. Depending on duty location, a pre-employment medical examination, immunization evidence, and freedom from communicable diseases may be required.

Requirements

• IT-related experience or completion of specific, intensive training demonstrating attention to detail, customer service, oral communication, and problem solving.
• For GS-12: At least one year of qualifying experience equivalent to GS-11, including reviewing requirements to identify testing needs; developing and executing software test plans, cases, or scripts; identifying and tracking defects and validating corrections; preparing or coordinating test data, environments, and testing activities; and communicating results, defects, risks, and status.
• For GS-13: At least one year of qualifying experience equivalent to GS-12, including independently planning and coordinating software testing; developing testing materials based on requirements and risks; evaluating results and defects and recommending release readiness; prioritizing testing assignments or resources and providing technical direction; and communicating critical issues, status, risks, findings, and recommendations.
• U.S. citizenship or proof of U.S. nationality by the announcement closing date.
• Successful completion of a background investigation, qualification verification, onboarding forms, required-document submission, and other job-related requirements.
• Applicants must meet qualification requirements, including time-in-grade requirements, within 30 calendar days of the announcement closing date.
• Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.
• Must be able to perform the essential duties, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate software testing for clinical research information systems, applications, integrations, releases, upgrades, and production changes.
• Review business, functional, and technical requirements and develop test plans, test cases, test scripts, test data, and testing criteria.
• Execute and document functional, integration, system, regression, performance, usability, and acceptance testing.
• Identify, document, track, and retest software defects and incidents to verify corrective actions and validate system changes.
• Evaluate test results and risks, communicate findings and testing status, and provide technical recommendations supporting release-readiness decisions.
• Prioritize testing assignments, coordinate testing resources, and provide technical direction to personnel supporting testing activities.
• Test clinical information systems, custom applications, system integrations, and software across multiple user platforms and environments.
• Participate in release-readiness and go/no-go discussions by reporting critical defects, testing risks, unresolved issues, and overall test status.
• Coordinate with developers and technical teams to validate corrective actions, perform retesting, and confirm system changes meet established requirements.

Benefits

• A newly appointed or reappointed individual may receive a recruitment incentive, subject to organizational need, justification, and budget limitations.
• A newly appointed or reappointed employee may receive service credit for prior directly related work experience or active-duty uniformed service for annual leave accrual, subject to approval.
• A salary above the minimum may be offered based on superior qualifications or a special Government need, subject to approval.
• At the supervisor's discretion, work schedule flexibilities may include telework, compressed schedules, and flexible schedules.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed