L&I IT Quality Assurance - Journey

State of Washington; Tumwater (WA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Washington, Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is seeking an IT Systems Testing & Quality Assurance leader to drive high‑impact software testing across an enterprise IT portfolio. You will mentor testers, promote best practices, and raise quality standards to deliver reliable software for citizens and businesses in Washington.

You will design scalable testing processes, develop manual and automated scripts, and oversee both functional and non‑functional testing.

Qualifications

• Eight (8) years of professional IT experience in a full-time IT environment.
• Bachelor's degree (IT/CS/Business Admin) plus four (4) years of IT experience.
• Associate’s degree plus six (6) years of IT experience.
• Experience with functional and non-functional software testing across SDLC and with TDD.
• Experience writing and executing test plans, test scenarios, test cases, and automated scripts.

Responsibilities

• Establish, standardize, and administer testing methodologies and processes for projects.
• Document testing methodologies and processes for projects and product teams.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure consistent test processes across projects.
• Identify testing types, environments, and schedules for project planning.
• Manage test data and versioning in test environments.
• Develop test plans for system, functional, integration, performance, regression, and UAT testing.
• Provide framework for test cases and automated scripts mapped to requirements.
• Participate in reviews to input test planning and risk identification.
• Design and develop manual and automated test scripts.
• Manage multiple testing types and maintain test libraries.
• Report progress and effectiveness during validation.
• Manage defects through the SDLC and work with developers on TDD.

Skills

Test planning & execution

Test automation

SDLC familiarity

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT/CS/Business Admin

Associate’s degree in IT/CS/Business Admin

Tools

Visual Studio/IDE

SQL

Job description

Our Mission:

Keep Washington Safe and Working!

Our Values:

Customer Focus, One L&I, Respect, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Learning and Growth, Reliability

About the Role

Reporting to the IT Systems Testing & Quality Assurance Manager, this role offers an exciting opportunity to lead and drive high-impact software testing initiatives across a diverse portfolio of enterprise IT projects and product teams. You will play a critical role in ensuring the delivery of reliable, high-quality software by championing best practices, promoting consistency, and advancing modern quality standards across the organization.

As a key member of our Software Testing Community of Practice, you’ll collaborate with and mentor fellow testers, helping to elevate testing capabilities across the agency while contributing to a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

In this role, you will design and implement scalable, efficient, and user-focused testing processes and strategies. You’ll develop comprehensive test scenarios and create both manual and automated test scripts based on system requirements. Your work will include executing and tracking test cases, leading regression testing efforts, and ensuring systems perform seamlessly in both functional and non-functional areas, making strong automation expertise essential.

You will directly support the mission of delivering high-value software solutions that serve citizens and businesses across Washington State. By enhancing system stability, performance, and usability, your contributions will have a meaningful and visible impact on the services our agency provides. This position is primarily seeking candidates who reside in Washington State or are willing to relocate.

Experience with financial systems is a plus but not required.

Functional and Non-Functional Automation experience is required.

Some of what you’ll do:

• Establish, standardize, and administer the testing methodology, process, and procedures that will be used on assigned projects and/or product teams.
• Document the testing methodology and processes to be used on projects and/or product teams as assigned.
• Collaborate with business and project stakeholders to ensure consistent and/or appropriate test processes are being used across projects and within the IT Division.
• Identify forms of testing to be performed, test environment needs, and detailed schedules for test phases for project planning within the IT Division.
• Manage test data and versioning controls in the test environments.
• Develop test plans according to requirements for conducting various forms of testing such as system, functional, integration, performance, regression, and user acceptance.
• Provide framework for management and development of test cases and automated test scripts, as well as develop test cases mapped to business requirements.
• Participate in requirements and design reviews to provide early input for test planning, risk identification, and early flaw detection.
• Design and develop manual test cases and automated test scripts.
• Manage and conduct many types of software testing including system, functional, integration, performance, load, stress, regression, and user acceptance testing.
• Develop, support, and maintain test case and test script libraries.
• Report test progress and effectiveness during validation effort.
• Manage defects identified through the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
• Work closely with developers on test-driven development activities including code reviews and reviewing unit test scripts and results for completeness – making recommendations as necessary.
• Other duties as needed.

Required:

• Eight (8) years of qualifying professional IT experience working full-time within a professional IT environment (see note below).

• A bachelor's degree or higher in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration or a closely related field AND four (4) years of qualifying professional IT experience* working full-time within a professional IT environment.

• An associate’s degree or higher in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration or a closely related field AND six (6) years of qualifying professional IT experience* working full-time within a professional IT environment.

*Education or accredited vocational training as listed above will substitute year for year for experience up to four (4) years.

*NOTE: Required experience above must include a minimum of four (4) years of experience with each of the following:

• Various types of software testing such as system, integration, data validation, user acceptance, scalability, performance, stress, load, and regression.
• Functional and non-functional software testing methodologies used throughout the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and with test-driven development practices.
• Writing and executing test plans, test scenarios, test cases, automated test scripts, and documentation and interpretation of test results.
• Analyzing functional design requirements and/or user stories and developing use case scenarios.
• Configuring and managing various software testing tools for development of manual test cases and automated test scripts, managing test cases libraries, tracking defects, and reporting on test statuses.

• The ability to take action to learn and grow
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others

Desired:

• Professional certifications for quality assurance or software testing, or similar common body of knowledge such as International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) software testing certification, Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE), etc.
• Three (3) years of experience with:
  • Applying Agile/Scrum and/or other modern software development methodologies to test-driven development practices.
  • Visual Studio or other Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Team.
  • Developing and executing Structured Query Language (SQL) queries.

Things You Need To Know

To help you maintain a proper work-life balance, teleworking is one of the work schedule options for this position. L&I also offers flexible custom work schedules.

We offer hybrid and remote work options, though we’re primarily seeking candidates who live in Washington State or are willing to relocate, to support in-person collaboration and access to on-site resources when needed. Remote work from a state outside of WA requires approval.

State employees who meet the qualifications will become eligible for a generous retirement package at the end of the employee’s career.

At L&I, your voice matters. In addition, L&I is a diverse state agency dedicated to the safety and health and security of Washington's 3.3 million workers. Take a look at this brief video and learn more about why L&I is an employer of choice.

Background Check Notice

Prior to a placement in this position, a background check, including criminal history record will be conducted. Information from your background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining your eligibility to perform the requirements of the position.

Other information

• IT position applicants selected to move forward in this hiring process will receive an email skills assessment invitation within 3 weeks of your application being accepted. An applicant may complete the assessment when ready, but the invitation to complete the assessment will expire 5 days after the invitation was sent. Once you start the assessment, you will be required to complete it. You cannot start your assessment and then come back to it later. Please look in your email inbox or spam as these invitations are sent by CodeSignal.
• For positions requiring travel, you must have a valid unrestricted driver's license and have insurance if driving a privately owned vehicle on state business.
• This position is represented by WFSE.
• Candidates who are offered a job with L&I must possess work authorization that does not require sponsorship by the employer for a visa now or in the future.
• The Department of Labor and Industries does not participate in E-Verify.
• The Department of Labor & Industries complies with the employment eligibility verification requirements of the federal employment eligibility verification form, I-9. The selected candidate must be able to provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the United States consistent with the requirements of that form on the first day of employment.
• Please note: L&I may use this announcement to fill multiple permanent and/or non-permanent positions.
• Sign up for L&I Job Alerts to receive information about our newest openings: GovDelivery

Did You Know?

Washington is America's Top State to live, play, and work, according to U.S. News (2021). Join the L&I team and enjoy all the Evergreen State has to offer.

In addition to offering a positive balance between life and work, L&I provides one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation. We also believe your voice matters. We value our employees and their work-life balance by encouraging flexible schedules. L&I is a diverse state agency dedicated to the safety and health and security of Washington's 3 million workers.

Veterans Preference

Applicants wishing to claim Veterans Preference should attach to their application a copy of their DD-214 (Member 4 copy), NGB 22, or signed verification of service letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Please blackout any personally identifiable data such as Social Security numbers. For further information, contact L&I’s [e-mail].

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Employer

L&I employees come from all walks of life. We strive to hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

We believe in the importance of recognizing the value each of us contributes to the success of the agency mission. Having a diverse workforce is this agency’s greatest source of strength and knowledge. It is through the combination of talents and abilities that we can pursue finding effective measures to provide the best customer service. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace for everyone and we strongly mean everyone.

The State of Washington is an equal opportunity employer. Persons with a disability who need accommodation in the application process or testing process, or those needing this announcement in an alternative format, may call 360-902-5700. TTY users should first call 711 to access the Washington Relay Service.

You are welcome to include the name and pronoun you would like to be referred to in your materials, and we will honor this as you interact with our award-winning diverse and inclusive organization.

For more Information

If you have any questions regarding this job posting, program, or the agency, please contact Jason Stedman at [e-mail].