QA Automation Engineer

Role summary

Peraton Labs is searching for a test-automation specialist to establish and maintain automated testing across two parallel layers - front-end (E2E) and server-side (API) - on a federal AI analytics platform. This is a mid-level role requiring prior experience shipping automated test suites in a product environment.

The product context

A TypeScript/React front end backed by Python microservices handling document processing, OCR, summarization, and AI inference pipelines, running on AWS (ECS Fargate, Lambda, S3). The team ships on a two-week sprint cycle on a product that changes daily. Tests ship in the same release as the feature.

Education / Experience Required:

Minimum of 2 years with BS/BA; 0 years with MS/MA; 6 years with no degree
• Must be a US citizen and have the ability to obtain Public Trust suitability

Core Testing Skills Required:

• Automated E2E testing using Playwright (JavaScript) against a TypeScript/React front end
• API/service-level functional testing using pytest (Python) against Python microservices
• Black-box / behavior-based testing - testing against specifications, not implementation
• Risk-based test scoping - identifying critical behavioral changes vs. cosmetic-only changes
• Test case design: writing meaningful tests that would catch real failures, not token coverage

Technical Skills Required:

• JavaScript/TypeScript - sufficient to write and maintain Playwright suites against a React app
• Python - sufficient to write and maintain pytest suites against Python backend services
• Familiarity with GitHub workflows: protected branches, PR-based CI, running suites in an existing pipeline
• Familiarity with AWS at the awareness level - understanding the deployment environment tests run against (ECS, Lambda, S3) without needing to provision or manage it
• Ability to spin up and operate a dev environment independently using documented procedures
• Code literacy: reading and navigating TypeScript/React and Python codebases to understand what needs testing
• Debugging test failures and distinguishing real bugs from test maintenance issues
• Familiarity with Docker at the awareness level - understanding containerized services the tests exercise

Soft Skills / Working Style Required:

• Proactive and self-sufficient. Troubleshoots independently, consults subject matter experts, reads the code rather than waiting for step-by-step direction
• Communicates progress clearly and daily
• Keeps work small and iterative. Finishes in days, not weeks
• Operates effectively on a small team with little runway before delivering

Domain Awareness (not required but strongly helpful):

• Familiarity with document processing workflows: large file uploads, chunking, OCR pipelines
• Awareness of accessibility standards (WCAG / Section 508) - front-end tests should exercise accessible behaviors consistent with the team's existing standards
• Experience in regulated or security-conscious environments (federal preferred)

Nice to have:

• Playwright video/trace recording experience
• Code coverage tooling experience
• AWS Certified Developer or similar
• Testing documentation experience

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees do the can't be done by solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit peraton.com to learn how we're keeping people around the world safe and secure.