Senior Testing Consultant

Title: Senior Testing ConsultantLocation: Salem, OR (Remote)Duration: 7 MonthsInterview type: MS TeamsRemote work/Telecommuting will be contingent upon the key person providing their own adequate office equipment and connectivity. Job DescriptionClientseeks an experienced Senior Testing Consultant that serves as a subject matter expert in testing design, test execution, defect evaluation, and testing process improvement. Contractor's Key Person shall provide advanced testing support, guidance, and expertise to the SBM team. Contractor's Key Person shall support both agile and traditional delivery teams by designing, executing, and validating user acceptance testing (UAT), as well as collaborating closely with business users to ensure systems meet requirements and deliver expected business value.Tasks:Contractor's Key Person shall:

• Review and analyze project requirements, user stories, process flows, and acceptance criteria for clarity, completeness, and testability.
• Maintain and update the requirements traceability matrix (RTM).
• Create, update, and maintain comprehensive test cases, test scenarios, and test suites.
• Develop and update test plans that outline scope, approach, schedule, resources, and risks.
• Execute manual UAT test cases, log test results, and ensure proper validation of functional and non-functional requirements.
• Participate in test case review sessions; identify candidates for automated testing as needed.
• Conduct regression testing to validate system stability and verify fixes.
• Support and sometimes lead bug hunts, exploratory testing, and ad hoc validation activities.
• Log defects with clear reproduction steps, evidence, and expected behavior; retest defects and confirm resolution.
• Conduct integration testing across systems, services, and interfaces.
• Perform or support load, performance, security, integration and accessibility testing activities.
• Prepare, request, or curate test data required for UAT.
• Validate UAT readiness (requirements, data, environments, tools).
• Participate in defect triage discussions; assist in determining priority, severity, and business impact.
• Provide UAT guidance and support to business SMEs/testers during testing cycles and contribute to training, documentation, and testing best practices.
• Develop and maintain testing best practices, training materials, templates, and documentation.
• Provide daily/weekly test metrics, summaries, and status reports to stakeholders.
• Participate fully in Scrum ceremonies (if applicable) including planning, refinement, standups, demos, and retrospectives.
• Contribute to release readiness assessments and go/no go recommendations.
• Apply knowledge of test automation concepts to identify automation candidates, support automation coverage planning, and collaborate with automation engineers on automated regression and smoke testing as needed.
• Continuously identify opportunities for improving testing processes, tools, documentation, and collaboration.
• Define testing approach, entry/exit criteria, quality gates, and release-level test strategy.
• Escalate quality risks, blockers, and unresolved defects with clear recommendations.
• Assess test coverage and identify gaps across requirements, integrations, workflows, data, roles, and edge cases.
• Recommend testing scope adjustments based on project risk, timeline, and release objectives.
• Monitor defect trends, aging defects, recurring issues, and root causes to support quality improvement.
• Identify and escalate environment issues that may impact test execution or release timelines.
• Define test data needs, validate data quality, and coordinate data refreshes, masking, or setup as needed.
• Support sprint, release, and project planning by providing QA/UAT estimates and testing assumptions.
• Participate in/lead release readiness discussions.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Strong understanding of UAT processes, SDLC, and agile methodologies.
• Experience designing and executing complex test scenarios.
• Skill in using test management and defect tracking tools (Azure DevOps, Jira, etc.).
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong communication skills for working with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and work independently with minimal direction.
• Understanding of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG), security testing fundamentals, and performance considerations.
• Ability to identify risks and propose mitigation strategies.
• Collaborative mindset and strong interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated experience leading QA/UAT activities for complex, cross-functional projects.
• Experience creating test strategies, test plans, RTMs, test cases, defect reports, test summaries, and release readiness documentation.
• Ability to influence stakeholders, challenge unclear requirements, and advocate for quality
• Strong understanding of defect lifecycle, test coverage analysis, risk-based testing, and release quality criteria.
• Ability to work across business, technical, product, vendor, and project management teams.
• In addition, the ideal candidate will have skills and experience in:
• Experience in a government or regulated environment.
• Familiarity with test automation concepts (Selenium, Playwright, Robot Framework, etc.).
• Experience preparing or managing test data.
• Background in business analysis or QA beyond UAT.

Required/Desired Skills:

• Windows 9x/2000/XP/NT/Vista/7
• Azure DevOps
• JIRA
• Communication skills both verbal and written
• Learning ability
• Team work
• MicrosoftOffice

Working Conditions:

• Remote setting following agency policy [CG1] [CF2]
• May involve tight deadlines during release cycles.

Requires coordination with cross functional teams and business partners across OIS and agency programs.