Systems Quality Assurance Engineer III

AeroVironment, Inc.; Florida; On-site; USD 91,000 - 139,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401K with company matching

9/80 work schedule

Paid holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. is seeking a Software QA Engineer III in Florida to independently plan and execute verification activities for complex products, collaborating with cross‑functional teams to ensure software quality throughout development.

The role requires experience writing and executing test plans, documenting defects, and producing status reports. The ideal candidate has 5–8 years of related experience, strong QA fundamentals, and the ability to interact with developers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline or equivalent.
• Minimum 5–8 years of relevant experience.
• Experience in writing, executing, and monitoring test suites.
• Strong knowledge of testing fundamentals (unit, smoke, performance, integration, regression).
• Advanced knowledge of wireless networking protocols.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret clearance preferred.

Responsibilities

• Performs manual testing on communications applications.
• Lead a multidisciplinary test team at test events and report to customer representatives.
• Write and execute manual test plans/test cases, document defects, and produce project status reports.
• Help define and implement QA practices, procedures, standards and reporting.
• Be detail-oriented, analytical with strong verbal and documentation skills.
• Execute full system test plans and production-level tests prior to shipment.
• Interact directly with developers and engineers; adapt to a fast-paced environment.
• Maintain initiative, work independently, and think outside the box.

Skills

Manual testing

Test plans

Defect documentation

Cross-functional teamwork

Wireless knowledge

Verbal communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Worker Type Regular

Job Description Summary The Software QA Engineer III independently plans and executes software verification activities for complex products while collaborating with cross‑functional engineering teams to ensure software quality throughout the development lifecycle. The candidate must have experience writing and executing manual test plans/test cases, documenting defects and producing project status reports.

Position Responsibilities

• Performs manual testing on communications applications.
• The candidate should be able to lead a multidisciplinary test team at test events and provide reports directly to customer representatives.
• The candidate must have experience writing and executing manual test plans/test cases, documenting defects, and producing project status reports.
• Helps define and implement QA practices, procedures, standards and reporting.
• Needs to be detail‑oriented, analytical and have strong verbal and documentation skills.
• Candidate will be responsible for executing full system test plans as well as production‑level test plans on released products prior to shipment to customers.
• Must be comfortable interacting directly with developers and engineers.
• Work environment is fast‑paced and extremely dynamic.
• Candidate must be highly motivated and a self‑starter.
• Needs to be able to handle the work with minimal supervision.
• During testing candidate will be expected to think “outside of the box” to understand the various scenarios and configurations that customers use to ensure customer quality is maintained.
• Test scripts should support the development team’s capture logs and trigger various boundary or failure conditions.
• Performs other related duties as assigned by management.

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills and Experience)

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Minimum 5-8 years of relevant experience.
• Experience in writing, executing, and monitoring test suites using a variety of technologies.
• Strong working knowledge of testing fundamentals such as unit, smoke, performance, integration, and regression testing.
• Advanced knowledge of wireless/networking protocols.
• Ability to write and maintain test procedures and test plans.
• Occasional domestic travel may be required (20%).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance is preferred.

Other Qualifications and Desired Competencies

• Demonstrates competency in applying professional concepts.
• Applies company policies and procedures to resolve routine issues.
• Champions quality by forging influential relationships across QA, Development, Product, and DevOps.
• Demonstrates debugging / problem resolution skills, and competency in multitasking and handling multiple time critical issues / projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrates passion to continuously improve and execute tests for a faster and higher quality result.
• Demonstrates competency in following standard practices and procedures in analyzing situations or data from which answers can be readily obtained.
• Able to excel in a fast‑paced, deadline‑driven environment, where small teams share a broad variety of duties.
• Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives.
• Takes ownership and responsibility for current and past work products.
• Is committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company.
• Has effective interpersonal and communication skills.
• Focuses on teamwork, collaboration and puts the success of the team above one's own interests.

Physical Demands

Ability to work in an office and R&D environment (Constant) Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard or tactical equipment (Frequent).

Clearance Level

No Clearance.

Salary

The salary range for this role is: $91,000 - $138,750.

ITAR Requirement

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits

• AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown.

About AV

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission‑obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI‑powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you’re ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

Equal Opportunity

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status. ITAR U.S. Citizenship is required. Secret or Top Secret clearance, or the ability obtain a clearance is desired.