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.

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).