​ The Office of Information Technology (OIT) at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is seeking skilled professionals to support a wide range of program and technical services across the institute. This is a remote position with occasional onsite visits required for key personnel to support collaboration, planning, and program delivery.The NICHD OIT team provides full lifecycle IT support, helping the institute maintain a secure, efficient, and modern technology environment. Team members will work alongside NIH scientists, administrators, and stakeholders to deliver innovative, compliant, and user-centered digital solutions that advance NICHD’s strategic goals.

We are seeking a Senior Test Automation Engineer to lead the implementation and advancement of automated testing practices as part of NICHD’s modernization and operational excellence initiatives. As part of a high-performing DevSecOps team, you will play a key role in ensuring application reliability, performance, and quality across a complex ecosystem of interdependent systems including Drupal websites, SharePoint workflows, .NET and legacy applications, and SQL/Oracle databases.

You will drive testing strategy using modern tools and techniques—including AI-assisted testing, preview environments, and accessibility-first design—and help establish a scalable, sustainable test automation framework aligned with the APMS (Assess–Prioritize–Modernize–Sustain) and Product Management approaches. This role requires strong collaboration across development, infrastructure, and business teams within a multi-contractor environment.

• Lead the design, development, and maintenance of automated test frameworks for functional, regression, integration, performance, and accessibility testing.

• Develop reusable, scalable, and maintainable automated test scripts using modern tools (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, TestCafe, JUnit, NUnit, Postman).

• Integrate test automation into CI/CD pipelines, supporting trunk-based development and feature flag deployment models.

• Define and implement quality assurance standards that align with Agile, DevSecOps, and Product Management practices.

• Collaborate with developers, business analysts, and product managers to define testable requirements and create test plans.

• Utilize AI-assisted testing and document generation tools to increase coverage and reduce manual effort.

• Participate in code reviews, pair programming, and testing of AI-generated code to ensure security, quality, and maintainability.

• Establish preview environments for pre-commit and isolated testing, ensuring code validation prior to release.

• Ensure testing processes support accessibility (Section 508 compliance) and security (pre-commit security checks).

• Drive continuous improvement through metrics-driven test coverage analysis and defect prevention strategies.

• Coordinate with external teams (e.g., infrastructure, AI strategy partners) to align testing with broader modernization goals.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

• Minimum 8 years of experience in software quality assurance and test automation.

• Hands-on experience with modern test automation frameworks and scripting tools (e.g., Selenium WebDriver, Cypress, Playwright, JUnit, NUnit).

• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions).

• Knowledge of Agile and DevSecOps practices, including trunk-based development and feature flag deployment.

• Experience with API testing (e.g., Postman, REST Assured), cross-browser testing, and performance/load testing tools.

• Strong understanding of accessibility testing, including Section 508/WCAG standards and tools (e.g., Axe, WAVE).

• Familiarity with testing in hybrid environments (cloud and on-premises).

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The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to:

• Design and implement effective and scalable automated test strategies that align with enterprise modernization goals.

• Collaborate across cross-functional teams and contractors in a fast-paced Agile/DevSecOps environment.

• Innovate by applying AI tools and automation to reduce manual effort, improve quality, and accelerate delivery cycles.

• Validate changes rapidly using preview environments and feature flag mechanisms to reduce release risk.

• Lead QA initiatives that incorporate security, accessibility, and performance testing as integral parts of the development lifecycle.

• Analyze test coverage, identify gaps, and apply risk-based testing methods to ensure critical functionality is protected.

• Communicate test results and quality trends clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Adapt to evolving technologies, frameworks, and modernization priorities within a mission-driven federal environment.

• Experience supporting federal agencies (NIH, HHS, or other government clients).

• Exposure to AI-assisted test generation and AI-powered QA platforms.

• Experience with preview environment setup and management.

• Familiarity with Microsoft Azure services and Power Platform (e.g., Power BI, Power Automate).

• Certifications such as:

  • ISTQB Advanced Test Automation Engineer

  • Certified Agile Tester (CAT)

  • Microsoft Certified: Azure DevOps Engineer Expert

  • Security+ or relevant cybersecurity certifications

The salary range is $135,000-155,000/year. The salary range for this position reflects a variety of factors that influence compensation decisions, including skills, experience, training, certifications, and organizational needs.