Automation Engineer — QA Test Automation

Planet Group; Reston (VA); Remote; USD 110,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Planet Group is seeking an Automation Engineer for QA Test Automation to design, build, and maintain automated test suites for enterprise financial aid apps across desktop and web platforms. The role blends hands-on scripting with quality judgment, translating requirements into repeatable, production-ready coverage while delivering on release timelines.

You will update scripts each release, generate clear test docs and reports, triage defects, and collaborate with QA, developers, business

Qualifications

• 4-6+ years of professional experience in software test automation or QA engineering.
• Strong proficiency in Python, C#, and XML scripting for test automation.
• Hands-on experience with UI test automation using Playwright or Selenium for web apps.
• Experience automating Windows desktop apps using pywinauto, WinAppDriver or FlaUI.
• Experience logging and reporting defects using Jira or similar tools.
• Knowledge of SQL Server and T-SQL for test data setup and validation.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, execute, and maintain automated regression and functional test suites for desktop and web apps.
• Update automation scripts to reflect new features and changes each release cycle.
• Build data-driven tests covering multiple data-creation paths and academic/award years.
• Create and manage test data using SQL Server queries and XML files.
• Run tests across browsers/devices and analyze failures to distinguish defects from script issues.
• Participate in sprint planning and provide effort estimates for automation work.
• Review stories and acceptance criteria to identify gaps before test development.
• Report results, defects, and quality risks to QA managers and stakeholders.
• Contribute to automation standards, reusable libraries, and documentation.

Skills

Python

C#

XML scripting

RESTful APIs

QA testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IS/Engineering

Tools

Playwright

Selenium

pywinauto

WinAppDriver

Jira

BrowserStack

Job description

Automation Engineer -- QA Test Automation
Location: Remote- EST
Duration: 7 months
Pay:$80-85/hr

Position Summary

As an Automation Engineer on the PowerFAIDS QA team, the candidate will be responsible for designing, building, and maintaining reliable automated test suites for complex enterprise financial aid applications across desktop and web platforms. This role blends hands-on automation scripting with strong quality-engineering judgment -- translating business requirements and acceptance criteria into complete, repeatable, and maintainable automated coverage -- while ensuring high-quality delivery within established release timelines.

The engineer will also update and extend existing automation scripts each release cycle, produce clear test documentation and result reports, and help triage and report defects. Strong collaboration with QA colleagues, developers, business analysts, and cross‑functional technology teams is essential.

Working within the Information Technology division and closely with Product, Development, and business partners, this engineer will analyze existing workflows and test coverage and build scalable, reliable automation that reduces regression effort, improves data quality, and accelerates release confidence.

The ideal candidate is a hands‑on automation engineer with strong scripting skills and a genuine passion for quality, paired with solid experience automating enterprise applications that rely on SQL Server, structured data files, and integrations with external systems. They are comfortable working independently in established enterprise environments, supporting the move from legacy desktop to web, and delivering well‑structured, dependable, production‑ready automation with minimal ramp‑up.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, execute, and maintain automated regression and functional test suites for desktop and web applications.

• Update and extend automation scripts each release cycle to reflect new features, changed behavior, and evolving requirements.

• Build data‑driven tests that cover multiple data‑creation and import paths and multiple academic/award years.

• Create and manage test data using SQL Server queries and XML or other structured data files.

• Run tests across browsers and devices, and analyze failures to separate product defects from script or environment issues.

• Participate in sprint planning and estimation, and provide effort and story‑point input for automation work.

• Review user stories and acceptance criteria, and flag gaps, ambiguities, or missing scenarios before test development.

• Report results, defects, and quality risks clearly to the QA Manager, developers, and stakeholders.

• Contribute to automation standards, reusable libraries, and documentation that improve team efficiency.

Required Skills & Experience

• 4-6+ years of professional experience in software test automation or QA engineering, with hands‑on ownership of automation frameworks.

• Strong proficiency in Python, C#, and XML scripting for test automation, with clean, maintainable, reusable code.

• Hands‑on experience building and maintaining UI test automation using Playwright (or comparable tools such as Selenium) for web applications.

• Experience automating Windows desktop applications using tools such as pywinauto, WinAppDriver, FlaUI, or similar.

• Experience logging, tracking, and reporting defects and test results using a defect or test management tool (e.g., Jira).

• Experience with cross‑browser and cross‑device test execution platforms (e.g., BrowserStack) and diagnosing environment‑specific failures.

• Solid working knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server, including writing T‑SQL queries to set up, validate, and clean up test data.

• Experience with XML and structured data files, including generating and validating files for import/export and integration testing.

• Experience testing and automating RESTful APIs and validating integrations between internal and external systems.

• Strong understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), QA methodologies, and test design techniques (regression, functional, integration, data‑driven).

• Ability to analyze requirements and acceptance criteria, identify gaps, and translate them into complete, well‑structured automated test coverage.

• Skill in debugging flaky or failing tests, performing root‑cause analysis, and clearly reporting defects to development teams.

• Working knowledge of web accessibility (WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA) and an ability to include accessibility checks in automated test suites.

• Ability to mentor QA engineers on automation best practices.

Preferred Skills

• Experience designing data‑driven automation that covers multiple record‑creation paths (e.g., manual entry, file import, API) and multiple academic/award years.

• Experience with Excel‑based test artifacts (e.g., openpyxl) for test data generation and reporting.

• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines, automated test execution in build and release processes, and source control systems such as Git.

• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies and experience working within sprint‑based release cycles.

• Experience supporting the migration or modernization of legacy desktop applications to web, including re‑baselining automation suites.

• Experience with performance, load, or security testing tools.

• Familiarity with automated accessibility tools and assistive technology testing.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain test results and quality risks to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Ability to provide guidance to QA engineers in automated testing best practices.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.