Junior QA Automation Engineer

Description

• Salary Range: $65,000 – $85,000 per year
• Work Policy: Fully Remote (Continental US)
• Core Tech Stack: Python, Java, JS, C#, Selenium, Postman
• Experience Level: Junior (0-2 years)
• Job Type: Full Time

Element Solutions is a remote-first organization headquartered in Washington, DC, dedicated to building modernized digital solutions for both government and commercial entities. By streamlining complex challenges, we aim to optimize taxpayer resources and deliver impactful digital experiences.

We are currently bringing on an eager-to-learn Junior QA Automation Engineer. In this position, you will work closely with senior engineers and developers to build, run, and uphold automated software tests. Your daily work will directly ensure that our applications remain reliable, performant, and highly functional.

Core Responsibilities:

• Automation & Scripting: Craft, execute, and manage automated test scripts derived from technical plans and requirements. You will build tests for fresh features, patch validations, and existing functionalities while helping maintain continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines and reusable testing components.
• Quality Assurance & Testing: Conduct integration, regression, functional, and smoke tests. You will compare application behavior against established acceptance criteria, ensuring data processing and user interfaces act as intended across various environments and browsers.
• Defect Tracking: Log software bugs clearly, providing exact steps to reproduce the issue alongside necessary evidence. You will retest these bugs once developers issue a fix to guarantee no new issues were created.
• Troubleshooting: Investigate test failures to distinguish between actual application defects and issues rooted in test data, environments, or faulty scripts. You will debug basic automation code and escalate more complex roadblocks to senior technical leads.
• Agile Collaboration: Participate in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and requirements gathering. You will maintain up-to-date documentation for test cases and results while working alongside business analysts and developers to improve overall test coverage.

Minimum Requirements:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, Software Engineering, or an Associate’s degree paired with two years of related professional experience.
• Between 0 and 2 years of background in software development, test automation, or QA (relevant internships and academic projects are accepted).
• Basic programming capabilities in at least one major language (such as C#, Java, Python, or JavaScript).
• A fundamental grasp of software testing concepts, Agile methodologies, and defect lifecycle management.
• The ability to follow technical guidance, communicate problems clearly, and write basic automated test scripts.
• Location & Clearance: You must reside within the Continental United States and be either a U.S. Citizen or a Permanent Resident. Employment is contingent on passing a standard background investigation, and some projects may require obtaining a Public Trust clearance.

Preferred Qualifications (Nice-to-Haves):

• Prior experience navigating healthcare (CMS) systems or government contracting.
• Familiarity with automation and API tools like Cypress, Playwright, Selenium, and Postman.
• Understanding of SQL, Git version control, client-server architectures, RESTful APIs, and defect tracking platforms (Azure DevOps, Jira).
• Candidates residing in certified HUBZones are highly encouraged to apply.

Benefits Package:

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan options.
• Paid time off, including standardized holidays and legal leave requirements.