Senior Test Automation Engineer / QA Lead

KC; Johnstown (AL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Karthik Consulting seeks a Senior Test Automation Engineer / QA Lead to guide DAFOS test planning, automate verification, and manage defects on-site at Gunter Annex, AL. The role supports RMF reviews and ensures tests cover functionality, accessibility, performance, security, APIs, and database changes across environments.

Qualified candidates will have a Secret clearance, hands-on automation and CI/CD experience, and a track record of leading manual and automated testing.

Qualifications

• Current, fully adjudicated Secret clearance required.
• Ability to obtain SIPRNet access and work in Government facilities.
• Senior-level software testing experience with leadership of manual and automated tests.
• Experience building maintainable functional, API, regression, and database test automation.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute functional, regression, security, and performance testing.
• Design and maintain reusable automated test scripts.
• Collaborate with developers and cloud engineers to isolate failures and verify corrections.
• Prepare RMF test evidence and formal test summaries for major releases.

Skills

Test automation

CI/CD

Defect management

Leadership

Security testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Software Eng/IS

Tools

JUnit

Jest

Java

TypeScript

Python

GitLab

Jenkins

Oracle

AWS

Job description

Position Summary

The Senior Test Automation Engineer / QA Lead leads DAFOS test planning, automated and manual verification, and defect management. The role provides test status to the Government Test Manager and produces evidence needed for software acceptance and RMF reviews. It verifies functionality, accessibility, performance, security, APIs, and database changes across development and release environments while helping the integrated team prevent regressions. This position is contingent based on award, with an anticipated salary range of $100,000-$105,000 based on candidate qualifications and final contract requirements.

Work Environment

• Work Location: Gunter Annex, AL. On-site
• Security Clearance: Active Secret
• Salary: $100K-$105K

Compensation

Karthik Consulting is committed to providing competitive compensation based on the responsibilities of the role, required qualifications, security clearance level, relevant experience, certifications, customer requirements, geographic location, and overall business needs. The salary range listed for this position represents a good-faith estimate of the current compensation range for this role.

At Karthik Consulting, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range. Final compensation decisions are based on the facts and circumstances of each candidate’s experience, qualifications, certifications, clearance level, contract requirements, and overall alignment with the role.

Employees may be eligible for company benefits and additional compensation programs, subject to company policy, contract requirements, and individual eligibility.

Program Scope and Description

The Global Force Management Data Initiative supports the Department of the Air Force Organizational Server (DAFOS). DAFOS validates authoritative Air Force data and publishes standardized unit, billet, crew, platform, vehicle, and command relationship information for Joint Staff war and contingency planning across past, present, and future timeframes.

The effort modernizes and sustains DAFOS in Air Force Cloud One AWS. Services include full-stack software development, testing, DevSecOps, cloud administration, database engineering, Agile facilitation, and approved automation. Optional capabilities augment technical documentation and Agile program support when activated by the Government.

Key Responsibilities

Test Strategy and Execution

• Plan and coordinate functional, regression, security, and performance testing; communicate scope, results, risks, and readiness to the Government Test Manager.
• Design and maintain reusable automated test scripts for application functions, APIs, regression scenarios, and database changes.
• Create detailed manual cases in the approved test management tool when automation is not feasible; perform manual verification of delivered features.

Quality and Acceptance Evidence

• Verify acceptance criteria and the Definition of Done, including peer review, documentation, merged code, automated test results, and manual verification.
• Track new-code automated coverage against the 90 percent minimum, code quality grade A, and applicable security scan requirements; report gaps before acceptance.
• Validate WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility with automated and manual tests and document defects against the PWS zero-error threshold.

Defect Management and Traceability

• Manage defects from discovery through verification and closure, with reproducible steps, severity, evidence, and links to affected requirements.
• Collaborate directly with developers and database and cloud engineers to isolate failures and verify corrections across environments.
• Maintain complete traceability among user stories, test scripts, results, source changes, and documentation in Government-approved tools.

Pipeline Integration and Release Support

• Integrate automated test execution and reporting with approved CI/CD pipelines, including performance testing in the program's hosting environments.
• Prepare RMF test evidence and formal test summaries for major releases under CDRL A008, and contribute release artifacts under A007.
• Support installation checkout, infrastructure verification, data migration validation, and post-production testing until the release reaches a stable state.

Qualifications

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field preferred. Equivalent relevant software testing and quality leadership experience may be considered.

Professional Certifications

• Preferred: ISTQB, Certified Software Quality Engineer, or a comparable testing or quality certification.
• Preferred: Relevant automation, performance testing, secure testing, or Agile certification.

Minimum Qualifications

• Current, fully adjudicated Secret clearance before contract performance; maintain clearance throughout assignment. Interim clearances are not accepted.
• Ability to obtain and maintain required SIPRNet and role-appropriate privileged access. Work requiring SIPRNet access must be performed at an authorized Government facility.
• Demonstrated senior-level software testing experience, including leadership of manual and automated test activities.
• Experience building maintainable functional, API, regression, and database test automation and integrating it into CI/CD workflows.
• Experience with defect lifecycle management, test data, repeatable evidence, and requirements-to-test traceability.
• Ability to assess performance, accessibility, security, and release readiness with developers and operations personnel.
• Ability to prepare auditable test reports and communicate test status and unresolved risks to Government stakeholders.
• Perform technical work exclusively in Government-furnished environments and use only Government-approved communication systems; protect classified and controlled information.
• Ability to support the agreed work schedule, Government-directed core hours, occasional support outside normal hours, and approved travel as mission needs require.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with JUnit, Jest, Java, TypeScript, Python, GitLab, Jenkins, Oracle, and AWS-hosted test environments.
• Experience producing RMF test evidence, validating STIG‑related changes, and testing classified Air Force applications.
• Experience validating authoritative data feeds, force structure data, and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility.