Senior QA/Automation Test Engineer

Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace. • Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance • Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays •

Job Family: Systems Engineering Travel Required: Up to 10% Clearance Required: Ability to Obtain Public Trust What You Will Do: Guidehouse is seeking an experienced Senior QA/Automation Test Engineer to lead quality engineering initiatives and support the delivery of enterprise-class software solutions within a fast-paced Agile and DevSecOps environment. This role is responsible for defining testing strategy, advancing automation maturity, improving software quality processes, and ensuring scalable, reliable, and secure application releases. The Senior QA/Automation Test Engineer serves as a quality advocate and technical leader, partnering with software engineers, architects, product owners, business analysts, DevOps teams, and stakeholders to embed quality throughout the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). The successful candidate will possess deep expertise in test automation, quality engineering, CI/CD integration, and modern testing methodologies while driving continuous improvement and mentoring junior team members. This position supports a large integrated platform with frequent software releases and requires a proactive approach to risk management, defect prevention, automation optimization, and operational excellence. Key Responsibilities Quality Engineering Leadership • Serve as the lead quality engineering resource for assigned applications, platforms, and initiatives. • Establish and maintain comprehensive test strategies aligned with business, technical, security, and compliance requirements. • Define quality standards, testing approaches, automation objectives, and release-readiness criteria. • Advocate for quality-first and shift-left testing practices across development teams. • Identify quality risks early and provide recommendations to reduce production defects and operational impact. • Promote continuous improvement of testing methodologies, tools, frameworks, and processes. Test Automation Strategy & Development • Architect, develop, maintain, and enhance enterprise-scale automated testing frameworks. • Design reusable automation solutions for functional, API, integration, regression, UI, database, and end-to-end testing. • Lead automation initiatives that improve test coverage, execution efficiency, and release confidence. • Establish automation standards, coding practices, and framework governance. • Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps workflows. • Evaluate and recommend emerging automation technologies, AI-assisted testing tools, and quality engineering solutions. Test Planning & Execution • Develop and maintain comprehensive test plans, test cases, test scenarios, and testing documentation. • Review business, functional, technical, and architecture requirements to ensure adequate test coverage. • Execute and oversee functional, integration, performance, regression, system, user acceptance, and release validation testing. • Ensure traceability between requirements, test cases, defects, and production releases. • Validate application functionality, usability, performance, reliability, and security expectations. Defect Management & Root Cause Analysis • Lead defect triage sessions and quality reviews with development teams and stakeholders. • Perform in-depth root cause analysis of defects, failures, and production incidents. • Identify recurring quality challenges and recommend preventive solutions. • Establish defect metrics and reporting that drive actionable improvements. • Verify corrective actions and ensure adequate regression coverage. Agile & DevSecOps Collaboration • Participate in sprint planning, backlog refinement, architecture discussions, sprint reviews, and retrospectives. • Collaborate with developers to ensure testability of system designs and requirements. • Support continuous integration and continuous delivery practices through automated validation gates. • Partner with DevOps teams to improve deployment quality, release automation, and environment stability. • Contribute to secure software delivery through automated validation and security-focused testing. Mentorship & Technical Leadership • Mentor and coach junior and mid-level QA engineers and automation specialists. • Conduct peer reviews of test cases, automation scripts, and quality artifacts. • Establish quality engineering best practices and promote knowledge sharing throughout the organization. • Lead process improvement initiatives and champion innovation within the QA Serve as a trusted advisor on software quality, testing strategy, and automation approaches. Performance Expectations Delivery Excellence • Consistently deliver testing activities that align with sprint, release, and program objectives. • Support high-quality releases with minimal production-impacting defects. • Proactively identify and mitigate quality risks before deployment. Automation Leadership • Continuously expand and improve automated test coverage across applications and platforms. • Reduce manual testing effort through scalable and maintainable automation solutions. • Improve execution speed, reliability, and reporting of automated test suites. Quality Improvement • Drive measurable reductions in defect leakage and production incidents. • Improve overall software quality metrics through proactive quality engineering practices. • Establish repeatable, efficient testing processes across teams. Technical Excellence • Maintain modern automation frameworks and testing architectures. • Ensure automation assets remain maintainable, reusable, and scalable. • Demonstrate expertise in enterprise testing disciplines and emerging technologies. Collaboration & Influence • Effectively communicate testing status, risks, dependencies, and recommendations to technical and business stakeholders. • Build strong collaborative relationships with engineering, product, architecture, and operations teams. • Mentor team members and contribute to