Senior Automated Test Engineer

Leidos•Gaithersburg, MD

22h

About The Position

Leidos is seeking a Senior Test Automation Engineer to support the Chinook program, helping deliver reliable, secure, mission-essential software for Intelligence Community analysts and mission operators. The position focuses on identifying defects early, validating critical functionality, and ensuring new capabilities are ready for operational use. The engineer will use Playwright to automate mission-critical web application workflows and Bruno and/or Postman to verify APIs that connect essential systems and data. The role involves close collaboration with software engineers and mission stakeholders on a high-performing Agile team to strengthen software quality, support secure delivery, and reduce operational risk. The program's primary work location is Gaithersburg, MD; the position may also be performed in Alexandria, VA; Chantilly, VA; Englewood, CO; St. Louis, MO; or Tucson, AZ. An active Top Secret/SCI clearance and the ability to successfully pass a polygraph examination are required.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship, as required by the contract.
Active Top Secret/SCI clearance and ability to successfully pass a polygraph examination.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field with 8–12 years of relevant experience, or a master's degree with 6–10 years of relevant experience.
At least 8 years of hands-on experience in software test automation, quality engineering, or software development, with a strong emphasis on automated testing.
Hands-on experience developing, executing, and maintaining automated UI tests using Playwright.
Practical experience using Bruno and/or Postman to develop, execute, and validate API tests.
Strong TypeScript and/or JavaScript programming experience for test automation.
Experience designing and maintaining automated test frameworks for modern web applications.
Strong understanding of RESTful APIs, HTTP methods, JSON, authentication mechanisms, and API validation.
Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, or equivalent platforms.
Experience working on Agile teams using Scrum or similar methodologies.
Experience with source control systems such as Git.
Ability to analyze requirements, develop test scenarios, troubleshoot application issues, and document defects.
Strong understanding of functional, integration, regression, end-to-end, and negative testing methodologies.
Excellent communication, collaboration, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and deliver high-quality automation solutions in a fast-paced Agile environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting Department of Defense or Intelligence Community programs.
Advanced Playwright experience, including fixtures, page object models, parallel execution, cross-browser testing, and trace-based debugging.
Experience developing API automation suites with Bruno CLI, Postman Collection Runner, or Newman and integrating them into CI/CD pipelines.
Experience validating API schemas, complex JSON responses, OAuth 2.0, JWT-based authentication, and role-based access controls.
Experience with Cypress, Selenium, REST Assured, or other automation tools.
Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and containerized testing environments.
Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS and automated testing of cloud-hosted applications.
Experience with SQL and database validation for end-to-end test scenarios.
Experience testing microservices-based or distributed applications.
Familiarity with security testing principles and secure software development practices.
Experience with test reporting, automation metrics, and quality dashboards.
Knowledge of Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), Test-Driven Development (TDD), and shift-left testing practices.
Experience mentoring engineers or serving as a technical lead for test automation initiatives.
Experience with geospatial applications or GEOINT data.
Certifications such as ISTQB, CASTP, CAST, CSTE, Security+, or similar.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, execute, and maintain Playwright automated test scripts for web application functionality, user workflows, and regression requirements.
Develop and maintain automated API tests using Bruno and/or Postman to validate RESTful services, payloads, authentication, error handling, and data integrity.
Build and enhance scalable automation frameworks for functional, integration, end-to-end, smoke, and regression testing.
Integrate automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines to enable continuous testing, rapid feedback, and early defect detection.
Collaborate with Agile teams to define acceptance criteria, identify test scenarios, and implement testing strategies during each sprint.
Participate in sprint planning, daily standups, backlog refinement, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.
Develop and execute test plans, test cases, and test scripts based on user stories, requirements, and system specifications.
Validate APIs, including HTTP methods, status codes, JSON payloads, authorization, authentication, and negative scenarios.
Analyze test results, troubleshoot failures, identify root causes, and document defects using tools such as Jira.
Partner with developers to improve testability, shift testing earlier, and reduce manual regression testing.
Establish and promote automation standards, reusable components, and engineering best practices.
Support test data management, environment configuration, and test execution in development, integration, and staging environments.
Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior test engineers and contribute to continuous improvement of quality engineering practices.
Ensure testing aligns with customer security requirements, organizational quality standards, and program delivery objectives.