Test and Quality Assurance (QA) Lead with Security Clearance

Data Machines; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 117,000 - 142,000; Full time

Job summary

Data Machines in Reston, VA seeks a hands-on QA Lead with SDET experience to design and mature testing infrastructure for production software supporting simulation and decision support. You will develop test harnesses and mocking, automate and manually test across Java, Rust, and TS/React apps, and integrate QA into CI/CD workflows.

The role requires a Secret clearance, strong communication, and the ability to lead QA standards and release-readiness discussions with technical leadership and

Qualifications

• Active Secret security clearance required or higher.
• Bachelor’s degree in CS/IS/SE/Math/Engineering or related field; four years additional experience may substitute for degree.
• 5+ years of industry experience in software development, SDET, QA, testing, or test infrastructure.
• Experience building test infrastructure, including mocking and CI/CD integration.
• Experience designing and executing automated and manual tests.
• Software development in Java, Rust, or TypeScript/React.
• Familiarity with full-stack web app development.
• Experience with CI/CD/defect-tracking tools (Azure DevOps, GitLab, Jira).
• Understanding of SDLC and testing lifecycle.
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, documentation, and communication skills.
• On-site Reston, VA experience required.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, development, and execution of software testing and QA activities.
• Build and maintain scalable test infrastructure, harnesses, fixtures, and mocks.
• Develop automated and manual testing strategies across functions and levels.
• Oversee UAT and coordinate testing across dev, integration, staging, and prod.
• Integrate tests and quality gates into CI/CD pipelines.
• Create test plans, cases, scripts, and traceability from requirements.
• Test Java, Rust, and TS/React apps, APIs, and front/back ends.
• Identify, track, and validate defects through resolution.
• Collaborate with researchers, developers, and end users to translate concepts into tests.
• Establish repeatable QA standards, metrics, and release-readiness criteria.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to QA staff.
• Communicate testing status, risks, and release-readiness to stakeholders.

Skills

SDET Experience

QA Leadership

CI/CD

Java

Rust

TS/React

Azure DevOps

GitLab

Jira

Test Automation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Azure DevOps

GitLab

Jira

Job description

Location: Reston, VA Experience Level: Mid to Senior Level Clearance: Active Secret Clearance Required Salary Range: 129,500 (Based on skills and experience) At Data Machines, we leverage data analytics, DevSecOps, machine intelligence, and data science to engineer innovative solutions for our Federal Government, Department of Defense, and commercial customers. Our teams solve complex, mission-critical challenges using modern technology and secure engineering practices. We are seeking a hands-on Test and Quality Assurance (QA) Lead with Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) experience to build and mature testing infrastructure for production software supporting simulation, optimization, and decision support in mission-focused environments. You will develop test harnesses, mocking infrastructure, and automated and manual testing strategies; integrate testing into CI/CD pipelines; and improve quality and reliability across Java, Rust, and TypeScript/React applications. The ideal candidate combines strong software-testing and development experience with the ability to establish repeatable QA standards, lead testing efforts, and communicate product-quality and release-readiness information to technical leadership and customer stakeholders. This position will be performed on-site in Reston, VA.

Minimum Qualifications

• * Active Secret security clearance or higher.
• U.S. citizenship required.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, or a related technical field. Four additional years of relevant experience may be substituted for a bachelor's degree.
• 5+ years of industry experience in software development, SDET, software testing, quality assurance, systems testing, or test infrastructure.
• Experience building test infrastructure, including mocking capabilities and CI/CD integration.
• Experience designing and executing automated and manual tests.
• Software-development experience in Java, Rust, or TypeScript/React.
• Familiarity with full-stack web-application development.
• Experience with Azure DevOps, GitLab, Jira, or similar CI/CD, defect-tracking, requirements-management, or development-collaboration tools.
• Understanding of the software development lifecycle and software testing lifecycle.
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, documentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to work on-site in Reston, VA.

Preferred Qualifications

• * 8+ years of software testing, quality assurance, systems engineering, SDET, or related technical experience.
• Experience serving as a QA Lead, Test Lead, SDET Lead, or senior member of a software-testing team.
• Experience using Azure DevOps, GitLab, or similar CI/CD and development-collaboration tools.
• Experience testing APIs, distributed systems, data platforms, cloud applications, or simulation and decision-support software.
• Experience with performance, load, security, reliability, or resilience testing.
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, and containerized test environments.
• Experience developing QA metrics, dashboards, test reports, and release-readiness assessments.
• Experience supporting Department of Defense or other Federal Government software programs.

Key Responsibilities

• * Lead the planning, development, and execution of software-testing and quality-assurance activities.
• Design, build, and maintain scalable test infrastructure, test harnesses, fixtures, and mocking capabilities.
• Develop automated and manual testing strategies covering functional, integration, regression, system, and acceptance testing.
• Perform and oversee user acceptance testing and coordinate testing across development, integration, staging, and production environments.
• Integrate automated tests and quality gates into CI/CD pipelines across development, test, integration, staging, and production workflows.
• Develop test plans, test cases, test scripts, acceptance criteria, and traceable test evidence from system and customer requirements.
• Test Java, Rust, and TypeScript/React applications, including APIs, backend services, full-stack workflows, and user interfaces.
• Identify, document, track, troubleshoot, and validate software defects through resolution.
• Collaborate with researchers, developers, engineers, and end users to translate technical concepts and operational workflows into effective tests.
• Establish repeatable QA standards, documentation, metrics, and release-readiness criteria.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to personnel involved in testing and quality assurance.
• Communicate testing status, risks, issues, product quality, test coverage, defect trends, and release-readiness recommendations to technical leadership and customer stakeholders.

This position is contingent upon contract award.