Systems Engineer - Testing & Quality Assurance - Contingent

Aretum is a mission-driven organization committed to delivering innovative, technology-enabled solutions to customers across defense, civilian, and homeland security sectors. The role involves leading comprehensive testing, validation, and quality assurance activities for a complex Federal cloud integration solution, ensuring it meets functional requirements and compliance standards necessary for RMF/ATO approval.

Responsibilities:

• Develop comprehensive test strategy covering functional, integration, performance, security, and compliance testing
• Create detailed test plans aligned with RMF/ATO requirements and federal security control validation
• Define test environments, test data requirements, and testing infrastructure needs
• Establish test schedules, milestones, and success criteria for pilot deployment across 10 systems
• Identify testing tools, frameworks, and automation opportunities to meet aggressive timeline
• Coordinate testing dependencies across development, infrastructure, and security teams
• Test container platform deployments (ECS/OpenShift) including orchestration, scaling, and failover capabilities
• Validate infrastructure-as-code deployments for consistency, repeatability, and compliance with baselines
• Test application load balancer configurations including health checks, routing rules, and SSL/TLS termination
• Verify network segmentation, security group rules, and multi-AZ high availability configurations
• Validate backup and disaster recovery procedures including RTO/RPO compliance
• Test auto-scaling behaviors under various load conditions and failure scenarios
• Design and execute integration test cases for data flows across 10+ disparate source systems
• Test API interfaces, data orchestration workflows, and error handling/retry logic
• Validate data transformation accuracy, completeness, and consistency across integration points
• Test vendor container integration with custom infrastructure and security controls
• Verify Databricks pipeline processing and PowerBI report accuracy against expected outcomes
• Execute end-to-end business process testing for risk analysis and service coordination workflows
• Validate implementation of NIST 800-53 security controls required for ATO
• Coordinate and support security assessment testing activities with ISSO/ISSM
• Test authentication, authorization, and access control mechanisms across all system components
• Validate encryption implementation (at-rest and in-transit) for sensitive client data and PII
• Execute vulnerability scanning and verify remediation of identified security findings
• Test audit logging completeness, accuracy, and compliance with federal requirements
• Validate container hardening against CIS benchmarks and DSTI STIGs
• Support penetration testing activities and coordinate remediation verification
• Design and execute performance tests simulating millions of client records and concurrent users
• Test system performance under peak load, sustained load, and stress conditions
• Validate horizontal scaling effectiveness and resource utilization efficiency
• Identify performance bottlenecks in integration workflows, database queries, and API endpoints
• Test monitoring and alerting thresholds under various load scenarios
• Measure and validate response times, throughput, and latency against defined SLAs
• Develop automated test suites for regression testing of infrastructure and application components
• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines for continuous validation
• Create reusable test scripts and frameworks for scaling to 130+ system instances
• Automate security compliance checks and configuration validation
• Build synthetic monitoring and health check automation for production readiness
• Document test cases, test results, and defect findings with clear reproduction steps
• Track defects through resolution and verify fixes through regression testing
• Maintain traceability matrix linking requirements to test cases and security controls
• Create test summary reports for stakeholder reviews and compliance evidence
• Document test environments, configurations, and procedures for audit and knowledge transfer
• Provide testing evidence and artifacts for RMF/ATO security assessment package

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or related technical field (relevant certifications and experience may supplement)
• 5-7 years in quality assurance, testing, or systems engineering roles
• 3+ years testing complex cloud-based systems, preferably in AWS environments
• 2+ years experience with automated testing frameworks and tools
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with meticulous attention to detail
• Excellent written communication for test documentation, defect reports, and status updates
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple concurrent testing workstreams
• Systematic and methodical approach to test execution and defect investigation
• Adaptable to fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with changing requirements
• Proactive identification of quality risks and testing gaps
• ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) certification
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate or Cloud Practitioner
• Security+ or similar security certification
• Experience with Databricks or PowerBI testing
• Federal government contracting or DoD testing experience
• Experience with test data generation and data masking for PII protection
• Experience testing systems in federal, DoD, or highly regulated environments
• Prior involvement in RMF/ATO processes with security control testing