Software Test Lead (Quality Assurance Engineer III)

Would you love to work for a fast-growing company with amazing perks and benefits including educational and professional development and a great Work-Life balance? Then Forward Slope wants you to join our team! We are a fast-paced global engineering company with a great reputation in the Department of Defense industry (DoD) for over 20 years.

Location:

San Diego (Hybrid)

• Candidate will be required to be onsite in San Diego, as needed.

This position has the option to work a 9/80 schedule, which is a compressed work schedule, with alternate Fridays off.

Job Description:

We are seeking a proactive and dedicated Software Test Lead to take full ownership of our software testing process. The ideal candidate will refine existing test documentation, develop comprehensive test plans for both existing and new functionalities, and manually execute these tests. This role requires a deep understanding of our software systems, the ability to think through edge cases, and a proactive approach to identifying potential issues. The Test Lead will coordinate closely with the engineering team to ensure quality standards are met and will play a critical role in delivering reliable software solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ownership of Test Plans: Develop, refine, and maintain comprehensive test plans and cases for all software functionalities.
• Leadership: Coordinate and manage the overall testing process, ensuring quality standards are met, and lead engineers during quarterly release testing.
• Manual Testing Execution: Perform thorough manual testing to ensure software meets requirements and is free of defects.
• Collaboration: Work closely with software engineers, product managers, and other stakeholders to ensure comprehensive test coverage.
• Edge Case Analysis: Think critically to identify potential edge cases and proactively devise tests to address them.
• Defect Management: Identify, document, and track software defects; work with the development team to resolve issues promptly.
• Process Improvement: Continuously improve testing strategies, processes, and tools to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Reporting: Provide regular updates on testing progress, results, and quality metrics to stakeholders.
• Documentation: Maintain detailed records of test procedures, results, and any changes in the testing process.

Required qualifications:

• Security Clearance: Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance at the Secret level.
• Education: Associate degree or higher in computer science, computer engineering, or a related field.
• Experience:
  • Minimum of three (3) years in software testing and quality assurance.
  • Experience developing test plans and test cases tied to requirements.
  • Experience performing manual test procedures and documenting results.
• Testing & Technical Skills:
  • One (1) year of experience using Selenium, Robot, TAF, or equivalent testing frameworks.
  • Three (3) years of experience developing integration tests for Java-based web applications.
  • Three (3) years of experience developing test plans tying test steps to requirements.
• General Skills:
  • Leadership: Ability to coordinate with cross-functional teams and automated testing engineers. Excellent communication and coordination skills. Ability to work proactively and independently, taking full ownership of the testing process.
  • Organizational Skills: Excellent time management and the ability to prioritize multiple testing activities simultaneously.
  • Attention to Detail: Strong commitment to delivering high-quality software with meticulous documentation.
  • Creative Thinking: Ability to design tests that uncover software defects and think outside the box to challenge the software. Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities to understand complex software systems.
  • Technical Skills: Familiarity with the software development lifecycle and testing methodologies. Experience performing manual test procedures and documenting results.

Desired qualifications:

• Security Clearance: Currently hold an active Secret clearance.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, computer engineering, or a related field.
• Certifications:
  • CompTIA Security+ certification or equivalent.
  • CompTIA Linux+ certification or equivalent training or certification(s).
• Experience:
  • Working in an Agile/Scrum development environment.
  • Understanding of web-based architectures and microservices.
• Skills:
  • One (1) year of experience using continuous integration tools (e.g., Jenkins, Fortify).
  • One (1) year of experience using automated deployment tools (e.g., Ansible, Chef, Puppet).
  • Familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite (Confluence, Bitbucket, Jira, etc.).

*Salary Range: $100k - $130k

Job Type: Full-Time Salary

Why Join Forward Slope?

• Fast-paced global company with a great reputation in the DoD industry for over 20 years
• Telework option available
• Flexible working hours based on job needs
• Great and fun work culture
• Amazing benefits package for full time employees (including 90% employer contribution for employee medical benefits)
• 3 weeks of PTO a year
• 11 paid company holidays a year
• Team Building - Continuous appreciation events for our employees
• Education and Professional Development – programs to help you with your educational and professional growth!

Forward Slope is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled
An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

*The listed pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this position for the location for which it has been posted and is not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Other compensation considerations may include, but are not limited to, job responsibilities, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, or other applicable factors.

**PAY TRANSPARENCY NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISION - The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c).