Senior Test Automation Engineer

Peraton is seeking a Senior Test Automation Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals.  This is a hands-on position focused on designing and developing automation frameworks, driving test coverage, and enabling continuous integration and delivery. The ideal candidate is a strong engineer who thinks like a tester, collaborates effectively across teams, and is passionate about delivering high-quality software.

This position supports the IRS Enterprise System Testing (EST) program, which provides comprehensive testing and quality assurance services to ensure mission critical IRS applications are secure, reliable, and ready for deployment.

This position is in Lanham, Maryland.

Day to Day Roles and Responsibilies:

• Design, develop, and maintain automated test frameworks and scripts for mainframe and web applications
• Ensure automated tests are reliable, efficient, and integrated into CI/CD pipelines
• Identify high-value test automation opportunities and implement them to maximize coverage and efficiency.
• Troubleshoot and stabilize flaky or failing tests, driving root-cause analysis
• Support collaboration with developers, QA engineers, DevOps, and product owners to ensure automation aligns with release goals
• Provide guidance and mentorship to peers on automation best practices
• Contribute to improving testing processes, tools, and standards across the team

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree and 8 years of experience or a Masters degree and 6 years of experience or an Associates degree and 10 years of experience or a High School diploma/equivalent and 12 years of experience 
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) with at least three years of continuous U.S. residency.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Moderate Background Investigation (MBI) clearance
• Solid understanding of software QA principles, test design, and agile development practices
• Strong programming skills in at least one language (e.g., Java, Python, JavaScript, or C#)
• Experience with modern automation frameworks and tools (e.g., Selenium, UiPath, QTP, HP-UFT, Playwright, Cypress, Appium, REST-assured)
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines and modern development toolchains, including Jenkins, GitHub/GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, version control platforms, test management tools such as Xray for JIRA, and Atlassian-based work management tools.
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail

Preferred Qualifications:

• Current active IRS MBI Clearance strongly preferred
• Experience working with the federal government
• Knowledge of current IRS tax administration software applications
• Experience with IBM Mainframe or Unisys Mainframe applications and operations
• Experience with the following skills will be considered a significant plus:
• Hands on experience with technology standards such as: Java, Service Oriented Architecture/Web Services, SQL, XML, Agile Testing Methodology and the ability to proactively respond to emerging technology trends
• Utilization of Test Tools such as: Junit, Parasoft – LoadTest, Selenium Automated Testing, SOAPUI (free version), INFOConnect, Pegasus, UiPath
• Deep understanding of: Databricks platform, Medallion architecture (Bronze/Silver/Gold) and PySpark dataframes
• Familiarity with Accessibility Tools such as: Freedom Scientific JAWS; ZoomText; Dragon Naturally Speaking