Job Description ECS is seeking a
Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) to work in our
Arlington, VA office.
The Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) is a highly technical role that bridges the gap between software development and quality assurance. The SDET is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining automated test frameworks and tools to ensure the delivery of high-quality software products. Unlike traditional QA testers, the SDET possesses deep software engineering skills and actively contributes to the architecture and codebase of testing infrastructure. This role partners closely with developers, product managers, and other stakeholders to embed quality throughout every phase of the software development lifecycle, from design through deployment and production monitoring.
Responsibilities - Test Automation Development: Design, build, and maintain scalable and robust automated test suites, including unit, integration, functional , regression, and end-to-end tests.
- Framework & Tool Development: Architect and develop custom test frameworks, harnesses, and tooling to improve testing efficiency, coverage, and reliability across teams.
- CI/CD Integration: Integrate automated tests into continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines to enable rapid and reliable software releases.
- Test Strategy & Planning: Collaborate with engineering and product teams to define comprehensive test strategies, identify risk areas, and determine appropriate levels of test coverage.
- Code Quality & Review: Participate in code reviews for both production and test code, advocating for testability, maintainability, and best practices in software design.
- Bug Identification & Analysis: Identify , document, and triage defects with detailed reproduction steps and root cause analysis; work with developers to resolve issues efficiently.
- Performance & Load Testing: Design and execute performance, load, and stress tests to identify bottlenecks and ensure the system meets scalability and reliability requirements.
- API & Service Testing: Develop and maintain automated tests for RESTful APIs, microservices, and other backend systems to validate functionality, security, and data integrity.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with developers, DevOps engineers, product managers, and other stakeholders to promote a culture of quality and shift-left testing practices.
- Test Environment Management: Assist in the configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting of test environments, test data, and mock/stub services.
- Documentation & Reporting: Maintain clear documentation of test plans, test cases, frameworks, and results; generate and communicate quality metrics and test coverage reports to leadership.
- Continuous Improvement: Stay current with emerging testing tools, technologies, and methodologies; proactively recommend and implement improvements to existing testing processes.
Required Skills - Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust suitability determination.
- Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science , Software Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).
- Experience: 7 + years of experience in software development, test automation, or a combined SDET role.
Desired Skills - Programming & Test Development: Strong proficiency in Golang (preferred), Python, Java, or Ruby, with the ability to design and maintain scalable, reusable automated test code for microservices and containerized applications.
- Test Automation Frameworks: Hands-on experience with modern automation frameworks (Cucumber/Ruby preferred; also Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Appium, TestNG, JUnit, PyTest ), with a focus on API and service-layer test automation.
- CI/CD Integration: Proven experience integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI) to enable fast, reliable deployments in cloud-native environments (OpenShift / AWS).
- API Testing Expertise: Strong proficiency in testing RESTful APIs using tools such as Swagger (preferred), Postman, curl, or equivalent libraries.
- Version Control & Collaboration: Solid understanding of Git-based workflows, including branching strategies, pull requests, code reviews, and merge management.
- Test Management: Experience with XRAY and Jira for end-to-end test lifecycle management, including test design, execution, traceability, and defect tracking.
- Systems Thinking & Problem Solving: Demonstrated ability to analyze complex distributed systems (microservices, containers) to identify failure points and deliver actionable insights.
- Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate technical findings into clear, stakeholder-friendly insights.
- Cloud & Infrastructure: Working knowledge of AWS (EC2, S3, IAM, networking) and experience testing in cloud-based environments.
- Containerization & Orchestration: Familiarity with Docker and Kubernetes, with practical experience testing applications deployed in Red Hat OpenShift environments.
- Performance & Load Testing: Experience designing and executing performance tests using tools such as JMeter (preferred), Gatling, Locust, or k6.
- Security Testing Awareness: Understanding of security testing practices and tools (e.g., SonarQube, Twistlock ), including basic vulnerability identification and secure coding principles.
- BDD/TDD Practices: Experience with Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) frameworks (e.g., Cucumber) and/or Test-Driven Development (TDD) to support collaborative, quality-first development.
- Data & Database Testing: Working knowledge of SQL and experience validating data integrity and performance in database-driven systems and data pipelines.
- Agile Delivery: Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments, collaborating cross-functionally with engineering, DevSecOps , and product teams.
- Certifications (Preferred): ISTQB, AWS Certified, or equivalent.
- Experience with observability tools (e.g., Splunk, Dynatrace) for troubleshooting and root cause analysis
- Familiarity with bastion hosts and secure access patterns for restricted environments
#ECS1
ECS is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate or allow discrimination on the basis any characteristic protected by law. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local jurisdiction law.
ECS is a leading mid-sized provider of technology services to the United States Federal Government. We are focused on people, values and purpose. Every day, our 3200+ employees focus on providing their technical talent to support the Federal Agencies and Departments of the US Government to serve, protect and defend the American People.
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