Manual Test Engineer

Halvik•Washington, DC

About The Position

Halvik is seeking an experienced Manual Software Tester supporting the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Policy. The successful candidate will join our IT solutions team, providing senior-level testing, analysis, and functional validation for key agency platforms including the Travel Monitoring Analysis System (TMAS 3.0), the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS 9.0), the Policy Information Data Portal (PIDP), the Integrated Transportation Information Platform (ITIP), and the Fuels and FASH (Financial Analysis System – Highways) (F&F) system. In this role, the candidate will bridge the gap between high-level business goals and complex software implementations by analyzing requirements and verifying system functionality across FHWA's modern .NET, SQL Server, and Microsoft Azure cloud-native environments. Operating within an Agile/Scrum product development environment, this position demands exceptional analytical, troubleshooting, and functional analysis capabilities. The Manual Software Tester is responsible for analyzing user needs to determine functional and cross-functional requirements, performing functional allocation to identify required testing tasks, and designing comprehensive, reusable manual test cases and test suites. Acting as a quality steward, the candidate will manage and execute end-to-end test runs, log descriptive bugs in Azure DevOps (ADO), perform web and API diagnostics, and collaborate closely with developers, business analysts, and federal system owners.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree (BS) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or another related scientific, technical, or functional discipline.
A minimum of 8 years of professional IT experience, of which at least 6 years must be specialized experience in system functional analysis or software quality assurance testing.
5+ years of hands-on experience analyzing user requirements/user stories and writing, managing, and executing manual test cases and reusable test suites.
3+ years of experience utilizing Azure Test Plans and Azure DevOps (ADO) to manage test campaigns, log bugs, and maintain full end-to-end traceability.
Expertise in the bug lifecycle, including writing descriptive, reproducible defect reports containing steps, environment configs, actual vs. expected results, and visual/network logs.
Demonstrated proficiency using browser Developer Tools (F12) to analyze DOM structure, capture HTTP network requests, and troubleshoot front-end web app behavior.
Experience performing manual web service and API testing.
Proficiency in writing SQL queries to validate backend databases (including Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle) and verify database integrity and records creation.
3+ years of experience participating actively in Agile Scrum ceremonies (sprint planning, daily standups, backlog grooming, and retrospectives).
Proven capability to analyze complex system designs, coordinate task-level resources, and provide technical guidance to other team members.
Exceptional oral and written communication skills to deliver technical test summaries, bug details, and coordinate between developers and business analysts.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience supporting the Department of Transportation (DOT) or the FHWA Office of Policy, with functional knowledge of critical applications such as TMAS 3.0, HPMS 9.0, PIDP, ITIP, and Fuels and FASH (F&F).
Familiarity testing cloud-hosted applications on Microsoft Azure environments, including web apps running on Azure App Services or querying Azure SQL Managed Instances.
Experience validating complex data ingestion pipelines (such as ITIP Delphi data loading) and validating standard web data exchange formats including JSON and XML.
Demonstrated experience coordinating and supporting federal client users and business owners during User Acceptance Testing (UAT) cycles, including dry-run validation with test/dummy data.
Understanding of automated UI testing concepts or automated cross-browser tools like Playwright and Selenium to assist in test migration or smoke test validation.
Experience in utilizing Google Gemini and Notebook AI models to streamline work processes and products.

Responsibilities

Analyze user needs, user stories, and technical design specifications to determine functional and cross-functional requirements, identifying testable components across FHWA policy systems.
Outline testing tasks, establish task interrelationships, identify required resources, and manage test execution schedules to ensure sprint and project milestones are met.
Design, write, and maintain clear, comprehensive, and reusable manual test cases, scenarios, and structured test suites using Azure Test Plans in Azure DevOps (ADO).
Manage and execute formal test runs, establishing and maintaining rigorous end-to-end traceability between manual test cases, logged defects, and high-level user stories or business requirements.
Log highly detailed defect reports in Azure DevOps, including clear steps to reproduce, expected vs. actual outcomes, environment details, and relevant visual or system diagnostics.
Perform manual API and backend testing of RESTful web services, verifying backend data integrity and transaction logs.
Utilize browser Developer Tools to inspect DOM elements, trace network payloads, review HTTP response codes, and monitor console errors during front-end web application validation.
Conduct diverse software quality testing methodologies, including functional, smoke, regression, integration, cross-browser, and structured exploratory testing to surface critical edge-case defects.
Evaluate existing legacy applications and assist in validating upgraded modern cloud-native systems (such as .NET 8, 9, or 10 applications on Azure PaaS).
Collaborate closely with Developers, Business Analysts, and client stakeholders to refine acceptance criteria, define the Definition of Done (DoD), and validate bug fixes rapidly.
Support federal system owners and end-users during User Acceptance Testing (UAT) cycles, coordinating testing environments, triaging issues, and facilitating functional system approval.
Develop and maintain comprehensive testing documentation, including test plans, traceability matrices, and defect summary reports to support long-term system maintainability and federal compliance.