Systems Engineer - Testing & Quality Assurance - Contingent

Aretum•McLean, VA

4h•Remote

About The Position

Lead comprehensive testing, validation, and quality assurance activities for a complex Federal cloud integration solution serving millions of clients. Our delivery is for a polypharmacy solution in a complex, multi-system cloud integration solution for Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system that services millions of veterans. You are responsible for developing and executing test strategies across infrastructure, integration, security, and performance domains to ensure the solution meets functional requirements, security controls, and compliance standards necessary for RMF/ATO approval within a 6-month timeline. Due to the nature of our work as a federal consulting organization, employees may be expected to handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and must adhere to applicable safeguarding and compliance requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or related technical field (relevant certifications and experience may supplement)
5-7 years in quality assurance, testing, or systems engineering roles
3+ years testing complex cloud-based systems, preferably in AWS environments
2+ years experience with automated testing frameworks and tools
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with meticulous attention to detail
Excellent written communication for test documentation, defect reports, and status updates
Ability to work independently and manage multiple concurrent testing workstreams
Systematic and methodical approach to test execution and defect investigation
Adaptable to fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with changing requirements
Proactive identification of quality risks and testing gaps

Nice To Haves

ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) certification
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate or Cloud Practitioner
Security+ or similar security certification
Experience with Databricks or PowerBI testing
Federal government contracting or DoD testing experience
Experience with test data generation and data masking for PII protection
Experience testing systems in federal, DoD, or highly regulated environments
Prior involvement in RMF/ATO processes with security control testing

Responsibilities

Develop comprehensive test strategy covering functional, integration, performance, security, and compliance testing
Create detailed test plans aligned with RMF/ATO requirements and federal security control validation
Define test environments, test data requirements, and testing infrastructure needs
Establish test schedules, milestones, and success criteria for pilot deployment across 10 systems
Identify testing tools, frameworks, and automation opportunities to meet aggressive timeline
Coordinate testing dependencies across development, infrastructure, and security teams
Test container platform deployments (ECS/OpenShift) including orchestration, scaling, and failover capabilities
Validate infrastructure-as-code deployments for consistency, repeatability, and compliance with baselines
Test application load balancer configurations including health checks, routing rules, and SSL/TLS termination
Verify network segmentation, security group rules, and multi-AZ high availability configurations
Validate backup and disaster recovery procedures including RTO/RPO compliance
Test auto-scaling behaviors under various load conditions and failure scenarios
Design and execute integration test cases for data flows across 10+ disparate source systems
Test API interfaces, data orchestration workflows, and error handling/retry logic
Validate data transformation accuracy, completeness, and consistency across integration points
Test vendor container integration with custom infrastructure and security controls
Verify Databricks pipeline processing and PowerBI report accuracy against expected outcomes
Execute end-to-end business process testing for risk analysis and service coordination workflows
Validate implementation of NIST 800-53 security controls required for ATO
Coordinate and support security assessment testing activities with ISSO/ISSM
Test authentication, authorization, and access control mechanisms across all system components
Validate encryption implementation (at-rest and in-transit) for sensitive client data and PII
Execute vulnerability scanning and verify remediation of identified security findings
Test audit logging completeness, accuracy, and compliance with federal requirements
Validate container hardening against CIS benchmarks and DSTI STIGs
Support penetration testing activities and coordinate remediation verification
Design and execute performance tests simulating millions of client records and concurrent users
Test system performance under peak load, sustained load, and stress conditions
Validate horizontal scaling effectiveness and resource utilization efficiency
Identify performance bottlenecks in integration workflows, database queries, and API endpoints
Test monitoring and alerting thresholds under various load scenarios
Measure and validate response times, throughput, and latency against defined SLAs
Develop automated test suites for regression testing of infrastructure and application components
Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines for continuous validation
Create reusable test scripts and frameworks for scaling to 130+ system instances
Automate security compliance checks and configuration validation
Build synthetic monitoring and health check automation for production readiness
Document test cases, test results, and defect findings with clear reproduction steps
Track defects through resolution and verify fixes through regression testing
Maintain traceability matrix linking requirements to test cases and security controls
Create test summary reports for stakeholder reviews and compliance evidence
Document test environments, configurations, and procedures for audit and knowledge transfer
Provide testing evidence and artifacts for RMF/ATO security assessment package