Test Architect – Aircraft Onboard Platform and Application Systems

TALENT Software Services; Hillsboro (OR); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

TALENT Software Services is seeking a hands-on Test Architect to own the end-to-end test strategy for an aircraft-wide edge-compute platform spanning hardware, embedded software, connectivity, AI features, and a multi-tenant ecosystem. You will define and evolve the architecture with strategic leadership and hands-on execution.

You will guide a cross-functional team, design test environments, craft entry/exit criteria, and drive automation within the CI/CD pipeline, including traceability via

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/principal role.
• Proven experience defining test strategy for complex, multi-component systems.
• Hands-on experience building test automation frameworks and CI/CD pipeline integration.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the platform-wide Test Strategy Document across layers and testing types.
• Lead and mentor a cross-functional test team and set best practices.
• Translate strategy into detailed, executable test plans per release/sprint.
• Develop automation scripts and integrate tests into CI/CD as gates.
• Ensure traceability with Jira/Xray and report release readiness.

Skills

Test strategy

Test architecture

Team leadership

Automation frameworks

CI/CD pipelines

Root-cause analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Master's preferred

Tools

Jira/Xray

Job description

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

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

Team Leadership & Guidance

• 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

Test Plan Execution

• 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

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

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