Senior Test Automation Engineer

Leidos•Columbia, MD

About The Position

Leidos has a new and exciting opportunity for a Senior Test Automation Engineer in our Intelligence Sector's Cyber & Analytics Business Area (CABA). Our talented team is at the forefront in Security Engineering, Computer Network Operations (CNO), Mission Software, Analytical Methods and Modeling, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and Cryptographic Key Management. We are seeking a Senior Test Automation Engineer to design, build, and maintain automated test solutions for both REST APIs and web-based user interfaces. This role requires hands-on expertise in Linux command-line tools, Python automation, containerized test execution using Docker/Podman, and CI/CD integration with Jenkins and GitLab. The successful candidate will also help evolve our in-house automation framework by planning and executing the migration from legacy Robot Framework implementations to newer automation platforms.

Requirements

Bachelors Degree in a related technical field of study and 12 or more years of related experience. Candidates without bachelors degrees will require additional years of experience and will be considered on a case by case basis.
Strong experience with Linux and Bash shell scripting, with demonstrated ability to work effectively from the command-line and process/report on large data sets (logs, test artifacts, results).
Advanced experience building test automation in Python, including Pytest-based frameworks and best practices for maintainable automated testing.
Strong hands-on experience with Docker (or Podman) including building, versioning, and maintaining images used in automation and CI/CD workflows.
Working knowledge of Jenkins and GitLab pipelines, including running containerized workloads and managing automated test stages.
Experience with REST API testing, including validation of responses, authentication flows, and negative/error-path testing.
Familiarity with Robot Framework UI automation using Selenium library (Python).
Solid understanding of how to architect a test automation harness/framework for UI and/or API testing (test structure , configuration, reporting, environment management).
Familiarity with SQL and tools such as SQL Developer, including writing queries and using them within automated validation steps.
Security Clearance Requirement: Active TS/SCI with polygraph

Nice To Haves

Experience planning and executing test automation framework migrations (e.g., Robot Framework to Microsoft Playwright or Robot Framework AIO).
Experience improving CI performance, parallelization, and test execution efficiency in containerized environments.
Strong debugging skills across services, CI logs, containers, and test reporting outputs.

Responsibilities

Develop, maintain, and enhance automated test suites for back-end REST APIs and web-based user interfaces.
Build and maintain a scalable, reliable test automation harness (framework) including execution, reporting, data setup/teardown, and CI/CD integration.
Implement and expand Python-based test automation using Pytest, including fixtures, test data strategies, and robust assertions/validation.
Create and maintain Docker/Podman container images used to run automation consistently across developer environments and CI pipelines.
Integrate automated test execution into Jenkins and GitLab CI/CD pipelines, ensuring repeatable runs, clear reporting, and actionable results.
Use Linx command-line tools and Bash shell scripting to locate, parse, transform, and report on large volumes of logs, test output, and system data.
Support and extend UI automation using Robot Framework and the Python Selenium library, including test stability improvements and best practices.
Collaborate with stakeholders to plan, estimate, and break down work for migrating the current in-house test harness from legacy Robot Framework to a modern alternative (e.g., Robot Framework AIO or Microsoft Playwright).
Write and maintain SQL queries (using SQL Developer or similar tooling) and integrate database validation steps into automated tests were appropriate.
Troubleshoot CI failures and test irregularity/volatility, improve test reliability, and contribute to continuous improvement of the overall QA automation approach.