Senior QA Automation Engineer

CGI•Fairfax, VA

16h

About The Position

The Senior QA Automation Engineer is responsible for designing, developing, and executing automated tests across UI and API layers, contributing to the team's overall test automation strategy. This role requires hands-on experience with Playwright or Datadog and Java, a solid understanding of API automation, and exposure to performance testing concepts. The engineer will collaborate with development, DevOps, and product teams to ensure high-quality software delivery and help improve automation processes and frameworks.

Requirements

7-10 years of experience in QA automation or software testing roles.
Proven experience developing synthetic monitoring and automation scripts using tools such as Playwright or Datadog, along with Java for building and maintaining automation solutions
Skilled in using Postman for API testing and automation.
Hands-on experience with JMeter or similar performance testing tools.
Familiarity with AWS or other cloud environments; ability to run tests in containerized setups (ECS/EKS/Fargate is a plus).
Experience working with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI.
Solid understanding of QA methodologies, SDLC, Agile/Scrum, and shift-left testing.
Knowledge of Git, Maven/Gradle, TestNG/JUnit, and other automation tooling.
Strong analytical and debugging skills with the ability to interpret logs and test results.
Effective communication and collaboration skills.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to BDD frameworks (Cucumber, JBehave).
Experience with additional API automation frameworks (RestAssured, Karate).
Familiarity with cloud-native architectures, microservices, and distributed systems.
Relevant QA or cloud certifications (ISTQB, AWS Certified Developer/QA Engineer, etc.).

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end testing across integrated systems and ensure coverage for UI, API, and regression workflows.
Design and develop maintainable automation scripts (and Frameworks) using Playwright or Datadog and Java.
Design, develop, and enhance automation frameworks for UI, API, integration, and regression testing.
Create and execute API tests using Postman (including scripts, assertions, and collections).
Lead performance testing efforts using tools like JMeter, including test execution and result interpretation.
Establish and manage test data to support automated and manual scenarios.
Drive the integration and optimization of automated tests within CI/CD pipelines and collaborate on improving build quality gates.
Provide leadership in the creation of test suites in cloud-based or containerized environments (AWS experience is a plus).
Work closely with developers and QA leads to ensure early defect detection and improve testability of features.
Investigate test failures, perform root-cause analysis, and document defects clearly.
Develop and maintain test plans, risk assessments, and release validation efforts.
Partner with cross-functional teams and support manual testing when necessary.
Maintain proper documentation for test cases, automation scripts, and processes.