Senior Software Engineer - Test Automation

We are Skyward. That is, a love for people, for improvement, for human advancement through information technology. We are a people-centered business with a desire to serve others. We are diverse and unified; creative and collaborative; a collection of complementary, not competing talents. And though on the surface we remain relaxed, beneath, a torrent of energy links us to our civic tech mission. We stand by our values, and we won’t compromise on any of them. Integrity: We’re conscientious, intentional, and empathetic. Our words and actions align. That’s our character. Please don’t ask us to play another part, we’re poor actors. Compassionate: If we may borrow a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” Because our team is thoughtful and supportive, caring deeply for each other, our clients, and our work, this comes naturally. Inquisitive: We remain students by failing openly and turning lessons into solutions. Unconventional: For us, life isn’t what happens outside of work. Work happens inside of life and our culture erases the line often dividing the two. Authentic: Made possible only because we embody the values listed above. We’re relaxed and fun yet intensely curious and driven. Team members are placed with thought, care, and precision to ensure that Trust, Truth, and Transparency continue to represent our brand. Because of that, we continue Onward, Upward, and Skyward. We need a Senior Software Engineer - Test Automation. Are you the person people call when the test suite takes ninety minutes and fails differently every run? When “it works on my machine” is the most-quoted phrase in standup? Do you push beyond “we wrote a test” into “we built a safety net that catches the bug before the PR even opens”? If you're a well-rounded engineer who treats quality as a craft - equally happy writing production code, designing a test harness, or hunting down the race condition behind a flaky CI run - we want to talk to you. Come join us if you're motivated to learn from others, to learn from mistakes, to be part of a future-looking and growth-oriented team. Let's go Skyward together. \n What you’ll do: Serve as a senior engineer supporting CMS's modernization efforts, turning manual test cycles into automated, observable, fast-feedback systems that scale with the mission. Design, build, and maintain test automation frameworks across the stack so quality is engineered in, not inspected at the end. Champion shift-left quality: pair with developers on test strategy, push coverage upstream, and make sure quality is everyone's job, not a gate at the end of the pipeline. Write real software (Python, preferably) to build test harnesses, fixtures, data generators, and tooling that developers actually want to use. Own the API and UI automation layers, browser automation, and accessibility coverage where it counts. Integrate tests deeply into CI/CD - parallelized, sharded, and tuned so the feedback loop is measured in minutes, not coffee breaks. Hunt down flakiness like it's personal. Quarantine it, root-cause it, fix it, and put guardrails in place so it doesn't come back. Design performance, load, and chaos experiments so the team knows how the system behaves before real users find out. Contribute to architectural decisions, technical roadmaps, and engineering best practices across the program. Oh, and mentor the engineers around you while you're at it. Partner cross-functionally with product, security, customer experience, and platform teams to keep delivery moving and the mission front and center. What we’d like you to have: Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or related field (or equivalent practical experience). 10+ years of progressive software engineering experience, with deep specialization in test automation and quality engineering at production scale. Strong programming chops in at least one modern language (preferably Python and TypeScript) and the judgment to know which one fits the job. Deep, hands-on experience designing and maintaining test automation frameworks (unit, integration, end-to-end, and performance). Production experience with browser and API automation tools (Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, REST Assured, Postman/Newman, Pact, or similar). Solid experience integrating automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI). Comfort with performance and load testing tooling (k6, JMeter, or similar) and a working understanding of what “good” looks like. Working knowledge of containerized test environments (Docker, Kubernetes). A well-rounded engineering profile: you can read production code, pair with developers, and ship features when the team needs to roll up its sleeves. Strong understanding of secure coding and DevSecOps practices. What would blow us away: Experience with Section 508 / WCAG accessibility testing and tooling. Hands-on experience with FedRAMP, FISMA, or other federal compliance frameworks — including ATO support. Previous experience supporting CMS or other HHS agencies. Even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, we encourage you to apply. At Skyward, we’re focused on hiring individuals with the right skills and passion to grow, not just checking off every box. And now the important part. What we offer you: Medical, dental, vision insurance (fully paid for employees) 15 days of paid leave 7 days of sick leave 2 days bereavement leave 11 paid Federal holidays Up to 40 hours for jury duty 401K with 4% employer contribution (and no vesting period) Up to 4 weeks of paid paternity and maternity leave Company provided laptop $5,000 per year for professional development $600 per year for technical supplies and equipment $2,000 referral bonus Life and disability insurance HSA and FSA Legal Shield and ID Shield Voluntary Benefits Opportunity to work in a collaborative, motivated team focused on modernizing government services with cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions. Who says government work can't be exciting! \n$120,000 - $150,000 a year We believe great work deserves great pay. That’s why we ensure our compensation is not only competitive but also fair and transparent, as required by Maryland law. Expect a salary that matches your skills, experience, and the value you bring to the table — because you’re worth it! \nAt Skyward, we support flexible working hours and remote opportunities to help maintain a healthy work-life balance for all employees. Offers of employment with Skyward are contingent upon acceptable results of a background investigation. Applicants must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance due to the nature of our work as a government contractor. Apply To This Job