Role: UAT Lead- Senior QA Testing & Automation
Location: McLean, Virginia- Onsite
Contract with potential for extension
13+ Years required
The Role
We are seeking a Senior QA Testing & Automation Consultant to support a major modernization program. This role sits within the UAT team and is responsible for ensuring high-quality delivery across User Acceptance Testing (UAT), requirements validation, change management, and cutover readiness.
This is a consultative, client-facing role requiring strong collaboration with both business and technology stakeholders. The ideal candidate will bring a balance of UAT leadership, QA strategy, and automation expertise, with the ability to operate at both a strategic and hands-on level.
What You ll Do
Lead UAT strategy and execution across the modernization program, including planning, coordination, and governance of UAT activities
Act as a bridge between business and technology teams, ensuring requirements are clearly understood, validated, and testable
Define and maintain end-to-end traceability from business requirements through test scenarios, execution, and defect resolution
Partner with business stakeholders to validate requirements, challenge assumptions, and ensure solutions meet business intent
Design, develop, and oversee execution of manual and automated test cases, aligning testing efforts with business-critical outcomes
Drive test automation adoption by aligning frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress) to support UAT efficiency and repeatability
Manage and assess change requests, performing impact analysis and ensuring appropriate test coverage across affected areas
Support cutover planning and execution, including readiness assessments, defect triage, and go-live support
Provide UAT status reporting, risk identification, and escalation management to program leadership
Contribute to continuous improvement of QA and UAT practices, particularly within large-scale transformation environments
What We re Looking For
Strong consulting background with the ability to operate in a client-facing role, drive discussions, and influence both business and technology stakeholders
Background in financial services such as banking & payments with an understanding of regulatory and data-driven testing considerations
Proven leadership in User Acceptance Testing (UAT), including planning, coordination, execution oversight, and business validation across complex, enterprise programs
Demonstrated experience translating business requirements into end-to-end test strategies, ensuring full traceability from requirements through test execution and defect resolution
Ability to challenge, refine, and validate requirements in partnership with business stakeholders, not just test against them
Experience managing change requests, impact assessments, and testing scope adjustments within fast-moving delivery environments
Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress), with the ability to align automation efforts to UAT and business validation goals
Strong communication skills with experience working across cross-functional teams, including Product, BA, QA, and Release/Deployment teams