Test Architect – (Aircraft/Avionics, Python, Embedded)

Central Business Solutions Inc.; Hillsboro (OR); On-site; USD 124,000 - 179,000; Full time

Job summary

Central Business Solutions Inc. in Hillsboro, OR is seeking a hands-on Test Architect to own the end-to-end test strategy for an aircraft onboard platform spanning hardware, embedded software, connectivity, AI features, and a multi-tenant ecosystem.

The role combines strategic ownership with hands-on automation, lab/infrastructure design, and cross-functional leadership. You will drive automation frameworks and CI/CD integration while ensuring traceability across the development lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, or related field (Master's preferred).
• 8+ years in software/systems testing with 2–3 years in a test architect/lead role.
• Experience defining test strategy for complex multi-component systems.
• Hands-on in building test automation frameworks (API/UI/perf).
• CI/CD pipelines integration of automated tests as gates.
• Knowledge of Jira + Xray or equivalent tooling.
• Networking concepts and testing tools/emulators.
• Experience with multi-tenant/shared-resource systems.
• Programming/scripting (Python/Java).
• Excellent written communication to author strategies.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the platform-wide Test Strategy Document.
• Define testing approach for architectural layers and risk-based coverage.
• Design lab infrastructure strategy including physical/virtual environments.
• Define entry/exit criteria, test levels, and release gating.
• Lead and mentor cross-functional test team.
• Lead direction for test design, execution, and automation.
• Review test plans and automation scripts; provide guidance.
• Coordinate execution across unit to system/E2E tests.
• Maintain Jira/Xray traceability from requirements to defects.

Skills

Test architecture

Automation frameworks

CI/CD pipelines

Python/Java scripting

Jira/Xray

Team leadership

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE

Tools

Jira

Xray

Jenkins

Job description

Job Title: Test Architect – (Aircraft Onboard Platform & Application Systems)

Department: Quality Engineering / Test Engineering

Location: (onsite) – Hillsboro, OR

Duration: Long-term Contract

Role Summary

We are looking for a hands-on Test Architect to own the end-to-end test strategy for an aircraft-wide, edge-compute application hosting platform spanning hardware, embedded software, connectivity, AI-driven features, and a multi-tenant application ecosystem. This role blends strategic ownership (defining and evolving the detailed test strategy), technical leadership (guiding and mentoring the test team), and hands-on execution (test plan execution and building automation frameworks/scripts). The ideal candidate is equally comfortable authoring a test architecture document and writing automation code.

Key Responsibilities

1. Test Strategy & Architecture

• Own and continuously evolve the platform-wide Test Strategy Document — covering Development/Feature/Functionality , integration, system, performance, connectivity, security, CI/CD, and certification-adjacent testing
• Define the testing approach for each architectural layer ( platform services, application, data/sync) and ensure test coverage scales with architectural risk (e.g., shared-resource isolation, third‑party app sandboxing)
• Design the test environment and lab infrastructure strategy, including physical lab, virtualized/simulated environments, and network/connectivity emulation
• Define entry/exit criteria, test levels, and release‑gating standards across the test lifecycle
• Lead and mentor a cross‑functional test team (functional, integration, performance, security, hardware/environmental testers)
• Set technical direction and best practices for test design, execution, and automation across the team
• Review test plans, test cases, and automation scripts authored by team members; provide technical guidance and quality gate sign‑off
• Act as the primary technical point of contact between the test team and architecture/engineering stakeholders
• Translate the test strategy into detailed, executable test plans per release/sprint
• Plan and coordinate execution across test levels (unit through system/E2E) and test areas (functional, integration, performance, connectivity resilience, security, CI/CD)
• Track test execution progress, defect trends, and coverage metrics; report release readiness to stakeholders
• Drive root‑cause analysis and cross‑application regression risk assessment for defects found during execution

4. Automation Script Development

• Design and build the automation framework(s) for regression, integration, and performance testing
• Personally develop automation scripts for critical‑path and high‑risk scenarios (e.g., cross‑application resource contention, connectivity resilience under simulated network impairment, CI/CD pipeline validation)
• Integrate automated test suites into the CI/CD pipeline as build/release gates
• Continuously expand automation coverage and reduce manual regression effort over time

5. Traceability & Tooling

• Own the Jira/Xray traceability framework — requirement‑to‑test‑case‑to‑defect linkage, test plan/test set structuring, and release reporting
• Ensure test evidence is audit‑ready, including for certification‑adjacent test areas

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, or related field (Master's preferred)
• 8+ years in software/systems testing, with at least 2–3 years in a test architect, lead, or principal test engineer capacity
• Proven experience defining test strategy for a complex, multi‑component or platform‑level system (not just single‑application testing)
• Strong hands‑on experience building test automation frameworks (not just using existing ones) — e.g., API‑level automation, UI automation, performance/load testing tools
• Practical experience with CI/CD pipelines and integrating automated tests as pipeline gates
• Strong working knowledge of Jira + Xray (or equivalent test management/traceability tooling)
• Solid understanding of networking concepts — connectivity resilience, degraded/intermittent network conditions, and network testing tools/emulators
• Experience with multi‑tenant / shared‑resource systems and the isolation, security, and contention‑testing challenges they introduce
• Strong programming/scripting ability for automation (e.g., Python, Java, or similar) and API/test‑tool scripting
• Excellent written communication skills — able to author clear, structured strategy and planning documents

Preferred / Nice-to-Have

• Experience in avionics, aerospace, automotive, or other safety‑adjacent regulated industries, particularly with DO‑178C / DO‑160 or equivalent certification‑linked testing standards
• Experience testing edge‑computing — systems that must operate reliably with intermittent/constrained connectivity
• Experience testing platforms with an open developer/SDK ecosystem (third‑party or partner‑developed applications running on shared infrastructure)
• Familiarity with AI/ML system testing — validating AI‑generated outputs, accuracy/drift monitoring, and testing local/edge AI inference
• Prior experience standing up a test program from early stage (as opposed to only maintaining an established one)
• Strategic + hands‑on balance: equally credible writing architecture‑level strategy and personally writing automation code
• Cross‑functional leadership: able to guide a team while also collaborating closely with software architects, developers, and certification/compliance stakeholders
• Risk‑based thinking: able to prioritize test investment based on architectural risk (e.g., shared blast radius, third‑party app unpredictability) rather than treating all areas equally
• Clear communicator: able to translate complex technical test status into clear risk/readiness reporting for leadership
• Ownership mindset: comfortable being the accountable owner of test strategy and quality outcomes, not just an execution resource

What Success Looks Like

• A validated, internally‑accurate Test Strategy Document owned and maintained by this role
• A functioning core regression automation suite integrated into the CI/CD pipeline
• A properly configured Jira/Xray traceability structure with clear requirement coverage reporting
• A test team operating against clear entry/exit criteria