Automation Test Engineer

SAIC; Sterling (VA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC is seeking an Automation Engineer to build automated test coverage and perform hands-on manual testing for integrated hardware/software systems. You will design and maintain automated tests (API, service, and some UI), develop C# and Python code, and validate end-to-end components across devices, backend services, middleware, and data.

You will work in an Agile team with DevOps, maintain automation in CI/CD, and track plans and defects in Jira.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 2+ years of QA / test experience including test automation.
• Proficiency in C#, Python, Javascript, Typescript, NodeJS.
• Test automation experience with Selenium, Playwright, and Cucumber.
• Strong SQL and relational-database knowledge; read data model to derive tests.
• Automation focused on API testing with some UI testing across backend, middleware, desktop, and microservice layers, including SOAP via SoapUI with basic XML.
• Working knowledge of TCP and HTTP; inspect traffic (Wireshark, tcpdump, or curl).
• Comfortable on Ubuntu/Linux; SQL or Unix/shell scripting for test data and harnesses.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain automated test scripts that verify functionality, security, and usability across API, service, and UI layers.
• Develop and test C#, Python code as project requirements dictate.
• Implement automated integration, regression, functional, and system tests during feature development.
• Perform manual and exploratory testing of integrated hardware and software systems, including LPR, biometric/facial recognition, and RFID devices.
• Reproduce field and edge conditions and confirm end-to-end handling.
• Develop and maintain test plans and test cases; write SQL or Unix scripts for test-data generation and test-harness automation.
• Maintain and improve automation frameworks and CI/CD pipelines, and troubleshoot automation issues.
• Investigate defects across the stack using logs, traffic captures, and command line; isolate hardware/software/config/network causes.
• Report and manage defects in Jira; produce test summaries and raise feature/discrepancy tickets.
• Collaborate with development and DevOps teams and participate in Agile ceremonies.

Skills

QA automation

C#

Python

JavaScript

TypeScript

NodeJS

Selenium

Playwright

Cucumber

SQL

Unix scripting

Linux

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Selenium

Playwright

Cucumber

SoapUI

Wireshark

tcpdump

curl

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Jenkins

Docker

Job description

SAIC hiring an Automation Engineer to build automated test coverage and perform hands-on manual testing for systems where hardware and software are integrated. You will design and maintain automated tests (API, service, and some UI), develop and test supporting C#, Python code, and validate integrated components end to end - devices, backend services, middleware, and the data between them. You will work in an Agile team alongside developers and DevOps across the full software development lifecycle, maintaining automation in CI/CD and tracking plans and defects in Jira.This position is hybrid remote and requires 2 days on-site in Sterling, VA per week.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain automated test scripts that verify functionality, security, and usability across API, service, and UI layers.
• Develop and test C#, Python code as project requirements dictate.
• Implement automated integration, regression, functional, and system tests during feature development.
• Perform manual and exploratory testing of integrated hardware and software systems - including LPR, biometric/facial recognition, and RFID devices - validating read accuracy, correlation to the correct vehicle or transaction, and behavior under real and adverse conditions.
• Reproduce field and edge conditions (device faults, dropped, duplicate, or out-of-order messages, timing skew, degraded inputs) and confirm graceful end-to-end handling.
• Develop and maintain test plans and test cases; write SQL or Unix scripts for test-data generation and test-harness automation.
• Maintain and improve automation frameworks and CI/CD pipelines, and troubleshoot issues in the automation systems themselves.
• Investigate defects across the stack using logs, traffic captures (TCP/HTTP), and the command line; isolate whether a fault is hardware, software, configuration, or network.
• Report and manage defects in Jira; produce test summaries and raise functional, performance, and requirement-discrepancy tickets.
• Collaborate with development and DevOps teams and participate in Agile ceremonies such as daily stand-ups and sprints.

Required Qualifications

• MUST be a U.S Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a DHS Public Trust security clearance.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent experience), with 2+ years of QA / test experience including test automation.
• Proficiency in C#, Python, Javascript, Typescript, NodeJS.
• Test automation experience with Selenium, Playwright, and Cucumber.
• Strong SQL and relational-database knowledge; able to read a data model and derive test scripts and test data from it.
• Automation focused on API testing with some UI testing, across backend, middleware, desktop, and microservice layers, including SOAP services via SoapUI with basic XML.
• Working knowledge of TCP and HTTP, with the ability to inspect traffic (Wireshark, tcpdump, or curl).
• Comfortable on Ubuntu/Linux, with SQL or Unix/shell scripting for test data and test-harness automation.
• Experience testing integrated hardware and software systems; exposure to media or data validation such as video-frame or image/stream inspection, or a clear aptitude to learn it.
• Able to generate test data, validate results, and report and manage defects in Jira.
• Strong written and verbal communication and problem-solving skills, effective with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, with strong initiative.

Preferred Qualifications

• Test automation for applications running in the cloud (AWS or equivalent).
• Experience across all testing stages: functional, usability, regression, load/stress, and performance.
• Hands-on testing of LPR, biometric/facial recognition, RFID, or other sensor- or camera-based systems.
• Prior software development experience.
• CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins) and containers (Docker).
• Deeper XML experience; familiarity with a BDD or test-framework ecosystem (e.g., pytest, Robot Framework).