Automation Test Engineer

SAIC hiring an Automation Engineer to build automated test coverage and perform hands-on manual testing for systems where hardware and software are integrated. You will design and maintain automated tests (API, service, and some UI), develop and test supporting C#, Python code, and validate integrated components end to end — devices, backend services, middleware, and the data between them. You will work in an Agile team alongside developers and DevOps across the full software development lifecycle, maintaining automation in CI/CD and tracking plans and defects in Jira.

This position is hybrid remote and requires 2 days on-site in Sterling, VA per week. 

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain automated test scripts that verify functionality, security, and usability across API, service, and UI layers.
• Develop and test C#, Python code as project requirements dictate.
• Implement automated integration, regression, functional, and system tests during feature development.
• Perform manual and exploratory testing of integrated hardware and software systems — including LPR, biometric/facial recognition, and RFID devices — validating read accuracy, correlation to the correct vehicle or transaction, and behavior under real and adverse conditions.
• Reproduce field and edge conditions (device faults, dropped, duplicate, or out-of-order messages, timing skew, degraded inputs) and confirm graceful end-to-end handling.
• Develop and maintain test plans and test cases; write SQL or Unix scripts for test-data generation and test-harness automation.
• Maintain and improve automation frameworks and CI/CD pipelines, and troubleshoot issues in the automation systems themselves.
• Investigate defects across the stack using logs, traffic captures (TCP/HTTP), and the command line; isolate whether a fault is hardware, software, configuration, or network.
• Report and manage defects in Jira; produce test summaries and raise functional, performance, and requirement-discrepancy tickets.
• Collaborate with development and DevOps teams and participate in Agile ceremonies such as daily stand-ups and sprints.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• MUST be a U.S Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a DHS Public Trust security clearance. 
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent experience), with 2+ years of QA / test experience including test automation.
• Proficiency in C#, Python, Javascript, Typescript, NodeJS.
• Test automation experience with Selenium, Playwright, and Cucumber.
• Strong SQL and relational-database knowledge; able to read a data model and derive test scripts and test data from it.
• Automation focused on API testing with some UI testing, across backend, middleware, desktop, and microservice layers, including SOAP services via SoapUI with basic XML.
• Working knowledge of TCP and HTTP, with the ability to inspect traffic (Wireshark, tcpdump, or curl).
• Comfortable on Ubuntu/Linux, with SQL or Unix/shell scripting for test data and test-harness automation.
• Experience testing integrated hardware and software systems; exposure to media or data validation such as video-frame or image/stream inspection, or a clear aptitude to learn it.
• Able to generate test data, validate results, and report and manage defects in Jira.
• Strong written and verbal communication and problem-solving skills, effective with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, with strong initiative.

Preferred Qualifications

• Test automation for applications running in the cloud (AWS or equivalent).
• Experience across all testing stages: functional, usability, regression, load/stress, and performance.
• Hands-on testing of LPR, biometric/facial recognition, RFID, or other sensor- or camera-based systems.
• Prior software development experience.
• CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins) and containers (Docker).
• Deeper XML experience; familiarity with a BDD or test-framework ecosystem (e.g., pytest, Robot Framework).

About UsSAIC® is a premier mission integrator focused on advancing the power of technology and innovation to serve and protect our world. Our robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, intelligence, and civilian markets includes secure high-end solutions in mission IT, enterprise IT, engineering services, and professional services. We integrate emerging technology, rapidly and securely, into mission critical operations that modernize and enable critical national imperatives.