Job Title

Lead QA Automation EngineerLocation: Herndon, VA (Onsite) Engagement Type: ContractAbout the RoleWe're looking for a Lead QA Automation Engineer to own the quality engineering practice on a Java/Spring Boot platform with a heavy API surface and AWS-native deployment. This is a hands-on lead role "” you'll architect the automation strategy, write the framework code yourself, and set the bar for what "tested" means before anything ships. You'll work onsite with the engineering team in Herndon, partnering closely with developers, DevOps, and product to push quality upstream rather than catching it at the end.The work is technical and consequential. You'll be the person engineers trust to tell them whether the build is actually safe to release, and you'll be expected to use AI-driven approaches "” test generation, intelligent test selection, flaky-test triage "” to make the suite faster and smarter, not just bigger.What You'll DoDesign and lead the test automation strategy across API, integration, and end-to-end layersBuild and maintain the Karate framework for API testing "” schemas, scenario coverage, data setup, parallelizationWrite and review Java/Spring Boot test code alongside the development teamIntegrate the test suite into CI/CD pipelines so quality gates run on every commit, not as an afterthoughtApply AI-driven techniques to test creation, prioritization, and failure analysisValidate cloud-native behavior in AWS "” services, data flows, environment parity, observabilityMentor mid-level QA engineers on framework patterns, debugging discipline, and automation craftOwn quality KPIs and report on coverage, defect escape rate, and pipeline healthQualifications7+ years building automated test frameworks for production systemsStrong Java engineering chops "” you write code that developers respectProduction experience with Spring Boot applications, including testing strategies for microservicesDeep hands-on experience with Karate for API contract and integration testingTrack record integrating automated suites into CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or similar)Working knowledge of AWS services and how to test against them (EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, SQS, etc.)Experience applying AI-driven approaches to QA "” test generation, smart test selection, failure clustering, or LLM-assisted debuggingLead-level instincts: comfortable setting strategy, coaching engineers, and pushing back when the release isn't readyPreferred SkillsPerformance testing experience (JMeter, Gatling, or k6)Contract testing with Pact or similarContainerized test environments (Docker, Kubernetes)Security testing fundamentalsExperience in regulated or compliance-heavy environmentsTech StackJava, Spring Boot, Karate, AWS (EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, SQS), Jenkins/GitHub Actions, Docker, Git, Maven/Gradle, JUnit, REST APIs.Who Thrives HereEngineers who treat QA as a software discipline, not a checklist function. If you're the person on your current team who refactors flaky tests instead of disabling them, builds the framework other engineers want to extend, and is genuinely curious about what AI can do for test design "” this role will give you the autonomy and the problem set to do your best work.