Test Engineer - Contingent at Aretum in McLean, VA

Public Trust Eligibility Required

This is a contingent position, meaning employment is dependent upon the successful award of the associated contract to Aretum and completion of any required background investigation or security clearance verification. 

About Aretum

Aretum is a mission-driven organization committed to delivering innovative, technology-enabled solutions to our customers across defense, civilian, and homeland security sectors. Our teams work at the intersection of strategy, technology, and transformation, helping agencies solve their most critical challenges. We believe in investing in our people and creating a culture where collaboration, inclusion, and professional growth are at the forefront. 

Job Summary

Aretum is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Test Engineer to join our team supporting a large-scale federal technology modernization program. As a Test Engineer, you will be responsible for validating application quality across multiple testing disciplines: functional testing, test automation, digital accessibility evaluation, and performance testing. You will work as an embedded member of an Agile scrum team, executing manual and automated tests within sprint cycles, building and maintaining automation frameworks, evaluating UI code for WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance, and conducting load and performance testing before major releases. This is a hands-on role that requires both testing depth and the ability to communicate findings clearly to developers, product owners, and program leadership.

Due to the nature of our work as a federal consulting organization, employees may be expected to handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and must adhere to applicable safeguarding and compliance requirements. 

Responsibilities

• Execute functional testing of web application features, validating stories against acceptance criteria and documenting defects with clear reproduction steps, severity classification, and expected versus actual behavior
• Build, maintain, and expand automated regression test suites using Playwright, Cypress, and Selenium with Cucumber/Gherkin BDD patterns, integrated into GitLab CI pipelines for continuous feedback
• Create and maintain automated API test collections using Postman and Rest Assured to validate microservice endpoints, inter-service contracts, and integration points with external systems
• Perform digital accessibility evaluations on coded solutions using automated tools (aXe, pa11y, WAVE, ANDI) and manual techniques (JAWS and NVDA screen reader testing) per WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 standards, following the DHS Trusted Tester conformance test process
• Document accessibility findings with specific WCAG success criteria references and actionable remediation guidance that enables developers to resolve issues efficiently
• Execute load and performance tests using NeoLoad, JMeter, or equivalent tools to validate response times, throughput, and error rates against defined thresholds before production releases
• Maintain test plans and test cases in Confluence linked to Jira stories, with test evidence documented for sprint reviews
• Collaborate with developers to define clear acceptance criteria and test criteria during backlog refinement, ensuring stories are testable before development begins
• Participate fully in Agile ceremonies within a SAFe framework: Sprint Planning, Daily Standup, Sprint Review, Retrospective, and Backlog Refinement
• Maintain CI-integrated test suites at a 95% pass rate or above and resolve flaky tests promptly to keep automation a reliable quality gate
• Support production triage when assigned, diagnosing issues and verifying fixes through the standard CI/CD pipeline
• Contribute to test strategy improvements, automation framework enhancements, and knowledge sharing across the QA team

Requirements

• 3 years of applicable experience in software quality assurance and testing
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or 3 years of additional experience)
• Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks, including Selenium, Cypress, or Playwright, with the ability to write and maintain test scripts in Java and/or JavaScript
• 1+ years of experience with Playwright for end-to-end browser automation, including test script development, cross-browser configuration, and CI pipeline integration
• DHS Trusted Tester certification with experience applying the Trusted Tester conformance test process to evaluate Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 AA compliance on web applications (or willingness to obtain within the first 3 months of employment)
• 1+ years of experience with performance and load testing tools such as NeoLoad or JMeter, including script creation, threshold definition, and results analysis
• Experience writing BDD test scenarios using Cucumber/Gherkin syntax and implementing step definitions
• Proficiency with API testing tools such as Postman and Rest Assured, including creating collections, writing assertions, and validating RESTful service responses
• Working knowledge of digital accessibility testing, including WCAG 2.1 AA standards, Section 508 compliance, and experience using automated accessibility scanning tools (aXe, pa11y, WAVE, or ANDI)
• Experience with manual screen reader testing using JAWS or NVDA for accessibility evaluation beyond automated scanning
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI preferred) and understanding of how automated tests integrate into build and deployment workflows
• Strong defect documentation skills: ability to write clear, reproducible bug reports with severity classification and supporting evidence
• Familiarity with code quality tools such as SonarQube, including reading coverage reports and quality dashboards
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to provide clear status updates, collaborate with developers on defect resolution, and present test results to stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with the federal government
• Proficiency with Agile project management tools (Jira, Confluence) and experience working in Scrum or SAFe environments with 2 to 3 week sprint cycles
• ISTQB certification (Foundation or Advanced Level) or equivalent QA certification
• IAAP certification (WAS, CPACC, or CPWA) or equivalent accessibility certification
• Experience testing cloud-native applications running on AWS (ECS/Fargate, RDS, S3, ElasticSearch/OpenSearch)
• Familiarity with microservices architecture and container-based deployment patterns
• Experience testing applications that integrate with federal identity providers or federal payment systems
• Background in testing Angular web applications with responsive design requirements

Travel Requirements

This is a remote position; however, occasional travel may be required based on project needs, client meetings, team collaboration events, or training sessions. Travel is expected to be less than 10% and will be communicated in advance whenever possible. 

EEO Statement

Aretum is committed to fostering a workplace rooted in excellence, integrity, and equal opportunity for all. We adhere to merit-based hiring practices, ensuring that all employment decisions are made based on qualifications, skills, and ability to perform the job, without preference or consideration of factors unrelated to job performance. 

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Aretum complies with all applicable federal, state, and local employment laws. 

We are proud to support our nation’s veterans and military families, providing career opportunities that honor their service and experience. 

If you require reasonable accommodation during the hiring process due to a disability, please contact hr@aretum.com for assistance. 

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled 

U.S. Work Authorization

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. This position supports a federal government contract and requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust or Suitability Determination, depending on the agency’s background investigation requirements. Sponsorship is not available. 

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)  

• Retirement Plan (401k) 

• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)  

• Paid Time Off 

• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)  

• Short Term & Long-Term Disability  

• Training & Development