Test Automation Engineer

Halvik • McLean, VA

8d

About The Position

Halvik Corp is seeking a Test Automation Engineer to support the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of the Chief Digital & Information Officer (OCDIO) Digital Factory capacity task order. The program operates under DOT's IT Modernization Initiative and the 2025–2029 “Path to 1DOT IT” strategy, delivering modernized, secure, and resilient applications through a Software Factory and Capacity-as-a-Service model. Agile Scrum teams perform Development, Modernization, and Enhancement work across cloud, on-premises, and SaaS platforms hosted within the USDOT IT security boundary.

As a member of the DME Scrum teams, this role designs, builds, and maintains automated test suites integrated into the CI/CD pipeline and executed with every build and release. The role supports the program’s required iteration-level testing and validation framework and its transition from manual to automated execution. It helps identify defects early, protect existing functionality through regression testing, meet defect-rate thresholds, and provide objective test evidence for the Definition of Done, release readiness, and Authority to Operate packages.

The engineer develops product-specific automation strategies and reusable frameworks, oversees daily test execution and triage, and works with developers, analysts, DevSecOps and cloud staff, architects, and Scrum Masters to translate user stories and acceptance criteria into automated tests. Testing spans smoke, end-to-end, regression, integration/API, performance, security, accessibility, data migration, deployment, and rollback validation. The role also configures and operates Government-furnished tools, currently including ClicTest, and reports automation coverage, pass rates, and defect trends.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in software quality assurance.
• At least 3 years designing and maintaining automated test frameworks for web applications and APIs within Agile Scrum teams.
• Advanced knowledge of test automation tools such as Selenium, Playwright, or Cypress.
• Experience with API testing tools such as Postman or REST Assured.
• Proficiency in at least one automation programming language, such as Java, C#, Python, or JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Experience with Git, CI/CD integration using GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps, and Jira for defect and test evidence tracking.
• Must meet U.S. DOT contract requirements, including a favorable Public Trust background investigation and suitability determination.

Nice To Haves

• ISTQB Certified Tester (Foundation Level or Test Automation Engineer) or an equivalent testing certification.
• DOT Public Trust Clearance is listed as preferred.
• Experience in Federal Contracting, particularly civilian agency IT modernization or Software Factory programs; prior DOT experience is a plus.
• Familiarity with ClicTest or other low-code/codeless automation platforms.
• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum practices such as behavior-driven development, including Cucumber or SpecFlow.
• Experience with performance and load testing tools such as JMeter or k6.
• Experience with automated accessibility testing tools such as axe or ANDI; DHS Trusted Tester certification is a plus.
• Experience automating tests for enterprise platforms used at DOT, such as Salesforce, Microsoft Power Platform, ServiceNow, Dynamics 365, or Appian.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop a test automation strategy and reusable framework for each assigned product, prioritizing smoke, regression, end-to-end, and high-risk scenarios.
• Progressively convert manual test cases to automated execution in line with the program’s Automation Transition Requirement.
• Manage daily execution, maintenance, and triage of automated test suites; monitor results, isolate flaky tests, investigate failures, and log defects with reproduction steps and severity in the Government-furnished Jira instance.
• Collaborate with developers, the Senior Business Analyst / QA Analyst, Cloud Engineer / DevSecOps / CI-CD, Solutions Architect, and Scrum Master to turn user stories and acceptance criteria into automated tests, build testability into features, and deliver tested sprint increments.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines, such as GitHub Enterprise and Azure DevOps, so tests run on builds, deployments, and promotions; make results available for sprint demos, release readiness reviews, and ATO evidence packages.
• Configure and operate OCDIO’s automated testing tool, currently ClicTest, and other Government-furnished testing tools as provided.
• Build and maintain automated coverage for smoke testing in every environment, including post-deployment Production validation; end-to-end workflows across UI, APIs, and data layers; persona- and role-based permissions; regression; and integration/API contract testing.
• Support automated performance and load validation under realistic transaction volumes, security checks aligned to OWASP Top 10 and authentication/authorization rules, and automated Section 508 (WCAG 2.0 A/AA) accessibility scans.
• Attach objective test evidence, including executed scripts, logs, automated output, and pass/fail results, to the corresponding Jira ticket before an item is marked Done; document why any testing category does not apply to a change.
• Track and report automation coverage, pass rates, and defect trends; help keep the defect rate below the program’s five percent Maximum Allowable Defect Rate and support corrective action planning.
• Develop automated scripts to validate data migrations, including record counts, transformations, and field-level mappings, and verify deployment and rollback procedures before production promotion.

Benefits

• Company-supported medical, dental, vision, life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance.
• 11 federal holidays and PTO.
• Eligible employees may receive performance-based incentives for individual and/or team achievements.
• 401(k) with company matching.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for commuter, medical, and dependent care expenses.
• Tuition Assistance.
• Charitable Contribution matching.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level