Senior SDET / QA Automation Engineer

Eccalon, LLC; Hanover (MD); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Eccalon seeks a Senior SDET / QA Automation Engineer to design and own automated testing across web apps and backend services, supporting DoD and enterprise programs. You will build robust test frameworks, integrate quality gates in CI/CD, and ensure reliability in regulated environments, working with engineers, DevOps, and product teams to ship with confidence.

This hands-on senior role requires leading testing strategies, mentoring others, maintaining test docs, and ensuring traceability for

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree or equivalent practical experience in a related field.
• 5+ years in SDET/QA automation or similar roles.
• Hands-on proficiency with Playwright and/or Cypress for UI automation.
• Strong API testing using Postman and REST Assured.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain end-to-end UI automation frameworks.
• Develop API and backend test suites and validate authentication flows.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI/CD).
• Collaborate with engineers to shift quality left and improve test coverage.

Skills

Playwright

Cypress

Postman

REST Assured

JavaScript/TypeScript

Python

CI/CD

GitLab CI/CD

AWS

OAuth2/SAML/OIDC

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Playwright

Cypress

REST Assured

Postman

Newman

Jenkins

GitLab CI/CD

Job description

Job Description

Eccalon is seeking a Senior SDET / QA Automation Engineer to build and own the automated testing strategy across our web applications and backend services supporting DoD, Intelligence, and enterprise programs. You will design and maintain robust test frameworks, integrate quality gates into CI/CD pipelines, and ensure the reliability of systems operating in regulated, compliance-driven environments. This is a hands-on senior role with broad visibility across the full engineering stack—working directly with software engineers, DevOps, and product teams to shift quality left and keep mission-critical software shipping with confidence.

Description

Eccalon is seeking a Senior SDET / QA Automation Engineer to build and own the automated testing strategy across our web applications and backend services supporting DoD, Intelligence, and enterprise programs. You will design and maintain robust test frameworks, integrate quality gates into CI/CD pipelines, and ensure the reliability of systems operating in regulated, compliance-driven environments. This is a hands-on senior role with broad visibility across the full engineering stack—working directly with software engineers, DevOps, and product teams to shift quality left and keep mission-critical software shipping with confidence.

Responsibilities

• Test Automation & Framework Development
  • Design, build, and maintain end-to-end UI automation frameworks using Playwright and/or Cypress across multiple web applications (e.g., lynxconnect.io, eccalon.com).
  • Develop and maintain API and backend test suites using Postman collections and REST Assured; validate authentication flows, data integrity, and service contracts.
  • Write clean, maintainable test code in Python and/or JavaScript/TypeScript; enforce consistent standards through code reviews and shared libraries.
  • Build reusable test utilities, fixtures, and data factories that reduce test setup overhead and improve suite reliability.
• CI/CD Integration & Quality Gates
  • Integrate automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI/CD) to enforce quality gates on every pull request and deployment.
  • Configure and maintain synthetic monitoring scripts (e.g., Playwright-based uptime checks) for production applications; triage and resolve false positives.
  • Define and track test coverage metrics, pass rates, and flakiness trends; report quality signals to engineering leadership.
• API & Backend Testing
  • Validate REST APIs against specifications; test authentication and authorization flows including OAuth2, SAML, OIDC, and JIT provisioning patterns.
  • Develop data-driven test scenarios against AWS-hosted services (RDS/PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, Cognito) and Azure-backed platforms (GCC High).
  • Collaborate with backend engineers to identify testability gaps in service design and recommend interface contracts that support automation.
• Cross-functional Collaboration & Quality Strategy
  • Partner with DevOps, software engineering, and IT teams to embed testing earlier in the development lifecycle; contribute to definition-of-done criteria.
  • Serve as the quality subject matter expert on the team—mentoring engineers on test best practices, automation patterns, and tooling selection.
  • Maintain test documentation, test plans, and traceability matrices that satisfy compliance audit and ATO evidence requirements.
  • Evaluate and recommend improvements to the overall QA toolchain and processes as applications and team scale.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field—or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience in software development engineering in test (SDET), QA automation, or a related discipline.
• Hands-on proficiency with Playwright and/or Cypress for end-to-end UI test automation.
• Strong API testing skills using Postman (including collections, environments, and Newman for CI execution) and/or REST Assured.
• Solid programming skills in JavaScript/TypeScript and/or Python; ability to write production-quality test code, not just record-and-replay scripts.
• Experience integrating test automation into CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI/CD, or Jenkins).
• Familiarity with AWS services (Cognito, RDS, DynamoDB, CloudWatch) and how they factor into end-to-end test design.
• Experience testing authentication and authorization flows (OAuth2, SAML, OIDC, MFA).
• Strong understanding of HTTP, REST, JSON, and web application architecture.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize across multiple projects, and communicate quality risk clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with synthetic monitoring and uptime automation (e.g., Playwright-based health checks, Pingdom scripting).
• Familiarity with NIST 800-171, CMMC, or FedRAMP testing and traceability requirements.
• Experience testing applications hosted on Azure GCC High or AWS GovCloud environments.
• Background in performance or load testing (k6, JMeter, or Locust).
• Experience with accessibility testing (WCAG 2.1, 508 compliance) and security-focused test cases (OWASP Top 10 validation).
• ISTQB certification or equivalent QA/testing credential.

About the Organization

Eccalon provides global solutions to the most challenging technological issues of the 21st-century, and our evolving portfolio spans five major markets: Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Aerospace & Defense, Material Sciences, Advance Manufacturing, Sports Science, Biotechnology, and Health & Life Sciences.

Why Join Us?

Eccalon's Executives foster a supportive work environment allowing our teams to thrive, and have a fierce dedication to innovation, security, and people. Our culture is built on inclusion, teamwork, trust, and we are committed to offering career advancement opportunities to all employees. Encouraging a healthy and balanced life, we offer an extensive benefits package to support the wellness of our employees and their families. You will be joining a team of innovators, working with cutting edge technologies, supporting mission-critical projects, and making an impact.

EOE Statement

Eccalon provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. EEO is the law.