Senior Software Engineer - Test Automation

Skyward is a people-centered business focused on human advancement through information technology. They are seeking a Senior Software Engineer - Test Automation to support modernization efforts by turning manual test cycles into automated systems, designing test automation frameworks, and ensuring quality is integrated throughout the development process.

Responsibilities:

• 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

Requirements:

• 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
• 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