Senior Accessibility and Automation QA Engineer

Job Title : Senior Accessibility and Automation QA Engineer

Role Type : Contract – 9 months

Location : Hybrid onsite 3-4 times per month in Reston, VA and DC area

Job Description :

We are seeking a Strong Senior Accessibility and Functional QA Automation Engineer to join our SDET team. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring the functionality and accessibility of our web and mobile applications through both manual and automated testing. The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in functional automation testing, as well as a deep understanding of accessibility standards and how to ensure digital products are inclusive for all users. You will collaborate closely with developers, product teams, and designers to create an exceptional, accessible user experience while automating tests to improve efficiency and coverage.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Functional Testing & Automation :

o Accountable for analyzing User Stories, Acceptance Criteria and Prepare In Sprint automated test scripts for Web / UI, Web Services and Mobile application

o Accountable for coding automation scripts utilizing tools such as Selenium, SoapUI , Cucumber and BDD Framework

o Responsible to Create, maintain and update the automation framework in alignment with enterprise standards and best practices

o Write clean, maintainable, and reusable automated test scripts using languages like JavaScript, Python, or Java.

o Ensure that functional requirements and user stories are adequately tested, covering all critical user journeys and edge cases.

o Integrate automated functional tests into the CI / CD pipeline (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI).

2. Accessibility Testing & Automation :

o Perform accessibility audits and automated testing to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1 / 2.2, Section 508, ADA, and other relevant accessibility standards.

o Develop and maintain automated accessibility tests using tools like axe-core, Pa11y, WAVE, Tenon.io, and integrate them into the CI / CD pipeline.

o Identify and report accessibility issues across platforms (web and mobile), ensuring they are prioritized and addressed by development teams.

o Work with development teams to implement accessibility best practices and ensure issues are resolved during development cycles.

3. Test Strategy and Planning :

o Define comprehensive functional and accessibility test strategies, ensuring complete coverage of functional requirements and accessibility criteria.

o Create and maintain detailed test plans, test cases, and testing documentation for both functional and accessibility testing.

o Collaborate with product, development, and design teams to understand user needs, functional requirements, and accessibility goals.

4. Collaboration & Cross-functional Communication :

o Work closely with developers, designers, and product managers to ensure accessibility and functional requirements are met throughout the software development lifecycle.

o Advocate for accessibility best practices and collaborate with designers and developers to create accessible user interfaces.

o Provide actionable feedback on design and development to ensure the product meets both functional and accessibility standards.

5. Regression & Reporting :

o Ensure thorough regression testing is conducted to confirm that new changes do not break existing functionality or accessibility features.

o Document, report, and track functional and accessibility issues, ensuring they are resolved in a timely manner.

o Provide detailed reports on test execution results, defects, and testing status to stakeholders.

6. Continuous Improvement :

o Stay up-to-date with the latest trends, tools, and best practices in functional automation and accessibility testing.

o Propose improvements to the testing process, automation framework, and overall QA strategy.

Required Skills and Qualifications :

Experience :

7 years of experience in Quality Assurance (QA) with a focus on functional automation and accessibility testing.

Proven experience with automated functional testing using frameworks like Selenium, Cypress, WebDriverIO, or similar.

Must have strong knowledge of web accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG 2.0 / 2.1, Section 508, ADA) and experience conducting manual and automated accessibility testing.

Should have 4-5 years of experience with accessibility testing tools (e.g., axe-core, Pa11y, WAVE, Tenon.io, VoiceOver, NVDA, etc.).

Must have experience with PDF Accessibility and editing PDF documents to add accessible features.

Familiarity with responsive design, cross-browser compatibility, and mobile-first design practices.

Must have SQL experience

Technical Skills :

Proficiency in programming / scripting languages used for test automation (JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, etc.).

Hands-on experience with CI / CD tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI for integrating automated tests.

Strong knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, especially as it pertains to accessibility and functional testing.

Familiarity with version control systems like Git.

Experience with mobile testing (both web and native apps) is a plus.

Testing Methodologies :

Experience in Agile development environments and testing in Agile sprints.

Knowledge of test-driven development (TDD) and behavior-driven development (BDD) is a plus.

Familiarity with performance testing or other non-functional testing (e.g., load, stress) is a bonus.

Soft Skills :

Strong communication skills and ability to explain complex issues to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Ability to collaborate effectively in a cross-functional team.

Detail-oriented with a focus on delivering high-quality products.

Problem-solving mindset and the ability to troubleshoot and diagnose issues efficiently.

Preferred Qualifications :

• Experience with mobile accessibility testing (iOS and Android).
• Good to have Certification in accessibility (e.g., CPACC, WAS, IAAP certifications).
• Experience with usability testing and understanding of UX / UI principles.
• Knowledge of cloud testing environments (AWS, Azure, etc.).
• Familiarity with Docker or containerized testing environments.