Software Engineer, QA

Octave•Sig, VA

10h•Hybrid

About The Position

Octave is seeking a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer to be embedded within an Agile delivery team supporting our global Public Safety software, including the HxGN OnCall application suite. These mission-critical, web-based solutions support call-taking, dispatch, situational awareness, records management, mobile operations, and analytics. Experience in the Public Safety domain is highly valued. This role partners daily with Developers, Product Owners, and Scrum Masters to ensure quality is built in throughout the delivery lifecycle, not tested in at the end.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline, or equivalent professional experience
5+ years of experience as a QA Engineer or Software Test Engineer embedded on Agile teams
Strong understanding of Agile and SAFe frameworks and QA’s role in iterative delivery
Solid knowledge of QA methodologies, test design techniques, and defect lifecycle management
Familiarity with TDD and BDD concepts and working with acceptance criteria
Ability to write clear, concise, and maintainable test cases and documentation
Experience balancing manual testing with growing levels of automation
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
Self-motivated, accountable, and comfortable in a fast-paced, collaborative environment
Willingness to learn new technologies and continuously improve skills

Nice To Haves

Experience with Public Safety, emergency response, or other mission-critical systems
Hands-on experience with Playwright or similar modern automation frameworks
Familiarity with browser developer tools and debugging techniques
Experience with Azure Cloud, Kubernetes, and PaaS / SaaS architectures
Working knowledge of SQL Server Management Studio and SQL scripting

Responsibilities

Serve as an embedded QA partner on an Agile / SAFe delivery team, owning quality outcomes for assigned features and components
Collaborate early with Product Owners and Developers to refine user stories, acceptance criteria, and test scenarios
Apply and promote shift-left quality practices, including TDD (Test-Driven Development) and BDD (Behavior-Driven Development) principles
Design, execute, and maintain manual and automated tests at the story, feature, and regression levels
Contribute to and expand automated test coverage; experience with Playwright is a strong plus
Perform functional, integration, regression, and exploratory testing throughout the sprint lifecycle
Identify, document, and triage defects with clear reproduction steps, severity, and impact
Participate actively in Agile ceremonies (backlog refinement, sprint planning, stand-ups, reviews, retrospectives)
Analyze logs and system behavior to support defect investigation and root cause analysis
Collaborate with other QA engineers to improve standards, tooling, and best practices
Use Azure DevOps for test management, defect tracking, and traceability
Operate effectively in a Windows 11 environment using Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) for documentation, analysis, and reporting