Senior QA Tester

Job description

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior QA Tester based in the United States (remote, with preference for candidates local to Des Moines, Iowa).** As a Senior QA Tester, you will play a key role in ensuring the quality, reliability, accessibility, and performance of applications supporting education programs and grant administration. You will contribute to projects involving funding management, fiscal monitoring, budgeting, and claims processing. Working across manual and automated testing, you will validate application functionality, data integrity, and compliance with accessibility standards. You will collaborate closely with developers, business analysts, and stakeholders to translate requirements into comprehensive testing strategies. Your expertise will help identify defects early, improve user experience, and maintain the integrity of critical public-sector systems. This role offers the opportunity to contribute to meaningful technology initiatives in a collaborative development environment. ### Accountabilities: You will lead testing activities throughout the software development lifecycle, ensuring applications meet business requirements, technical specifications, and accessibility standards. - Perform functional, regression, user acceptance, usability, and accessibility testing across a range of applications. - Develop, execute, and maintain manual test cases, test scripts, and comprehensive test plans. - Support automated testing initiatives by creating and maintaining automated test scripts where appropriate. - Review business requirements and technical documentation to identify testing needs and ensure adequate test coverage. - Collaborate with business analysts to clarify requirements, develop test scenarios, and support limited requirements-gathering activities. - Conduct API testing, web service validation, and database testing to verify application behavior and data accuracy. - Write and execute SQL queries to validate application functionality, data processing, and system integrity. - Document test results, identify defects, and provide clear recommendations for resolution. - Participate in defect triage, troubleshooting, and production support activities. - Work with development teams to validate changes and support successful migration into production environments. - Contribute to projects ranging from minor enhancements to large-scale application initiatives, including grant management, funding workflows, fiscal monitoring, and form submission processes. - Maintain and update user and system documentation as business processes evolve. - Support business process improvement initiatives and validate the effectiveness of implemented changes. - Ensure applications meet applicable accessibility requirements, including WCAG 2.2 AA and Section 508 standards. **Requirements:** You are an experienced QA professional with strong manual testing skills, technical expertise, and a thorough understanding of accessibility compliance. You can translate complex business and technical requirements into structured testing approaches and work effectively with cross-functional teams. - At least 5 years of experience in Quality Assurance and software testing. - Strong knowledge of manual testing methodologies, techniques, and best practices. - Accessibility certification such as CPACC, WAS, or an equivalent credential, demonstrating an in-depth understanding of accessibility principles and WCAG 2.2 AA standards. - Certification in accessibility testing and knowledge of Section 508 accessibility standards. - Experience testing applications for government accessibility compliance and validating WCAG and Section 508 requirements. - Familiarity with accessibility testing tools, techniques, and methodologies. - Experience creating and maintaining automated test scripts. - Advanced proficiency in SQL queries, database validation, API testing, and web service validation. - Demonstrated ability to develop test plans, test cases, and test documentation based on business and technical requirements. - Strong analytical skills, including the ability to translate requirements into comprehensive testing strategies and identify potential risks. - Experience tracking, documenting, and managing defects throughout the software development lifecycle. - Excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving abilities. - Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical issues clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. - Ability to collaborate effectively with business stakeholders, developers, project managers, business analysts, and other IT teams. - Experience working in Agile or similar collaborative software development environments. Preferred qualifications: - Experience supporting government applications or public-sector technology environments. - Experience testing compliance-driven applications, grant management systems, or other systems with complex business rules and regulatory requirements. - Ability to work remotely while maintaining effective collaboration with distributed project teams. **Benefits:** - Remote work arrangement, with a preference for candidates located in or near Des Moines, Iowa. - Opportunity to contribute to public-sector technology projects that support education programs and grant administration. - Collaborative work environment involving business, technical, and project stakeholders. - Exposure to a variety of application enhancements, testing methodologies, and quality improvement initiatives.